Wrestlers from eighteen different western and southwestern Iowa high schools met head on at the Charger Invitational yesterday, with Clarion-Goldfield coming out on top of the field with 236.5 points and three individual champions. Van Meter finished in the runner-up spot with 212 points. With no fewer that eighteen ranked wresters competing, the competition was fierce. ACGC's Blaine Beeler, ranked fourth at 120 lb, did not wrestle yesterday.

ACGC finished thirteenth in the field with 77 points. Gunnar Larsen at 132 lb and Easton Benson at 138 lb fared the best for the Chargers, as they each finished in third place. Seth Danker, the Chargers' lone state qualifier a year ago, received a blow yesterday when he broke his wrist, ending his season and a chance to return to Des Moines.

Other Chargers who placed yesterday were Gabe Rowley who finished fifth at 145, Gavin Cornelison (8th at 179), Ben Kingery (5th at 195), and Gage Buttler (6th at 285). In head to head competition ACGC won fifteen matches while losing eighteen. The fastest pin recored by a Charger was in 1:33 by Gage Buttler over Camdan Vincent of Nevada in a consolation round match.

Next week ACGC will host the 1A sectional number 3 tournament, with teams from AHSTW, Exira/Elkhorn-Kimballton, Nodaway Valley, Ogden, Panorama, and West Central Valley coming to town. The top two wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the district tournament on Saturday, February 9 at Interstate 35 High School in Truro. Starting time for both sectional and district tournaments is 12 noon.

ACGC Results:

113 lb: Seth Danker (22-10) did not place.

Champ. Round 1 - Seth Danker (ACGC) 22-10 received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal - Logan Christe (Panorama) 22-18 won by injury default over Seth Danker (ACGC) 22- 10 (Inj. 4:37)

Cons. Round 2 - Aidan Honkomp (Woodward-Granger) 26-14 won by injury default over Seth Danker (ACGC) 22-10 (Inj. 0:00)

Cons. Round 3 - Ben Breheny (Nodaway Valley) 23-12 won by forfeit over Seth Danker (ACGC) 22- 10 (For.)

126 lb: Cale Rowley (21-18) did not place and scored 4.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Cale Rowley (ACGC) 21-18 won by fall over Elliot Young (AHSTW) 27-19 (Fall 3:04)

Quarterfinal - Daltin Roest (Manson Northwest Webster) 15-4 won by fall over Cale Rowley (ACGC) 21-18 (Fall 1:53)

Cons. Round 2 - Justin Garcia (West Central Valley) 25-10 won by tech fall over Cale Rowley (ACGC) 21-18 (TF-1.5 4:30 (21-3))

Cons. Round 3 - Sam Hemmestad (Southeast Valley) 28-21 won by injury default over Cale Rowley (ACGC) 21-18 (Inj. 0:00)

132:lb: Gunnar Larsen (29-5) placed 3rd and scored 17.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Gunnar Larsen (ACGC) 29-5 received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal - Gunnar Larsen (ACGC) 29-5 won by major decision over Tyler Haynes (Van Meter) 31-8 (MD 10-2)

Semifinal - Logan James (Underwood) 24-1 won by fall over Gunnar Larsen (ACGC) 29-5 (Fall 1:26)

Cons. Round 3 - Gunnar Larsen (ACGC) 29-5 won by decision over Brady Stauffer (Greene County) 24-10 (Dec 7-4)

3rd Place Match - Gunnar Larsen (ACGC) 29-5 won by decision over Tyler Haynes (Van Meter) 31-8 (Dec 6-3)

138 lb: Easton Benson (26-10) placed 3rd and scored 20.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Easton Benson (ACGC) 26-10 received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal - Easton Benson (ACGC) 26-10 won by fall over Avery McCloud (Ogden) 23-11 (Fall 7:00)

Semifinal - Reed Abbas (Clarion-Goldfield) 22-9 won by fall over Easton Benson (ACGC) 26-10 (Fall 1:08)

Cons. Round 3 - Easton Benson (ACGC) 26-10 won by fall over Carson Hilgenberg (Coon Rapids- Bayard) 24-23 (Fall 3:47)

3rd Place Match - Easton Benson (ACGC) 26-10 won by decision over Weston Pote (West Central Valley) 31-10 (Dec 11-5)

145 lb: Gabe Rowley (37-10) placed 5th and scored 8.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Gabe Rowley (ACGC) 37-10 received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal - Quinn Corcoran (Van Meter) 27-11 won by fall over Gabe Rowley (ACGC) 37-10 (Fall 1:24)

Cons. Round 2 - Gabe Rowley (ACGC) 37-10 won by fall over Josh Mansfield (Riverside) 24-16 (Fall 3:50)

Cons. Round 3 - Keaton Wilson (Clarion-Goldfield) 23-10 won by tech fall over Gabe Rowley (ACGC) 37-10 (TF-1.5 4:08 (17-1))

5th Place Match - Gabe Rowley (ACGC) 37-10 won by decision over Austin Wilson (Nodaway Valley) 19-12 (Dec 9-8)

170 lb: Gavin Cornelison (24-13) placed 8th and scored 6.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Gavin Cornelison (ACGC) 24-13 won by decision over Aaron McAlister (Coon Rapids-Bayard) 25-17 (Dec 11-6)

Quarterfinal - Brock Wuebker (Greene County) 19-2 won by fall over Gavin Cornelison (ACGC) 24- 13 (Fall 3:08)

Cons. Round 2 - Carter Dietz (Clarion-Goldfield) 23-19 won by major decision over Gavin Cornelison (ACGC) 24-13 (MD 13-2)

Cons. Round 3 - Gavin Cornelison (ACGC) 24-13 won by fall over Gunner Powell (West Central Valley) 13-21 (Fall 5:01)

7th Place Match - Garret Fox (Panorama) 29-12 won by fall over Gavin Cornelison (ACGC) 24-13 (Fall 1:27)

195 lb: Ben Kingery (33-12) placed 5th and scored 12.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Ben Kingery (ACGC) 33-12 received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal - Ben Kingery (ACGC) 33-12 won by major decision over Carson Peterson (Manson Northwest Webster) 17-17 (MD 17-4)

Semifinal - Sam Wigans (Clarion-Goldfield) 26-5 won by fall over Ben Kingery (ACGC) 33-12 (Fall 4:31)

Cons. Round 3 - Bryce Vanderlune (Southeast Warren) 24-12 won by fall over Ben Kingery (ACGC) 33-12 (Fall 3:07)

5th Place Match - Ben Kingery (ACGC) 33-12 won by decision over Jacob MacVey (Nevada) 18-19 (Dec 10-9)

285lb: Gage Buttler (22-21) placed 6th and scored 10.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 - Gage Buttler (ACGC) 22-21 won by fall over Bryant Dutcher (Ogden) 10-21 (Fall 1:53)

Quarterfinal - Tyler Lawrenson (Woodward-Granger) 34-5 won by fall over Gage Buttler (ACGC) 22-21 (Fall 0:34)

Cons. Round 2 - Gage Buttler (ACGC) 22-21 won by fall over Camdan Vincent (Nevada) 15-15 (Fall 1:33)

Cons. Round 3 - Xavier Nichols (Southeast Valley) 41-5 won by decision over Gage Buttler (ACGC) 22-21

(Dec 3-2)

5th Place Match - Hunter Holmes (Panorama) 23-18 won by fall over Gage Buttler (ACGC) 22-21 (Fall 2:35)

Team Scores

Clarion-Goldfield 236.5

Van Meter 212

Underwood 164.5

Wood-Granger 141.5

AHSTW 116

SE Valley 117

WC Valley 107.5

Panorama 101

SE Warren 97.5

Riverside 89.5

Manson-NWWeb 85

Green County 80

ACGC 77

Nodaway Valley 64.5

Tri-Center 54

Ogden 50.5

CRB 21

Nevada 16