Three Charger wrestlers qualified for the state meet in Des Moines, with Gunnar Larsen capturing the gold in the district meet held yesterday in Truro. Blaine Beeler and Easton Benson finished second and will also make the trip to Wells Fargo Arena where the trio will compete this Thursday, February 14, with the 1A matches getting underway at 1:30 PM.

Larsen claimed his 132 lb title by virtue of an 8-5 decision over Joel Sampson of AHSTW after pinning Trent Terrell of Wayne in 2:57. Beeler took the runner up spot at 120 lb, winning his first match, but losing in the finals to Casey Baker of I-35 by fall. Benson had a similar fate, winning his initial match before losing in the finals to Sherman Hayes of East Union by fall.

Gabe Rowley at 145 lb lost in the semifinals to Kaleb Bauer of SE Warren before coming back to claim third place in a win over Elliott Ness of Central Decator by fall. Charger 195 pounder Ben Kingery took fourth place, losing to Antonaio Arzani of I-35 and Bryce Vanderlune of SE Warren.

Beeler will take a 35-9 record to Des Moines where his first round opponent at the state meet will be Mitchell Moore of Wapello whose record is 22-8. Larsen (32-5) will face Nolan Noonan (31-6) of Cascade in his first match, and Benson (22-11) will go up against Nate Mohanan (32-9) of Woodbury Central. Go Chargers!

120 lb

Semifinals - Blaine Beeler (AC/GC) over Randy Jimenez (Southeast Warren/Melcher-Dallas) (MD 10-2)

1st Place Match - Casey Baker (Interstate 35) over Blaine Beeler (AC/GC) (Fall 2:49)

2nd Place Match - Blaine Beeler (AC/GC) over Randy Jimenez (Southeast Warren/Melcher-Dallas) (RULE)

132 lb

Semifinals - Gunnar Larsen (AC/GC) over Trent Terrell (Wayne) (Fall 2:57)

1st Place Match - Gunnar Larsen (AC/GC) over Joel Sampson (AHSTW) (Dec 8-5)

138 lb

Semifinals - Easton Benson (AC/GC) over Tay VanDyne (Wayne) (Fall 1:11)

1st Place Match - Sherman Hayes (East Union) over Easton Benson (AC/GC) (Fall 4:32)

2nd Place Match - Easton Benson (AC/GC) over Tay VanDyne (Wayne) (RULE)

145

Semifinals - Kaleb Bauer (Southeast Warren/Melcher-Dallas) over Gabe Rowley (AC/GC) (MD 11-1)

2nd Place Match - Kaleb Bauer (Southeast Warren/Melcher-Dallas) over Gabe Rowley (AC/GC) (RULE)

3rd Place Match - Gabe Rowley (AC/GC) over Elliot Ness (Central Decatur) (Fall 3:05)

195

Semifinals - Antonio Arzani (Interstate 35) over Ben Kingery (AC/GC) (Fall 5:37)

3rd Place Match - Bryce Vanderlune (Southeast Warren/Melcher-Dallas) over Ben Kingery (AC/GC) (Fall 2:44)

Team scores

Interstate 35 100

Panorama 73

SE Warren 68

AHSTW 66

Mount Ayr 56

ACGC 55

WCV 47

Bed-Lenox 34