Waukon wrestling senior Miles Hansmeier uses late-match scoring to help gain State Tournament qualification with District runner-up finish
Coaching congrats and fired-up father ... Waukon wrestling 145-pound senior Miles Hansmeier is congratulated after his 8-5 win by decision in the final seconds of his Class 2A District 5 Tournament first-round match Saturday, February 9 at Independence by members of the Waukon wrestling coaching staff, including (left to right in background of the above photo) assistant coach Caleb Ferring and head coach Mason Berns, as well as his father, volunteer assistant coach Dave Hansmeier, who is also seen at right jumping for joy after his son rallied in the final seconds of that first-round match with a five-point move that advanced him to the 145-pound championship match and all but solidified his first-ever qualification for this week’s Class 2A State Tournament in Des Moines. With his runner-up finish in the 145-pound District Tournament bracket, Miles Hansmeier now joins his older brother, Tristan, their father, and their cousin, head coach Mason Berns, in all qualifying for the State Wrestling Tournament for the Indians during their high school wrestling careers, with Tristan Hansmeier wrestling to a sixth-place finish at 170 pounds just last season, Berns claiming a seventh-place finish at 130 pounds in 2004 and eighth-place finish at 160 pounds in 2006, and Dave Hansmeier wrestling to a sixth-place finish at 140 pounds in 1990. Photos courtesy of Nate Troy, Cresco Times-Plain Dealer.
The final moments of the first round and the opening moments of the second round clinched a first-ever State Tournament berth for Waukon wrestling senior Miles Hansmeier at the Class 2A District 5 Tournament hosted by Independence High School Saturday, February 9. Hansmeier pulled off a five-point move in the final seconds of his opening match of the tournament against Independence junior Brady Webb to make his way to the 145-pound championship match, and even though he would lose in that title bout, a pin by Webb in his third-place match guaranteed that Hansmeier would not have to compete in a wrestleback to secure his second-place District Tournament finish and qualification for this week’s Class 2A State Tournament in Des Moines.
Hansmeier’s State Tournament qualification follows the same feat accomplished last season by his older brother, Tristan, who wrestled to a sixth-place finish in the Class 2A 170-pound State Tournament field. Their father, Waukon wrestling volunteer assistant coach Dave Hansmeier, was also a sixth-place State Tournament placewinner at 140 pounds in 1990.
Hansmeier’s State Tournament journey will begin for him this Thursday, February 14 with a first-round match taking place during the Class 2A session from 6-9 p.m. Further details of that first-round match and State Tournament road appear in a shaded box on the same Sports page in the February 13 print edition and e-edition of The Standard.
For more complete coverage, pick up this week's print edition or subscribe to our e-edition by clicking here.
