Washington’s Austin Hazelett (left) and Trey Van Weelden claimed district championships Saturday at Fairfield High School, qualifying for this week’s individual wrestling tournament in Des Moines. Photos by KCII Sports Nate Gonner.
Several Washington Demon wrestlers competed for spots in this year’s Iowa State Individual Wrestling tournament on Saturday in the Class 2A District 2 tournament . The tournament featured wrestlers from Benton, Clear Creek Amana, Columbus-Winfield-Mt. Union, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, Fairfield, Keokuk, Mid-Prairie, Solon, and Williamsburg. The top two wrestlers in each weight class advance to this week’s state tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
A pair of Washington wrestlers won district championships. Austin Hazelett (145) will make his second trip to the state tournament after winning a district title. He won his semifinal match by decision (13-7) over Clear Creek Amana’s Andrew Rohret. He followed up with a major decision victory (13-5) against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s Dakota Boyer in the championship bout. Trey Van Weelden (152) also stood atop the podium as a district champion and will make his third appearance at state. Van Weelden tallied a decision win (3-0) in the semifinals versus Benton’s Brody Scheer. He won the title match by decision (6-2) over Solon’s Graeson Dall. Kyle Anderson (126), Tristin Westphal-Edwards (160), and Karlton Skubal (195) qualified for state as runners up in their weight classes. Anderson is making his third trip to Wells Fargo Arena. Westphal-Edwards has qualified for a second straight season, while Skubal will make his first trip.
Walker Ikerd (106), Andrew Waite (138), Logan Escher (170), and Tanner Murphy (220) came away with third places finishes. Dillan Sanders (120), Colin Murphy (182), and Mitchell Huisenga (285) placed fourth. Garrett Ikerd (113) qualified for the district tournament but medically forfeited his spot. The individual wrestling tournament begins Thursday morning in Des Moines.
The No. 6 Washington Demon wrestling team will close their dual season Wednesday at the Class 2A state tournament at Wells Fargo Arena. The Demons will face the No. 3 Atlantic Trojans. KCII Sports will have live play-by-play coverage on AM/FM beginning with the predual show at 8 a.m.