Columbus/Winfield Mt. Union’s Jarod Kadel is no stranger to success.  He’s had it on the wrestling mat all throughout high school, and it will continue through the final stages of his senior season after securing a bid to his third straight state tournament.

As a freshman at New London, Kadel mainly saw himself in a backup role at 106 behind state runner-up Sam Loyd.  Even with that being the case, though, Kadel still finished that season with a record of 18-2 (10 of which came via forfeit), with one of his two losses coming directly against Loyd in a tournament.

From there, he went to Columbus, where he made his presence known and advanced all the way to the state title match at 106.  He did the same thing the year after, up a weight class, with the title match being his only loss of the season.  Now, he’s going back for the final time as an unbeaten wrestler at 138 pounds, looking to grab that title that’s been just barely out of reach each of the last two seasons.  But that’s not where his sights are set right now.

“I’ve just got to take it one match at a time,” Kadel said.  “I can’t look to the second, third, or fourth match.  One match at a time.”

The Columbus program is under new management this year after coaching legend Bill Plein hung up the reins.  Joel Keller is one of two head coaches at Columbus now, and he says he’s excited to see what Kadel can do in Des Moines.

“That’s where he wrestles his best,” Keller said.  “I’m excited to see what kind of points he can put up on the board and watch him win.”

The state wrestling tournament begins on Thursday and will go through Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.