Coach Nate Van Dyke informs Mario Moncada he will be going to State following Mario’s win by Rule at Districts on Saturday, Feb. 10.

Emotion was in the air for the STC wrestling team on Saturday, Feb. 10. Six Trojan wrestlers took to the mats for Districts in Knoxville. Six went in and six move on to one of the greatest wrestling events in the country.

In fact, six may just be the Trojans’ lucky number because for three years in a row the STC wrestling team has sent six wrestlers to the State Tournament.

Wrestling for the Trojans were: Brady Fritz at 132, Tanner Probasco at 138, Colton Vest at 145, Isaac Judge at 152, Dalton Rosenburg at 182 and Mario Moncada at 285.

As this is the final season for this group of outstanding wrestlers, the day was somewhat bittersweet for wrestlers and fans alike. Some moments and matches left Trojan fans on the edge of their seats.

Let’s begin with Brady Fritz at 132. Fritz handily won his semifinals match by pinning Kaeden Lozano of Bondurant-Farrar. In the championship match Fritz faced a familiar opponent in Chariton’s Gabe Ruepke. The two met last season in the same exact scenario, only in the 126 bracket. Fritz escaped the first match narrowly with a 1-0 victory last season.

Colton Vest celebrates following his defeat of Sage Walker?(Eddyville Blakesburg). The win secured a trip to State for Vest.

In this year’s match, Fritz and Ruepke entered the third period tied at 2. An escape by Fritz gave him the 3-2 advantage halfway through the period. A stall point awarded to Ruepke tied the score again at 3 with two-seconds on the clock.

The match went into overtime. Fritz quickly took a shot on Ruepke getting him to his back. Fritz was awarded the take down and back points winning the match 7-3. Ruepke and Fritz each advanced to State.

At 138 Tanner Probasco pinned Dylin Harberts of Chariton in the semifinals. Probasco then faced Colby Tool of PCM in the first place match.

After a methodical first period Probasco was up 2-0 going into the second. A reversal gave Probasco a 4-0 advantage over freshman, Tool. Probasco gave up a point to Tool for stalling. Following the stall point, Tool escaped Probasco, cutting the lead to two. The two wrestlers entered the third period carefully assessing what the other would do. Tool took a couple of shots but each were defended by Probasco. Tool managed to tie up the score at 4 with a takedown. Tool nearly managed to turn Probasco but was too close to the edge and would be whistled out of bounds before the near fall count could begin. Probasco managed a reversal as the seconds wore out on the match. The win secured Probasco’s third trip to State.

Colton’s Vest’s day did not start out well but thankfully it ended great. Vest took his second loss of the season to Saydel’s Klayton Keller in the semifinals. Keller is a familiar opponent for the Trojans at Districts. In 2017 Keller took on Probasco and won at weight class 132. Vest faced Logan Engebretson of North Polk in the consolation match and quickly polished off his opponent by tech fall (15-0). Keller meanwhile, was doing his own damage over Sage Walker of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont. The win by Keller kept the door open for Vest to compete in a wrestle-back against Walker to determine second place. A week earlier, Walker stunned Vest at the sectional tournament with a pin in the first period. This time around, Vest got the better of the EBF sophomore, wrestling lights out for a 18-8 major decision win.

Dalton Rosenburg celebrates following his win over Gage Hazen-Fabour of Williamsburg on Saturday, Feb. 10. News Herald Photos/Allison Graham

Isaac Judge may have had the simplest path to State. Judge, who has been ranked No.1 all season as the defending state champion at 152 pinned Dylan Meiners of North Polk in the semis. He then topped ninth ranked Caleb Swalla of Van Meter 13-4. He looks to defend his State Championship at 152.

At 182 Dalton Rosenburg’s day had an element of drama. He pinned Trevor Sprague of Saydel in the semis but lost to seventh ranked Jarron Trausch of PCM in the 1st place match. The loss left Rosenburg waiting and hoping for the consolation match to go his way. Sprague faced Gage Hazen-Fabor of Williamsburg. Hazen-Fabor got the win which set up for Rosenburg and Hazen-Fabor to face off in a wrestle-back. The two had met the week before at sectionals. Rosenburg, who favors the throw, offered up another dramatic match pinning Hazen-Fabor in 45 seconds.

Last but certainly not least was STC’s Mario Moncada. Moncada wrestled at 285 despite being built as more of a 220 class sized wrestler. What he gives up in weight he makes up in strength. Moncada got a thrilling 2-1 overtime win over Taylor Good of Chariton in the semis. He then faced Derrin Sesker of Van Meter. Sesker had quite a size advantage over Moncada and he ended up winning the championship bout 4-3. As Moncada came off the mat his body language might have made one think he was done for. But coach Nate Van Dyke was able to deliver the good news that Moncada would go on to State. Good managed a consolation win over Cole Cremeens and that guaranteed Moncada a spot at the state tournament. Both coach and wrestler had huge smiles as they hugged and walked off the mats.

For Fritz, Probasco, Vest and Judge it will be the third trip to the Well. Fritz, Vest and Judge are all two time state place winners. Probasco was a place winner two years ago. This will be Dalton Rosenburg’s second trip to state and Mario Moncada’s first.