Trio of Waukon boys wrestling team members record pair of early match wins among Class 2A elite at State Tournament
Ends career as three-time State qualifier, all-time wins leader ... Waukon boys wrestling 126-pound senior Jakob Regan has Woodward-Granger sophomore James Dorrian under control in their second-round match in the Class 2A State Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena Wednesday, February 15. Regan pinned Dorrian in 46 seconds for his lone win in three matches at this year’s season grand finale, where he wrapped up his Waukon High School wrestling career as a three-time State Tournament qualifier, two-time Northeast Iowa Conference champion and the all-time career wins leader for Waukon wrestling with a career record of 128-35.
A trio of young men represented the Waukon boys wrestling team where every high school wrestler longs to be at the end of their season, competing in the Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament held Wednesday through Saturday, February 15-18 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Junior Isaac Ericson and seniors Jakob Regan and Corbyn Palmer each competed among the Class 2A elite in their respective weight classes at this season’s grand finale, and even though their journeys may have ended up shy of wrestling in Saturday’s placewinning matches, they still represented a strong step forward for the Waukon wrestling program.
That step forward includes being the most wrestlers the mat Tribe has qualified for the season grand finale since the 1998 season - when five young men wrestled to qualification, and the first time since the 2006 season that multiple Waukon wrestlers have qualified for the season grand finale. This year’s State Tournament also marked the first time since the late 1990s the Indians had a three-time State Tournament qualifier, as Regan joined five others in the history of Waukon wrestling who have qualified three or more times for the season grand finale.
Regan’s absence from that State Tournament realm his sophomore season prevented him from joining the mat Tribe’s lone four-time State Wrestling qualifier, Steve Pladsen from 1987-1990. Much like Regan, Garrett Kurth missed out on being a four-time qualifier with a sophomore year absence, being a three-time qualifier in 1995, 1997 and 1998. Three other Waukon three-time qualifiers all advanced in consecutive seasons, including Keith Colsch from 1978-1980, Kannon Grotegut from 1994-1996, and Paul Rea from 1997-1999.
The Indian efforts at the State Tournament resulted in accumulation of 10 team points, which placed them in a three-way tie for 63rd place among the 79 scored teams in the Class 2A tournament and 87 total teams competing in the Class 2A season grand finale. Previously-mentioned Waukon alum Bill Plein guided his Burlington Notre Dame squad to a second-place team finish in Class 2A with 106.5 points with just six qualified wrestlers. On the strength of crowning two champions and claiming one runner-up and one third-place finish, Plein’s Nikes finished behind Osage’s championship total of 175.5 points and just ahead of the 99 team points scored by third-place Mount Vernon.
For more complete coverage, pick up this week's print edition or subscribe to our e-edition by clicking here.
