DES MOINES — A tough draw was never going to psych out Garret Thompson.
After he claimed two medals and competed in three state dual tournaments in the past four years, it would take a lot more than that to intimidate the Logan-Magnolia senior.
“I love having these hard guys first,” Thompson said. “It kind of gives you a taste in your mouth. If you win, you know, ‘I can wrestle with anybody, I can keep up with them, I have the ability to do that.’ If you lose that match and you’re still with them, there’s nothing down the drain. You know you can keep pace with these guys, and that’s you what you need to do.”
When Thompson hit the mat at Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday, he didn’t just keep the pace, he dictated it for nearly six minutes As a result, he knocked off a state runner-up from last season in a first-round stunner.
Thompson, ranked fifth at 145 in Class 1-A, bested No. 2 Kory Van Oort of West Sioux 6-2 to headline a strong opening round for the Panthers.
Logan-Magnolia scored a trio of first-round victories, putting it in the top echelon of 1-A western Iowa teams Thursday, next to Underwood (three first-round victories) and right behind Missouri Valley, which had four.
Logan-Magnolia freshman Briar Reisz earned a 3-2 decision over Lake Mills junior Caiden Jones in his state debut, winning a battle of the ninth- and eighth-ranked 113-pound wrestlers in the class.
Throughout the match, he stayed active on his feet, circling the mat with the intent of avoiding shots to his left leg and looking for openings. Then he clinched it with a third-period escape.
“I was pretty nervous, but once I knew I had the hand over, I was pretty excited I had the one point,” Reisz said. “I just had to keep after him so he couldn’t take me down.”
Wyatt Crocker, ranked eighth at 126 pounds, produced the third win for the Panthers, pinning fifth-ranked Dakota Henry of Belle Plaine in 49 seconds.
The day after a dissatisfying eighth-place finish at state duals, Missouri Valley came back strong Thursday.
Arron Olson (285) and Skeeter Bostwick (No. 5 at 152) each scored 5-2 decisions, Tom Rief (No. 1 at 220) finished strong and came up with a six-point decision, and Nathan Haynes (No. 2 at 170) was dominant in a 12-1 major decision.
Underwood responded after a disappointing showing at districts with three wins in the first round and one on the back side.
Top-rated and three-time champion Alex Thomsen (126) ran up the score in a 22-7 technical fall that took only 1:51, while younger brother Blake Thomsen (No. 3 at 120) and his classmate, Logan James (No. 2 at 132), each delivered 14-6 major decisions.
None of them gave up a takedown.
“That’s almost as good as we can hope for,” Underwood coach Joe Stephens said. “We need to do a little bit better. That first match here is always tough. You see a lot of good guys not perform well. We’ve just got to try to not get caught up in the moment and stay with what we do, and I think we’re gonna be fine.”
Class 1-A
Team leaders: 1, Don Bosco 27; 2, Lisbon 23; 3, Denver 18; 4, Woodbury Central 15; 5, West Sioux 14. Also from WI: 9, Underwood 10.5; t11, Missouri Valley 9; 17, Logan-Magnolia 8; t18, West Monona/Whiting 7.
First round
106: Connor Attkisson, Tri-Center, pinned Colton Meeker, Wapello, 2:55. 113: Adam Allard, West Sioux, pinned Joel Sampson, AHSTW, :23; Briar Reisz, Logan-Magnolia, dec. Caiden Jones, Lake Mills, 3-2. 120: Casey Baker, Interstate 35, pinned Elliot Young, AHSTW, 1:22; Tyler Helgeson, Lake Mills, dec. Bryce Kafton, Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto, 4-2; Blake Thomsen, Underwood, major dec. Cauy Fitch, Colfax-Mingo, 14-6. 126: Wyatt Crocker, Logan-Magnolia, pinned Dakota Henry, Belle Plaine, :49; Alex Thomsen, Underwood, tech. fall Kayne Marshall, Iowa Valley, 22-7; Teagan Lundquist, Southwest Valley, pinned Tay VanDyne, Wayne, 1:22. 132: Logan James, Underwood, major dec. Casey Hanson, Lake Mills, 14-6. 138: Michael Egan, MFL-Mar-Mac, pinned Austin Gutknecht, Clarinda, 2:43; Cory Anderson, Wilton, dec. Marvin Hildreth, West Monona/Whiting, 7-4; Gable Fox, Don Bosco, major dec. Connor Lange, Missouri Valley, 10-0. 145: Garret Thompson, Logan-Magnolia, dec. Kory Van Oort, West Sioux, 6-2; Chance Downs, Maquoketa Valley, dec. Bryson Freeberg, Tri-Center, SV-1 6-4; Braydon Nunemaker, East Buchanan, by injury default over Nate Briggs, Bedford/Lenox. 152: Kaden Kilburg, Lisbon, major dec. Drew Venteicher, Bedford/Lenox, 8-0; Trey Brisker, Wilton, pinned Michael Baker, Underwood, 2:42; Keaton Baayen, Pekin, dec. Bo Geise, Logan-Magnolia, 7-6; Skeeter Bostwick, Missouri Valley, dec. Alec Henderson, Southeast Warren, 5-2. 160: John Henrich, Akron-Westfield, pinned Jackson Dunning, St. Albert, 1:07; Wyatt Schoenherr, West Monona/Whiting, pinned Marcus Daughton, Mount Ayr, 1:56. 170: Nathan Haynes, Missouri Valley, major dec. Jace Morgenstern, Clarinda, 12-1; Gabe Pauley, AHSTW, dec. Gunnar Grunsted, Panorama, 2-1. 182: Derek Venteicher, Bedford/Lenox, pinned Colby Page, SE Warren, 3:27; Garet Sims, Iowa Valley, pinned Joe Kenkel, AHSTW, :40. 195: Joey Wolf, Woodbine, pinned Nathan Dettmer, Nashua-Plainfield, 1:59; Darius Gashe, West Monona/Whiting, dec. Mason Juhl, Pekin, 13-9; Gabe Irons, Lake Mills, tech. fall Gavyn Fischer, AHSTW, 15-0; Hunter Hagen, West Hancock, pinned Brenden Christensen, Bedford/Lenox, 4:34. 220: Marquise Paino, Tripoli, pinned Chance Strough, Bedford/Lenox, 4:48; Tom Rief, Missouri Valley, dec. Brett Schoenherr, Midland, 12-6; Zack Santee, Central Springs, dec. Brady Canada, AHSTW, 3-1; Cam Fulcher, Hudson, dec. Dalton Arnold, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 5-2. 285: Brian Sadler, Jesup, pinned Kyler Christensen, Bedford/Lenox, :49; Arron Olson, Missouri Valley, dec. Spencer Cox, Western Christian, 5-2.
First-round consolations
113: Trey Lashbrook, AGWSR, dec. Joel Sampson, AHSTW, 4-1. 120: Uvaldo Camarillo, Postville, dec. Elliot Young, AHSTW, 6-1; Parker Sternhagen, Maquoketa Valley, pinned Bryce Kafton, MVAO. 138: Josh Dunsbergen, Lynnville-Sully, pinned Austin Gutknecht, Clarinda, :25; Marvin Hildreth, West Monona/Whiting, dec. Maxwell McGraw, East Buchanan, 5-1; Javis Krieger, New London, dec. Connor Lange, Missouri Valley, SV-1 6-4. 145: Kory Van Oort, West Sioux, pinned Bryson Freeberg, Tri-Center, 2:35; Ethan Elliot, Interstate 35, pinned Nate Briggs, Bedford/Lenox, 2:22. 152: Austin Eilers, Lawton-Bronson, pinned Bo Geise, Logan-Magnolia, 2:31; Drew Venteicher, Bedford/Lenox, major dec. Killian Welsh, Edgewood-Colesburg, 13-3; Michael Baker, Underwood, dec. Mason Griffin, Emmetsburg, 9-5. 160: Cameron Rasing, Rockford, pinned Jackson Dunning, St. Albert, 3:06. 170: Brandon Trees, North Butler, dec. Jace Morgenstern, Clarinda, 7-0. 182: Manning Kuboushek, South Winneshiek, pinned Joe Kenkel, AHSTW, 1:31. 195: Gavyn Fischer, AHSTW, pinned Nathan Dettmer, Nashua-Plainfield, 3:32; Dalton Holmes, Panorama, dec. Brenden Christensen, Bedford/Lenox, SV-1 3-1. 220: Joel Mendoza, Eagle Grove, pinned Brady Canada, AHSTW, :43; Dalton Arnold, Coon Rapids-Bayard, pinned Trenton Dirks, Westwood, :41; Chaz Clark, Pleasantville, pinned Chance Strough, Bedford/Lenox, 1:32. 285: Alex Wells, West Central Valley, pinned Kyler Christensen, Bedford/Lenox, 4:40.