Rams fourth at district wrestling meet

    Glenwood wrestling coach Matt Dyer had mixed emotions following his team's finish at the Class 3A District Wrestling Meet on Saturday at Johnston High School.

    Dyer's squad placed fourth as a team, just 16 points behind district champion Council Bluffs Lewis Central and had five wrestlers advance on to this week's state wrestling meet in Des Moines. The Rams' five qualifiers are the most since the 2005-2006 season.
    But Dyer thought his team had put itself into position, after a strong early day at districts, to seize one of those top two team spots and get as many as eight wrestlers on to state.
    “I thought as a team we would have a shot at the top two and we fell short,” said Dyer. “So I do feel bad for the team. Qualifying for Regional Duals was one of our goals and we missed that.  We had a shot at eight guys going to state and came out with five. I feel bad for the guys that lost that wrestle back but they did everything they could to put them in a position to get there.
    “I also feel bad for the seniors that didn’t make it. They worked really hard over the past four years and a few came short of accomplishing their goals. Taking five to state is a great accomplishment for this team and the wrestling program. Its been awhile  since we had that many guys go.”
    The five Ram state qualifiers took a rather circuitous route to state. Jon Williams (171 pounds) was Glenwood's only district champion. Billy Lucy (103), Sam Jameson (112), Nate Harms (130) and Steve Gutschenritter (135) all lost in their championship matches to reach state. But Glenwood went just 1-3 in wrestle backs – Gutschenritter won his match by fall – to close out the day, just missing their most state qualifiers in nearly a decade.
    “Having eight guys get that chance to state was really good too,” said Dyer. “We had four guys in the wrestle backs and they fought hard to get there. Steve took care of business and won his wrestle back with a fall. The Clark boys (A.J. and Josh) went out and fought hard but came up short. I am really proud of Alex Reinert. He did everything he could to give himself a shot and fought hard.
    Reinert just missed qualifying for his first state meet, falling in a second place match to Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson's Cody Hammers.
     The state wrestling meet kicks off at the Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday. Class 3A matched begin Thursday morning at 9 a.m. and continue through Saturday.
    “We had a great regular season and now its time to get ready for the big show,” said Dyer. “These five guys are very capable of placing at State. We’ve talked about it all year and it’s a major goal for each one of them. Now we have to go out and do it. I am proud of this team and what they have accomplished this year and I am proud of these guys getting to state.”

3A Districts
Team Results
    1. Council Bluffs Lewis Central, 211.5. 2, Urbandale, 189. 3. West Des Moines Dowling, 184. 4. Glenwood, 173.  5. Waukee, 142.5. 6. Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson, 117. 7. Johnston, 54. 8. Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, 42.5.

Glenwood State Qualifiers
    103: Billy Lucy, second place. 112: Sam Jameson, second place. 130: Nate Harms, second place. 135: Steve Gutschenritter, second place. 171: Jon Williams, first place.