Newton’s Amos climbs podium at state tournament

DES MOINES — Brennan Amos’ most impressive match at the Iowa High School State Wrestling Championships may have been the one he lost by major decision.

Amos lost 13-4 to top-ranked Hunter Garvin of Iowa City West. But because Garvin wins most of his matches by fall or technical fall, simply going the distance could have been viewed as a major win by some.

“For a few minutes, you think about the dream of winning it and that not happening after that loss,” Amos said. “But after you step back from it, that kid’s one of the best there is, and I was a couple moves away from taking him down and from making it a close match.”

Amos did plenty of winning at the state tournament. His first win came by injury default on Thursday and then he picked up a win by fall in the blood round on Friday to secure his first state medal.

In all, Amos was 3-2 for the weekend and placed seventh at 152 pounds. His teammate, Colin Sharp, got his first state win but did not medal after going 1-2 for the tournament.

Amos (18-3) lost just three times this season, all of which came against wrestlers who finished in the top six and were ranked in the top six.

“I feel like I gave it everything I had. At the end of the day, I just didn’t have enough,” Amos said. “We were in it with those guys. Besides the top two at our weight class, the bottom six are right there with each other. I expected to be on the podium.”

The first match for Amos on Thursday afternoon came against Little Hawkeye Conference rival Jacob Fistler, who came into the tournament ranked ninth.

Fistler (12-4) had been battling through an injury all season and it bit him again at state. He suffered an injury in the first period against Amos and was forced to default the win to the Cardinal senior.

“I have a lot of respect for the kid. It’s not the way I wanted to win, but at the end of the day I can’t stress about it,” Amos said.

The win by injury default set up a quarterfinal matchup with Garvin, who is ranked No. 1 in Iowa and No. 3 nationally by Flo Wrestling.

Garvin finished the season 48-0, won the 152-pound state title and dominated most of his opponents. Amos lasted all six minutes and lost 13-4 but was not upset at how he wrestled at all.

“We were happy with the match against Garvin. That was as impressive as you can look in a major decision,” Newton head wrestling coach Adam Hale said. “And he was close in matches against guys going for third and fifth. He was in the mix with some of the best guys in the state.”

In the blood round, Amos stayed alive and earned a spot on the podium with a win by pin over Clinton’s Brooke Peters (19-15).

No. 8 Amos took the lead for good in the match when he scored an early takedown in the second period. That made it 6-4 and he built the lead to 13-7 before scoring a win by pin in the third period.

Peters timed up the opening whistle perfectly and got in on a leg of Amos early. The Cardinal grappler fought off the shot but did give up a late takedown in the first that tied the match at 4-all.

“Adversity is something that comes natural for me. That takedown didn’t bother me much after what I have been through this year,” Amos said. “The game plan was to stick to my stuff and stay out of his ties. I pushed the pace a little more after he took me down.”

In his final match on Friday, Amos lost 7-5 to third-ranked Carter Cahill of Ankeny Centennial. That pushed Amos directly to the seventh-place match. Cahill (36-7) lost his next two matches and finished sixth overall.

In the seventh-place match, Amos got an early takedown against seventh-ranked Cayden Langreck (16-4) of Waverly-Shell Rock and then used a strong ride to eventually win by fall with a cradle.

“I wanted to get a little further than that, but sometimes you get what you earn. I gave it my all. That’s all that matters,” Amos said. “I like wrestling on my feet, but it felt good to get a good ride. I tried getting a standing tilt, but I was able to win it with the cradle.”

Sharp (20-11) opened his 160-pound bracket against seventh-ranked Andrew Price of West Des Moines Valley.

Price forced Sharp to the backside of the bracket after a 14-4 win and then joined Sharp at 1-2 after losing his next two matches.

Sharp stayed alive following a win by fall in his elimination wrestle back match. The pin came in the first period.

“It feels great to win a match here,” Sharp said. “I had jitters in the first match. I felt like all my shots were there in the second match.”

Sharp and Amos were put at opposite ends of the arena from each other during the blood round. While Amos was locking up his first state medal on Mat 8, Sharp was being eliminated on Mat 1 against 10th-ranked Kael Scranton of Iowa City West. Scranton (29-13) won the match 12-4 to advance and eventually finished seventh in the weight class.

“We got down a little bit early. Colin hit his stride in the second period, but he came up a little bit short,” Hale said. “I was proud of the way he bounced back to get the win after the first loss. He did a good job shifting his focus to the next match. He got to a shot early and that was big for him.”

Notes: Amos’ third loss this season came to Johnston’s Braden Blackorby. He lost to Brackorby 2-1 in a weekend tournament earlier this season. Blackorby (31-5) came into the state tournament ranked sixth and finished fourth. … Hale recently resigned from his post as head wrestling coach and has accepted a teaching and coaching position in the Pella school district. He will begin his next journey in the fall after spending nine years in the Newton district and two years as head wrestling coach. He’s not sure yet what his role will be with the Pella wrestling program. “I enjoyed my time here. I wasn’t looking to leave,” Hale said. “The doors at Pella kept opening and I just tried to push them shut. More opportunities came and this time there were wrestling opportunities. When it comes down to it, my boys are getting to the point where they are starting activities so I want to be around them for that. I will have more time to do that when I live on the same street I will be teaching at.”