State Wrestling: Kelly is lone Tiger to claim podium

After advancing three to state wrestling, the Tigers  found sophomore Dan Kelly (29-6) was the lone wrestler to finish on the podium. Senior Nick Hagedorn (28-7) and freshman Spencer Williams (20-17) also notched a spot at State.

Dan Kelly fights off WDM Valley’s Jake Koethe in his second match of the State tournament.

Kelly, wrestling in the 120-pound class, defeated Southeast Polk’s Aaron Meyer (30-17) in his first match by a 7-2 decision. Kelly then picked up his only loss of the tournament in the next round to West Des Moines Valley’s Jake Koethe (41-5) by an 8-2 decision. In the seventh place match, Kelly defeated Meyer again, this time earning a 9-1 major decision.

Hagedorn, wrestling in the 182-pound class, recorded a tech fall in his first match against West Des Moines Valley’s Zach Downs (23-26). He then lost his next two matches, first to Justin Kreiter (46-3) by a 12-6 decision, and then to Mount Pleasant’s Justin Dilks by a 8-5 decision.

Williams, wrestling heavyweight, was by far the youngest kid in his bracket. Not only was he the only freshman in the bracket, but there also weren’t any sophomores. Williams dropped his first match to Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Andrew Netolicky (42-6) by means of a 1:45 fall. Netolicky spent most of the year as the top heavyweight in Iowa, and he would also finish third. In his second and last match, Williams gave Indianola’s Colby Vlieger all he could handle before Vlieger pulled out the 5-3 decision. Williams said he hopes to return to State in the next three years and looks to be a promising force in the class 3A heavyweight bracket in the near future.

Even with the loss of Hagedorn, Cedar Falls aims to send even more wrestlers to State next season.