Vikings lose one-point heartbreaker in Class 1A regional duals

 AVOCA (Feb. 11) -- During a six-year run of qualifying for Class 1A regional duals, the AHSTW wrestling team has never been closer to reaching state than it was here Tuesday night.
 Leading eighth-ranked Woodbury Central 30-7 at the midway point of a semifinal dual, the 13th-ranked Vikings allowed two pins and three forfeits the rest of the way and finished on the short end of a heartbreaking 37-36 final score.
 With AHSTW down four and one match to go, sophomore Garrison Gettler moved up a weight to 145 needing a major decision to tie the team score or a pin or technical fall to win. After leading 4-0 early in the second period, Gettler held on to win 8-7 but it was the Wildcats who celebrated.
 Woodbury Central routed Mount Ayr 57-20 in the championship round and advanced to the State Dual Tournament (Feb. 19) in Des Moines.
 AHSTW, which went 7-4 with five pins in contested matches vs. the Wildcats, finished its dual season with a record of 17-9. Eight Viking wrestlers will still compete in Saturday’s 1A district meet at Underwood for a chance to qualify for the traditional state tournament Feb. 20-22.
 “(Our guys) really wanted an opportunity to compete as a team at the state level,” said AHSTW coach Evan McCarthy. “They’re highly upset right now and... we should be. We did have a great opportunity in front of us. We just didn’t quite get it accomplished.
 “Woodbury Central has got a very good team. They match up with us pretty good. We just had some opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of like we needed to.”
 Underwood, ranked 7th, was also part of the regional field at Avoca but withheld its nine district qualifiers from competition and lost 46-30 to Mount Ayr in the first round.
 Down 30-7, Woodbury Central began its comeback via six-point forfeits at 106 and 113. Still leading by two points with only two weights left, the Vikings opted to forfeit at 138 to Max McGill and have Gettler go for the bonus points at 145. The plan showed promise initially, but Wildcat freshman Kyan Schultzen managed to score two reversals and a takedown during the last two periods to keep the score close and clinch the dual win.

Class 1A Regional Duals • Feb. 11 • at Avoca
SEMIFINALS -- #8 Woodbury Cent. 37, #13 AHSTW 36       Mount Ayr 46, #7 Underwood 30
CHAMPIONSHIP -- #8 Woodbury Central 57, Mount Ayr 20
Woodbury Central 37, AHSTW 36 -- 152: Jaedan Rasmussen (A) WBF 1:16 over Luke Paulsen; 160: Denver Pauley (A) WBF 3:01 over Brayden Sanford; 170: Seth Kiesel (A) lost 13-4 MD to Nate Monahan; 182: Michael Shiffer (A) WBF 1:40 over Andrew Martens; 195: Gavyn Fischer (A) WBF :39 over Mycha James; 220: Leland Barr (A) lost 3-2 to Ty Dennison; 285: Brady Canada (A) WBF 2:35 over Warren Smith: 106: Gunnar Vohs (WC) won by forfeit; 113: Ryder Koele (WC) won by forfeit; 120: Hayden Fischer (A) won 3-2 over Brackett Locke; 126: Dayden Moertl (A) LBF :50 to Beau Klingensmith; 132: Joel Sampson (A) LBF 3:39 to Tristen Jessen; 138: Max McGill (WC) won by forfeit; 145: Garrison Gettler (A) won 8-7 over Kyan Schultzen.