VAN HORNE — STC senior Marcus Bear is headed to his first boys state wrestling meet. Bear, along with his Trojan teammates, competed at the Class 2A, District 2 state qualifying meet at Benton Community High School on Saturday, Feb. 14.

The top two finishers in each weight class qualified for the state meet to take place on Feb. 18-21. Bear (175 lbs.) was STC’s lone qualifier, with five others narrowly missing out after a third place finish.

Bear began his day with a semifinal win over Wilton’s Corban Burford. Bear scored a takedown in the first ten seconds of the match, followed by another halfway through the first period.

Bear held a 6-2 lead at the end of the opening period and extended the lead to 7-2 by the end of the second. Thoroughly in control, Bear scored another takedown in the third period to give him a 10-3 victory. In the 175 championship, Bear fell to Nevada’s Isaac Williams.

However, Burford was victorious in the consolation match, ensuring that there would be no wrestle-back, and Bear secured second place. Watching Burford pin his opponent, Bear high-fived his coaches and teammates and celebrated the state berth.

In other action for the Trojans, five wrestlers finished in third place, just missing out on a birth at the state meet. These included: freshman Nolan Arp (106), junior Eli Cruikshank (138), senior Josh Strong (190), junior Manny Cervantes (215), and sophomore Lakyr Peska (285). In addition, two STC wrestlers finished in fourth place: freshman Israel Zamarron-Acosta (126) and freshman Jet Chyma (144).

Also competing for the Trojans at Benton were: Juan Lux (113), Henri Martinez-Alvarado (120), Izak Schroeder (132), Braxton White (150), and Garrett Surman (165).

Bear will wrestle at the Iowa boys state wrestling tournament on Thursday, Feb. 19, when the Class 2A athletes take the mat. The meet will be held at the Casey’s Center in Des Moines.