Lynnville-Sully senior Gentry Walston earned a berth to the 2023 Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament after finishing in second place at the District meet on Saturday, Feb. 11. Walston, who previously qualified for state as a sophomore, will be looking to finish on the podium in his final season wrestling for the Hawks.
Walston will wrestle at 120 pounds on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Session one kicks off at 9 a.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Walston, seeded 13th with a record of 40-5, will face freshman Josh Winey of Earlham, a 20th seed with a 29-15 record. The winner will then be pitted against fourth-seeded Gabriel Brisker, a freshman from Winton. The IHSAA State Championships run Feb. 15-18. Class 1A’s session one is on Wednesday, quarterfinals on Thursday, semifinals on Friday, and the semifinals and finals of all classes on Saturday.
Of Lynnville-Sully’s seven wrestlers competing on Saturday, Feb. 11, Walston was the lone state qualifier. Seniors Kyle Squires and Reese Dunsbergen fell just short with third-place finishes.
Stakes were high on Saturday, Feb. 11, when the Lynnville-Sully Hawks traveled to English Valleys for Districts. A trip to the coveted state high school wrestling meet was on the line with only the top two finishers in each weight class earning a ticket. The Hawks gave it their all, and at the end of the day, senior Gentry Walston grabbed second place in the 120-pound weight class as Lynnville-Sully’s sole wrestler to advance to state.
Walston’s road to second place at Districts included two byes before he faced Charlie Goemaat of North Mahaska, whom he pinned in just 24 seconds. Next up was Jaxon Larson of Don Bosco. Larson got the victory in 4:38, but Walston’s second-place finish was good for state qualification.
“I am excited to watch and coach Gentry at state,” said his dad and Lynnville-Sully’s head wrestling coach, Jason Walston. “It’s been a lot of hard work for him to be able to return.”
Senior Reese Dunsbergen
The season came to an end at Districts for the remaining six wrestlers in action on Saturday, including seniors Reese Dunsbergen and Kyle Squires who have provided leadership for the L-S wrestling program over the years.
Dunsbergen, wrestling at 170 pounds, earned two byes on Saturday. He faced Colton Hudepohl of Iowa Valley and fell, 10-6. He was able to finish third and stand on the podium after defeating Owen Jones of English Valleys-Tri-County in 2:52, Brett Plants of Montezuma in 2:27, and Hudepohl again in 2:58. Dunsbergen finished his senior season with a 21-13 record.
Squires wrestled Andrew Gaudian of Hudson and was victorious in a decision, 5-3. Next, Squires fell to Chase Wickwire of Belle Plaine in 55 seconds. In the consolation bracket, he pinned Braxton Plants of Montezuma in 38 seconds. Squires reached the podium in third place after defeating Max Reed of North Mahaska in a major decision, 22-12. K. Squires wrapped up his senior season with a 25-15 record.
Kyle Squires powers his way out of the grip of his opponent for an escape at the District meet. Squires finished third to end his season.
Freshman Hunter Van Wyk at 113 pounds earned a bye in the first round before facing Joel DeJong of North Mahaska in the next round, falling in 35 seconds. He then faced Joshua Hocamp of Iowa Valley and came away with the win in 1:45. He fell to Hunter Henry of Belle Plaine in 1:41 to end his season.
Freshman Kendric Johnson, wrestling at 132 pounds, earned a pin in the first round over Colton Butler in 52 seconds. He faced Zane Keim of Iowa Valley next and fell in 21 seconds. In the consolation bracket, Johnson found a win over Deshon Anderson of English Valleys-Tri-County in 40 seconds but fell to Will Sankot of Belle Plaine in 3:15.
Wrestling at 138 pounds, junior Trevor Van Wyk earned two byes before falling to Wade Sankot in 1:30. In his next match, he fell to Owen Descrochers of Montezuma in 2:40.
As a heavyweight, freshman Ben Squires defeated Miguel Gomez of Hudson in 1:29. He fell to Mack Ortner of Don-Bosco in 38 seconds. Ortner went on to be the bracket champion. B. Squires faced Camren Cooling first in the consolation bracket and won by pin in 41 seconds. He earned fourth place after falling to Garrett Hoyt of Iowa Valley in 40 seconds.
The Hawks finished sixth as a team with 65 points. Don-Bosco was the team winner with 267 points, Belle Plaine runner-up with 173 points. Coach Walston said, “I’m proud of how hard the boys wrestled. Kyle and Reese have had a great senior season, but came up just short. They wrestled hard and left it all on the mat, as did the rest of the team.”
Walston, Lynnville-Sully’s lone state qualifier, will wrestle in the first session at the state wrestling tournament at Wells-Fargo Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 9 a.m. Walston is a 13th seed and will face 20th-seeded Josh Winey of Earlham.
