Four Adel-Desoto-Minburn Tiger wrestlers are two wins away from a spot in Iowa State Wrestling tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The Tiger grapplers will compete this afternoon in the Class 2A District 4 tournament hosted by Harlan. Representing ADM at the district tournament by Andrew Flora (113), Nolan Harsh (152), Leo Tauke (195), and Kaden Sutton (220). Flora and Harsh are two-time state qualifiers while Tauke and Sutton are first-time district qualifiers.
The Raccoon Valley Radio Network caught up with the four district wrestlers at practice earlier this week to discuss advancing their season to the district tournament. Flora said a lot of practice time has been put into achieving this opportunity. “These four guys all year have put in a lot of hard work in and out of practice,” Flora said, “So have the other guys but us four especially and it feels good to have it pay off.” Flora is looking for his third straight trip to Wells Fargo Arena, taking fourth place in last year’s Class 2A 106 weight class.
At least six other grapplers were in ADM’s wrestling room Wednesday helping the foursome prepare for today’s tournament. Harsh appreciate the dedication of his teammates who had their season end last weekend, “The next time there wrestling is next season that’s just showing that they are planning ahead and that they are already wanting to be better next year.” Harsh said, “They weren’t happy where they were at the end of the season, so I like that.”
Of the four guys who made it to districts, the most unlikely qualifier is senior Leo Tauke. Tauke, the fourth seed in the 195-pound bracket, found a way into districts with a sudden victory in his true second-place match against Greene County’s Bryce Hoyle. His reward is a matchup with Class 2A’s No. 2 Nick Foss of Harlan. Tauke says he plans to leave it all out on the mat. “I know I have a tough ahead of me at districts, but I’m going to keep wrestling like I have been.” Tauke said, “That’s all I can do.”
Finally, Sutton says he’s closing in on his preseason objective. “The goal at the start of the year was to get to Wells Fargo,” Sutton said, “I’m just a couple matches away, so I’ll keep grinding.”
First matches of the Class 2A District 4 tournament start at noon in Harlan. Listen to the Raccoon Valley Radio’s local sports page Monday for results and who advanced to state.