Vikings fall to Mo. Valley in regional duals final

 MISSOURI VALLEY (Feb. 6) -- The 2018 wrestling season won’t include a trip to the state duals for AHSTW’s rising program, but one gets the feeling it is only a matter of time.
 The Vikings ventured to Missouri Valley for Tuesday’s Class 1A Regional Team Dual Tournament - their fourth consecutive appearance - and held off West Monona-Whiting 45-36 in the semifinal round before losing to the 4th-ranked Big Reds 55-15 in the championship.
 AHSTW’s dual season closed with a 23-8 record, but there is still much work to be done. The Vikings will take 10 qualifiers to Saturday’s 1A District Tournament at Oakland with hopes of advancing a fleet of wrestlers to next week’s traditional state meet in Des Moines.
 Coach Evan McCarthy’s squad is still young as well, with only two seniors on the varsity roster and a bright future ahead.
 “We’ve been in regional duals four times in a row now; we’ve made the final three out of four times. I think we’ve proven that we’re pretty close to getting into the state duals,” stated McCarthy.
 Missouri Valley, which sent five seniors to the mat Tuesday night, proved it is the class of southwest Iowa dual teams for now, beating Bedford/Lenox 64-15 before defeating the Vikings by 40. The Big Reds (22-1) will be seeded fourth and face Lake Mills in a 1A State Duals quarterfinal on February 14.

Mo. Valley 55, AHSTW 15
 The Vikings started off well by winning three of the first four matches against the Big Reds and leading 12-4, but it was all Missouri Valley the rest of the way. The regional host won seven of 11 matches (five on pins) and claimed three forfeits.
 The marquee individual matchup of the night, however, went to the Vikings as top-ranked junior Gabe Pauley improved to 50-0 on the year with an 11-6 win over 2nd-ranked Nathan Haynes at 170.
 Earlier in Tuesday’s meet, Haynes tied the state’s all-time career record with win number 210 and tied another mark with his 157th pin.