Area 1A wrestlers see some wins, fall short of podium
By Kristi Nixon
DES MOINES — Although all three area Class 1A wrestlers fell short of their goal of reaching the podium, all of them earned at least one win to take away positive memories from the 2024 state tournament.
St. Ansgar seniors Regan Witt and Christian Michels both won their openers and then had to turn around a little later and wrestle the top-seeds in their respective weight classes, which both lost by fall.
“We came down here to wrestle, didn’t go our way all the time,” St. Ansgar coach Barry Kittleson said. “But I’m proud of the kids. They did a good job. I felt bad for Christian. He needed one more to make 100 wins. The thing that makes it significant is he missed half his freshman year and all of his sophomore year to injuries. Could have been 150. He didn’t wrestle until after Christmas (freshman year).”
Witt’s opponent, John McGill of Colfax-Mingo, went on to finish state runner-up at 165 pounds. Michels’ opponent. Tayten Coufal of Alburnett, lost in the semifinal and went on to finish sixth.
Witt rallied for an 11-8 decision over BGM’s Mason Maschmann only to lose by fall to Matthias Kohl of Lisbon in third-round consolation.
Despite getting out to an early 4-1 lead against Missouri Valley’s Luke Schroeder, the freshman got a takedown shortly after an escape and was able to turn Michels away with a pin.
After his win, Witt then had to go against a tradition-rich Matthias Kohl of Jesup, who got a quick takedown for the fall in 45 seconds.
“It’s too bad,” Kittleson said. “He could have wrestled that kid, but I know it was tight right when it happened.”
The full story, plus more photos, will be found in the Feb. 21 print and online editions of the Enterprise Journal.
