Day 2 State Wrestling Report: Ayala Wins To Setup Epic Rematch, Phillips Back To Finals, Mcalister In Finals For SCC, SEV’S Graves Impressive In 1st Run

Day two of the State Wrestling tournament is now in the books. In Class 1A, Friday Night Blake Mcalister of South Central Calhoun won in the Semifinals by decision 2-1. He will now move to the Finals at 170 on Saturday Night. Pocahontas Area’s Dane Johnson dropped a heart breaker 7-6 in the Semifinals but will medal. West Bend Mallard’s Donavan Hanson dropped his Semifinal bout at 113 but will medal. West Hancock’s foursome of Kellen Smith, Bryer Subject, Matt Francis and Cole Kelly all lost Quarterfinal bouts but won consolation matches. That gives West Hancock four medalists, Coach Mark Sanger says it’s a major step forward for the program.

In 2A Southeast Valley’s Aaron Graves was impressive in his debut at State. Graves dropped his 1st match on Friday but bounced back and won his next two matches on Friday. Graves is a multi-sport standout who split time between basketball and wrestling this winter. He is the number 1 football recruit in Iowa’s Class of 2022 and has verbally committed to play at Iowa.

In 3A, Fort Dodge Freshman Dru Ayala dropped a 6-4 decision in the Semifinals at 106. Lane Cowell dropped one on Friday but won his consolation match at 120. Dru Ayala, Lane Cowell, Kody Cook and Max Bishop will all medal for the Dodgers. At 145, Dreyzon Phillips won 5-0 in the Semifinals and will move on to the Finals for the 2nd straight year. Drake Ayala won in the Semifinals 22-8, to advance to the State Finals at 132. That gives Fort Dodge multiple State Finalists for the 7th year in a row. It also sets up the epic rematch between Ayala and Ryder Block. Here’s Dodger Coach Bobby Thompson on the rematch.

Alpha Media Sports coverage of the State Tournament continues throughout the day on “Sunny” 99.7 and here on our website. Coverage of the consolation rounds begins at 10AM and the Finals are set to start at 6 PM.