Abbas on to state, Lashbrook denied fourth trip

CLARKSVILLE — Even though it meant leaving three-time state place winner Trey Lashbrook out of the mix, AGWSR head wrestling coach Chad Gerbracht wasn’t completely surprised his only state qualifier this season was freshman Kaden Abbas.

The 120-pounder is just that good and Gerbracht also knew that Lashbrook was coming off no off-season after shoulder surgery for the senior 126-pound wrestler.

“I thought (we had) two really good shots,” Gerbracht said. “Two outside shots and one really hard to get in. We were expecting him (Abbas) to get through here.

“He wrestled well today. He put himself in the driver’s seat in that first match, the all-important match. You take care of that and the rest of the day figured itself out and he did that.”

Abbas had wrestled his semifinal opponent, Northwood-Kensett’s Treycen Rollene, at the AGWSR home tournament last month, pinning him last time as well. He fell behind in both matches.

“Same result,” Gerbracht said. “That (falling behind) happened last time, too, we talked about that, too. It’s going to come down to the bottom work. He never moved, he struggled on bottom from that position. A lot of times, he locks up, freezes up. He got it figured out, created the reversal and was in control.”

As for Abbas, he found it unreal that he was the Cougars’ lone qualifier.

“I don’t know, it’s a lot to take in and just a big deal,” Abbas said. “It’s always what you want to do. It’s amazing. It’s why you wrestle, why you work for it.”

Lashbrook gave up a literal last-second takedown against South Winneshiek’s Ethan Maldonado in the 126-pound semifinal and, although he came back to win the third-place match, didn’t get the chance to wrestleback.

“I feel real bad for him,” Gerbracht said. “It was one of those situations, he wasn’t 100 percent coming into this year, shoulder surgery, still not 100 percent. He gave it his best shot.

“I tell the kids all of the time: you may get down there only one time and never get back again. Strange things happen. This is a top-quality kid. Great individual, good leader. I can not say one bad thing about the kid. He’s given us everything.”

Lashbrook’s final match sent him off a winner, earning a 15-0 tech fall over Nashua-Plainfield’s Kaden Wilken in 4 minutes, 26 seconds. He earned his 100th career match win as a junior and finished 2020-21 with a 12-2 record.

“A great role model for our young kids and walked off the mat like a champion, didn’t throw a fit, cry,” Gerbracht said. “I asked him to give me one more good match and he did that.

“He’s a winner: he made a name for himself on the mat — someone we could count on, very consistent.”

The Cougars’ three other district qualifiers finished fourth, including Zach Johnson (138), Jayden Bowles (145) and Ben Puente (160).

“We’ve got some young guys,” Gerbracht said. “Zach Johnson, our other senior, another tremendous leader. (He had) only two wins as a junior high wrestler, got pretty close to 100 (career) wins. A two-time district qualifier. Good academically, a leader in the classroom.

“(We have) three district qualifiers coming back: Ben Puente at 160, still growing, got to get stronger. Jayden Bowles, a complete 180 from last year as far as result, so that’s nice to have that coming back in. Others who are right there, too. They’ve got some shoes to fill. A good season.”

Abbas, who didn’t have to wrestleback, said that was a relief.

“(It was) because I wrestled (Arjes) last week and the outcome was pretty much the same,” Abbas said. “He just cranks on you and just makes you really sore, takes your breath away.”

Abbas doesn’t have it easy in his first bout at state. His first-round match is against top-seeded Marcel Lopez (56-0) of New London.

“You’ve got to be ready for anything, really,” Abbas said of preparing for the state meet. “Focus on your first match and whatever happens, go from there.”

Class 1A District 4

Team scoring

1. Lake Mills 92; 2. Central Springs 79.5; 3. Nashua-Plainfield 70; 4. South Hamilton 65; 5. South Winneshiek 49; 6. Riceville 40.5; 7. North Butler-Clarksville 39; 8. West Fork 29.5; 9. Nothwood-Kensett 27.5; 10. Tripoli 26; 11. St. Ansgar 24.

AGWSR results only

120— Championship match, Tanner Arjes (NB-C) won by tech fall over Kaden Abbas (AGWSR) 16-1 (4:48). No wrestleback.

126— Third-place match, Trey Lashbrook (AGWSR) won by tech fall over Kaden Wilken (N-P) 15-0 (4:26). No wrestleback.

138— Third-place match, Aiden Sullivan (N-P) dec. Zach Johnson (AGWSR) 11-6.

145— Third-place match, Preston Prazak (CS) pinned Jayden Bowles (AGWSR) 5:04.

160— Third-place match, Giles Cowell (Trip) pinned Ben Puente 4:15.

First-round match

120– Kaden Abbas, AGWSR (25-12) vs. Marcel Lopez, New London (56-0).