DISTRICT CHAMPS -- Wrestlers, coaches and cheerleaders from AHSTW show off the school’s district championship and “Off To State” banners after the Vikings placed first with 128.5 points and qualified six individuals for the state meet at Saturday afternoon’s Class 1A District Tournament in Oakland. (Photo courtesy of Sue Fischer Photography)

AHSTW 220-pounder Brady Canada (right) takes on Southwest Valley’s Tallen Myers in a district semifinal match. Canada pinned Myers in 4:42 and placed second to qualify for his first state meet.

AHSTW 120-pounder Elliot Young is congratulated by head coach Evan McCarthy (left) and assistant coach Austin Fink after winning his wrestleback match for second place at the district meet. (Photo courtesy of Sue Fischer Photography)

AHSTW coaches and wrestlers celebrate Elliot Young’s 21-5 technical fall victory over East Union’s Jarryn Stephens in a wrestleback match for second place at 120 pounds in Saturday’s 1A District Tournament. The Vikings advanced a school-record six wrestlers to the state meet. (Photo courtesy of Sue Fischer Photography)

VIKINGS MAKE HISTORY

Fri, 02/23/2018 - 4:00pm admin

Six AHSTW wrestlers qualify for this week’s state meet - a program best - as Vikings claim first district championship

OAKLAND (Feb. 10) -- Saturday marked another historic milestone for the AHSTW wrestling program.
Advancing six of their 10 district qualifiers to state, the Vikings claimed their first-ever district team title with 128.5 points at the Class 1A, District 5 Tournament in Oakland. AHSTW’s six state qualifiers is also a new high, surpassing the combined five qualifiers from Avo-Ha and Shelby-Tennant in 1986.
Led by top-ranked district champion Gabe Pauley at 170 pounds, the Viking contingent will head to Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines for the opening session of 1A state tournament competition on Thursday at 6:00 p.m.
“We were very proud of how well all 10 of our guys competed on Saturday,” said AHSTW head coach Evan McCarthy. “To have everyone finish third or better was fantastic and it was great to watch everyone have a role in winning our first district title. For the six moving on, we hope they can perform at their best and take it one match at a time. The competition will be tough but we will hopefully be at our best.”
Pauley (52-0) was the lone Viking district champ after rolling through his four-man bracket. The junior 170-pounder, who placed third at 160 last year at state, pinned Southwest Valley’s Merik Gaule in the first period before winning by an 18-7 major decision over Clarinda’s Jace Morgenstern.
The Vikings’ remaining state qualifiers all placed second on Saturday: sophomore Joel Sampson at 113 pounds; junior Elliot Young (120); senior Joe Kenkel (182), sophomore Gavyn Fischer (195) and sophomore Brady Canada (220).

VIKINGS MAKE HISTORY

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