Ballard's Gabe Christensen wins a state title and other Ames-area wrestlers at state meet

Ballard crowned a state champion in Class 2A and four area wrestlers ended up placing second at the 2023 Iowa boys state wrestling meet last Wednesday through Saturday at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Ballard senior Gabe Christensen ended his outstanding career by wining a state championship at 195 pounds in Class 2A. His younger brother Henry took second at 195 and Brody Christensen was also runner-up for the Bombers at 182.

As a team Ballard placed seventh in 2A with 74 points. Osage dominated the 2A team race, winning with 175.5 points.

Ames placed 18th in 3A with 61 points.

Little Cyclone sophomore Jabari Hinson (126) and freshman Danarii Mickel (195) showed off their amazing potential by each placing second. Kyler Hall ended his tremendous career at Ames with a fifth-place finish at 285.

Nevada and Roland-Story each had one wrestler place in 2A. The Cubs' Kaden Weber took third at 113 and the Norse saw junior Hesston Johnson finish fourth at 170.

Here is what we learned from how area wrestlers performed at the state tournament.

Gabe Christensen earns himself a championship hug

There was only one thought running through Gabe Christensen's mind the moment the 2A championship match at 195 ended Saturday.

"I wasn't even thinking, I just wanted to go hug my dad," Christensen said. "I told him this was a long four years coming."

Christensen placed seventh at 160 as a sophomore and fifth at 182 last season.

Christensen, the No. 4 seed at 195 in 2A entering the tournament, defeated third seed C.J. Carter of Glenwood by a 7-3 decision in the championship round Saturday. His dad, Casey, is Ballard's head coach, so he was right there waiting for his son's embrace at the conclusion of the match.

"It was really special," Casey Christensen said "It's one of those moments not everyone gets to experience. I don't know if it's kicked in yet."

The championship match personified how Gabe approached the state tournament from the start. Every one of his four matches was a close, tense affair and his tremendous poise and focus helped him emerge victorious each time.

Gabe scored three takedowns near the edge against Carter, two of which came in the final seconds of the first and third periods. His first takedown came with three seconds left in the first period, the second with 1:12 to go in the third period and the final with four seconds left in the third.

Gabe won his first match by a 6-4 score over Mount Vernon's Ethan Wood and his semifinal match over Harlan's Zane Bendorf by a 9-7 decision. In the semifinals he defeated top seed Gavin Bridgewater of South Tama County by a 6-4 decision.

"The key for the whole tournament was being calm, patient and relaxed," Gabe Christensen said. "Then it was going out and being confident in my abilities."

Christensen placed seventh at 160 as a sophomore and fifth at 182 last season. He was elated to end his career atop the podium.

"Last night was incomprehensible," Gabe Christensen said. "The next morning it feels amazing. It was just a special moment."

Two more Bombers place second

Gabe's younger brother Henry fell just short of joining his brother as a state champion.

Henry, seeded sixth at 220, pinned Clarion-Goldfield-Dows' Ashtin Willms in 56 seconds, upset third seed Jaxon Cherry of Winterset by a 3-2 decision in the quarterfinals and knocked off second seed Barrett Muller of Osage by injury default in the semifinals after jumping out to a 4-1 lead before Muller went down. In the championship round Henry suffered a loss by major decision to Nick Reinicke of Dike-New Hartford, losing by an 11-3 score to end his season at 44-8.

"I know Henry is disappointed and it stings," Casey Christensen said. "That will just make him want to do better next year. He put it all on the line and I'm very proud of him."

Sampson followed up an eighth-place showing as a freshman and last year's fifth-place effort at 182 in 1A when he wrestled for Collins-Maxwell with a runner-up showing at 182 in 2A last week for the Bombers.

More:How Brody Sampson has benefitted from joining the Ballard wrestling program

Sampson turned in a tremendous tournament after pinning Clear Lake's Kaleb Hambly in 2:29, defeating Williamsburg's Gable Dayton by a 9-5 decision and edging second seed Jarrett Roos of Sheldon/South O'Brien by a 3-2 decision to reach the finals. In the championship match Sampson went up against defending champion C.J. Walrath of Notre Dame-West Burlington and actually took Walrath down, something that hadn't happened to the Nike star in three years, before losing by fall to finish with a 51-3 record.

"Brody was definitely and underdog (against Walrath), but he wasn't afraid," Casey Christensen said "He should feel really proud of his state run."

Tucker Vitzthum picked up three victories at 132 and Tony Horness, Rhett Hedrick and Luke Hartsook each went 0-2 at 113, 160 and 170 as the other Bomber wrestlers to compete at state.

"We had our most state wrestlers since 2018 and most finalists since 2011," Casey Christensen said. "I know us coaches are all proud of the team's effort this year."

Ames shows off exceptional young talent

The Ames wrestling team showed it is headed for big things down the line at the state meet.

Sophomore Jabari Hinson and freshman Danarii Mickel both placed second at their respective weight classes in 3A and sophomore Jackson Winkey gained valuable experience. Senior Kyler Hall did a great job leading the younger wrestlers into the Well and he bowed out with a fifth-place finish at 285.

"As a team our boys were able to put together a great state tournament," Ames coach Andy Fecht said. "These four guys were able to lock down 18th place as a team. This is a huge jump from last year where we had one qualifier and scored zero team points. Three of these four guys are all back next year, so the future looks very bright for Ames High Wrestling."

Hinson was state runner-up at 126 in 3A during his first state tournament.

Hinson, seeded third, pinned Indianola's Ryan Young in 1:52 during the second round, pulled off a 5-1 victory over sixth seed John King of Waukee Northwest in the quarterfinals and won by sudden victory over seventh seed Maximus Riggins of Southeast Polk, 3-1, during the semifinals. In the championship match Hinson gave top seed Cale Seaton of Iowa City High all he could handle before coming up just short by a 4-3 decision to end the season at 44-4.

"Jabari put together one heck of a tournament," Fecht said. "Jabari leads by example on and off the mat and holds his teammates to a high standard.  He is a student of the sport and understands how to follow a plan.  He is really good from any position and always remains calm under pressure.  He has two more years of high school ahead of him and can achieve anything he sets his mind to."

Mickel accomplished the rare feat of reaching the state finals as a freshman at 195.

Mickel entered state as the fourth seed at 195 in 3A. He pinned Cedar Rapids Prairie's Collin Velky in 1:38, scored an 8-4 victory over fifth seed A.J. Petersen of North Scott and upset top seed McCrae Hagarty of Waverly-Shell Rock by injury default after leading Hagarty late in the match to reach the finals.

In the championship match Mickel fell to another talented freshman in Fort Dodge's Dreshaun Ross. Ross defeated Mickel for the fourth time this season, winning by an 8-1 decision.

"It is crazy to think that there were two ninth-graders in the state finals at 195," Fecht said. "Danarii is only 15 years old, but wrestles at a higher level than most upperclassmen.  He is so fast and explosive along with being very sound technically in all three positions, which is a deadly combination.  It is scary to think about how good he can become over the next three years.  He is a competitor and wants to win so this loss in the finals will be used for motivation moving forward."

Mickel ended his freshman season at 31-8.

Winkey lost both of his matches at 160 to finish the season with a 38-13 record. He suffered a 5-4 loss to North Scott's Dylan Marti in the championship first round and then lost by fall to Southeast Polk's Nicklas Martin in the consolation second round.

"Jackson didn't have the tournament that he was hoping for but did a great job bouncing back and being there to support his teammates," Fecht said. "He has two more years and will be very motivated to climb that podium."

More:How Ames siblings Alexis and Jackson Winkey have bonded through wrestling

Hall finished his final season at Ames with a 38-5 record and two state tournament appearances.

Hall pinned Western Dubuque's Jacob Klostermann in 2:48, won by a 4-2 decision over Spencer's Logan Huckfelt then lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Maddux Borcherding-Johnson of Norwalk in a tough 6-4 battle. Hall suffered a loss by fall to Southeast Polk's Cooper Martinson in the consolation semifinals, but he came back to win a rematch with Huckfelt by fall in 1:41 during the fifth-place match.

Kyler has overcome so much over the last year and it was great to see him finish his Ames High wrestling career with a win at the state meet," Fecht said. "He has always done everything we have asked of him and has done a great job representing our program.  He would like to try and wrestle in college somewhere and we wish him nothing but the best."

Kaden Weber proves himself, Hesston Johnson exceeds expectations

Nevada's Kaden Weber didn't even know he was going to compete this season.

Weber had great offseason of training, but when it came for the season to start he was feeling burnt out and unsure of himself.

After a little time off to reflect on things Weber quickly put it together and churned out an amazing junior season. He capped a 31-1 run by winning the third-place match at 113 in 2A over Algona's Jacob Zabka by a 10-3 decision.

"I just knew that match was important to me, my family and my coach," Weber said. "I was very stressed at the beginning of the season, but I talked to God and I knew this sport was for me. This feels amazing. That chip on my shoulder paid off. I'm never really satisfied, but I'm proud. I did it with passion and some style."

Weber came in seventh at 106 last year, losing his second round match by a controversial disqualification after taking a 4-1 lead over Sergeant Bluff-Luton's Ethan Skoglund. This season he took care of businesss in a big way, with his only loss coming to top seed and eventual state champion Jace Hedeman of Union in the semifinals.

Weber pinned Chariton's Jacob Chapman in 25 seconds and defeated Humboldt's Cyler Cirks by a 6-2 decision before falling to Hedeman in a 7-5 battle for his only loss of the season. Weber came back to defeat Carroll's Dreylen Schweitzer by an 8-4 decision in the consolation semifinals to set up his third-place win over Zabka.

Roland-Story's Hesston Johnson also had quite the tournament.

Johnson opened the tournament by topping West Delaware's Garrison Gillihan by major decision, 15-1. In the second round Johnson pulled off his biggest upset, defeating third seed Drake Collins of West Liberty by ultimate tiebreaker, 3-2.

The momentum continued in the quarterfinals with Johnson defeating sixth seed Henry Ryan of Mount Vernon with an impressive 16-9 victory. That pitted Johnson against second seed Ethan DeLeon of Bishop Heelan Catholic in the semifinals.

Johnson gave a great effort against DeLeon, but he fell just shot in losing 5-3.

In the consolation semifinals Johnson knocked off fifth seed Austin Scranton of Anamosa by an 11-8 decision. That put Johnson in the third-place match, where he suffered a hard-fought 2-1 loss to fourth seed Kellen Moore of Forest City to finish the season at 21-6.

"It felt awesome to be able to come in as a 14 seed and place so high," Johnson said. "My dad (Hesston Sr.) was the biggest key to me placing. He told me from the start that rankings don't define placement and that I was able to compete with anyone in the state."

Jaxson Kadolph also wrestled at state for Roland-Story. He went 0-2 with two losses by fall at 195 in 2A to finish his junior season at 28-19.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ballard's Gabe Christensen wins state wrestling title at 195 in 2A