Two State Runner Up Finishes for Warrior Wrestlers
The Waukee wrestling team capped off the most successful season in school history with a busy but productive week at Wells Fargo Arena. Four grueling days of wrestling yielded two state runner up trophies and eight top five individual medalists.
The Warriors began the week on Wednesday competing in the State Dual tournament. Waukee defeated #6 Iowa City High 41-27 in the quarter finals before knocking off #2 West Des Moines Valley for the second time this season in the semi finals 38-27. Top ranked Fort Dodge defeated Waukee 40-28 in the final. It was the first time Waukee had ever qualified for the dual tournament and their runner up finish was just the beginning of a record setting week for the Waukee wrestling program. Coach Vollmecke expressed pride in his team with, “Kids like Mason Seifried who had his heart broken at districts but came out and beat two ranked opponents at the duals while moving up a weight…that type of thing is what made this team and experience great. That type of fight.”
On Thursday, third ranked Waukee entered the traditional tournament as a long shot behind perennial state powers Southeast Polk and Fort Dodge. Waukee won 6 of 8 first round matches and all 8 wrestlers remained in medal contention after day one. The Warriors trailed top ranked Fort Dodge by 4.5 points.
On Friday, success continued as six Waukee wrestlers advanced to the semi final round, three won semi final matches and all eight wrestlers guaranteed medal spots. Fort Dodge extended their lead but Waukee was still second, trailing by 26 points.
The Warriors had a huge Saturday morning in the consolation semi finals and finals, winning 9 of 10 matches and catapulting into the lead going into Saturday night’s final round. According to Coach Vollmecke, “These boys simply decided that they were going to do everything they could for this team by being their absolute best. They beat a total of 7 opponents who had beaten them previously this season. That’s what made this weekend special. You can’t coach that kind of heart.”
In the finals, Kyle Biscoglia won his 3rd straight state championship defeating Ben Monroe of Ankeny Centennial 9-2. Anthony Zach and Brandon Tessau lost hard fought matches and Waukee finished second in the team standings losing to Fort Dodge by just five points. “The finalists led by Kyle have been great leaders all season and throughout their careers. It was special to see Kyle go out on top, never losing a match in Wells Fargo”, added Vollmecke.
In all, eight Waukee wrestlers qualified for state and all eight placed in the top five. Warrior wrestlers combined to win 33 of the 41 matches they wrestled and scored 139 team points. In addition, Head Coach Chad Vollmecke was named State Coach of the Year.
Waukee State Tournament qualifiers and their state place
106lbs. Lucas Uliano 3rd
113lbs. Nick Miller 3rd
120lbs. Kyle Biscoglia 1st
126lbs. Cody Anderson 5th
145lbs. Brock Parker 4th
170lbs. Anthony Zach 2nd
182lbs. Brandon Tessau 2nd
285lbs. Nathan McDonald 3rd
Waukee Dual Team members
Cody Anderson, Connor Arndt, Kyle Biscoglila, Thurman Christensen, Gabe Gammell, Andrew Hembry, Trevor Imm, Jared Johnson, Connor Kelley, Nathan McDonald, Kyler Medhurst, Nick Miller, Jake Morrison, Brock Parker, Jermaine Sammler, Marcus Schneider, Mason Seifried, Jack Smith, Brandon Tessau, Cael Thorson, Lucas Uliano, Zach Wahlberg, Anthony Zach
