By Sam Kringlen

Tristan Wirfs claimed a wrestling state championship Saturday night, earning a medal to add to his list of accolades.  Nelson Brands of Iowa City West lived up to his family legacy by earning his second wrestling championship, and three out of six of the possible team titles were earned by the Lisbon Lions and Solon Spartans, two schools within a 10 mile radius.

Tristan Wirfs was the lone Mustang wrestler to advance to the finals in the 2017 season after considering whether or not to wrestle at all his senior year.  Before he wrestled he felt pretty sick.  “I was coming down with the flu to be honest the hours leading up to my match.  I stayed calm and collected throughout the tournament because I would’ve been happy to just make it onto the podium, finding myself in the finals was just the cherry on top,” Wirfs said.  His match showed his football skills as a linemen, glimpsing into the sport he will continue at the University of Iowa.  To end the match and secure his victory, it looked as if he was blocking his opponent John McConkey, using his long reach to shove McConkey’s head backwards.  After the match he was excited to win in front of many family members and friends, head coach Vance Light jumping into Wirfs’s arms and Wirfs jumping into coach Truitt’s arms.

Solon’s Bryce and Drew West had one final shot to both stand atop the podium the same year, but Drew fell short in a close finals match to Michael Millage 3-2.  Their match was high stakes for the both of them as both had at least one championship already, West with two finals appearances and Millage with three.  Their match almost decided the team victory for Solon too.

Cael Happel followed in his brother Carter Happel’s footsteps by securing a chance to be another four timer with a championship as a freshmen at 113 pounds.  His season started out promising by beating the then number one ranked wrestler.  Teammate Cobe Siebrecht was also a state finalist for the Lions.