The Algona Wrestling team has one state medal already secured, and the possibility for 3 more following Thursday’s action at the State Tournament in Des Moines.
Sophomore Tate Slagle will finish no lower than 6th, after he used a 2nd period reversal to defeat Keegan Jensen of Winterset 2-0 in the Quarterfinals at 138. Slagle will take on #1 seeded McKinley Robbins of Greene County in Friday’s Class 2A Semifinals.
Senior Jake Zabka dropped a 10-1 match to #1 Jace Hedeman of Union, LaPorte City in the Quarterfinals at 113. Zabka will now take on Brayden Maury of West Delaware in Friday’s consolation 4th round. A win would guarantee Zabka his 2nd state medal, after placing 7th at 106 back in 2021.
Sophomore Isaac Wilson won a pair of consolation matches Thursday to keep his season alive. Wilson pinned Okoboji’s Dylan Jones in 1:43 to open his day, and then recorded a 4-3 win of Kale Wieland of Independence. Wilson will take on Carson Less of West Delaware Friday afternoon, and would secure a state medal with a win.
Algona Head Coach Nick Kuecker says Wilson stuck with what worked.
Freshman Barret Morgan lost a hard-fought 1-0 match to #2 seed Derrick Bass of Davenport Assumption. Morgan will now head to the consolation side, where he will face Kyler Sandholm of Red Oak in the blood round.
Fellow Freshman Taevyn Zinnel saw his season come to an end, after going 1-1 on Thursday. Zinnel pinned Gabe Johnson of Southwest Iowa in the 1st period, before dropping a 7-0 match to Kaden Kremer of Independence. Zinnel wraps up his rookie campaign at 37-11.
Sophomore Ashton Moreno and Junior Cohen Reffer both dropped their 2nd match of the tournament on Thursday, ending their season. Moreno finishes his season at 31-19 while Reffer ended up at 27-13.
Coach Kuecker feels it was a strong season for Zinnel, Reffer, and Moreno.
Live coverage resumes Friday afternoon at 1:30 PM on 98.5 FM/1600 AM KLGZ.
