Gettler’s late rally earns state meet berth

 UNDERWOOD (Feb. 13) -- AHSTW junior Garrison Gettler put in 18 minutes of hard work Saturday afternoon to punch his first ticket to the State Wrestling Tournament.
 Gettler competed in three one-point matches during the Class 1A, District 7 meet in Underwood, winning two of them to place second at 160 pounds and qualify for this week’s state meet in Des Moines (Feb. 18-20).
 Gettler (34-6) started his day with a 4-3 win over Caleb Iliff of Treynor before losing 8-7 to Jackson Wray of East Mills in the finals. In his wrestleback match for true second place, Gettler scored the go-ahead points in the last 30 seconds to outlast Missouri Valley’s Cole Lange 3-2.
 Viking junior Hayden Fischer also competed in the district meet and placed third at 132 pounds. Fischer, a two-time state qualifier, lost 6-1 vs. Bryce Shaha (43-3) of Mount Ayr in the first round, then pinned East Mills’ Brodyn Wray in 1:34 for third. Because Shaha lost in the finals, there was no wrestleback for second.
 AHSTW placed 10th out of 13 teams with 22 points and was one of 11 schools to have at least one state qualifier.
 Missouri Valley claimed the district title with 104 points, followed by Underwood (91.5), Riverside (86.5) and Mount Ayr (64). The Big Reds, Eagles and Bulldogs all advanced five wrestlers to state, including four district champs for Underwood and three for Riverside.