Pauley caps banner year third at state meet

 DES MOINES -- A severe hamstring injury ended Gabe Pauley’s freshman season just shy of sectionals last winter, bringing an abrupt close to an otherwise successful 43-5 campaign.
 One year later, Pauley has certainly made up for lost time.
 AHSTW’s sophomore 160-pounder capped a sensational 49-2 season this past weekend by winning five out of six matches and placing third in the Class 1-A State Wrestling Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena.
 Pauley, who entered the postseason ranked seventh by The Predicament, defeated four state-ranked foes Thursday, Friday and Saturday en route to earning his place on the medalist podium.
 “It’s awesome. I didn’t get to come here last year,” Pauley said. “I got on the podium. I love it... It just feels great.
 Pauley added, “I’m pretty confident now. Hopefully I can finish even higher [next year].”
 Pauley’s only state meet loss came in Friday’s quarterfinal round when he lost a 10-4 decision to top-ranked Jacob Krakow of Iowa Valley, who eventually placed second.
 Pauley clinched a medal by pinning Woodbury Central’s Jim Moss later that day, then finished the tournament with close decisions over 10th-ranked Garrett Saylor of Sibley-Ocheyedan, No. 6 Dalton Nelson (North Butler) and No. 4 Nathan Haynes of Missouri Valley, a state runner-up last year.
 Pauley also defeated fifth-ranked Rogan Pforts of Wapello, 6-2, in the first round.
 “Really a great year,” said AHSTW head coach Evan McCarthy. “You lose to a finalist [Krakow] and you lose to a 2-A medalist [Kade Kelso of Central Decatur in December] as a sophomore at 160 pounds - I think you need to be pretty proud of it. He wrestled pretty well and hopefully he’s got a lot of confidence for his remaining two seasons.”
 The Vikings’ only other state qualifier was senior 145-pounder Joel Becerra. Making his third career state meet appearance, Becerra dominated his first-round match Thursday, scoring five takedowns in a 13-5 major decision over Ben Jacobs of Newman Catholic.