State tournament success instills confidence in Bulldog wrestlers
State qualifiers Quinn McGeough, Gavin Kishman, Will Howes and Tacoma Thompson stand with coaches Collin Stubbs, Mike Meyer, Travis Johnson, Chet Bachman and Chip McGeough after returning from the state tournament. (Photo by Audrey Posten)
Senior Quinn McGeough, now a three-time state qualifier, placed sixth at 165 pounds in Class 1A. (Photo by Audrey Posten)
McGeough advanced to the semifinals after edging South Winneshiek’s Kyle Kuboushek 8-5. (Photo by John Jensen, The Outlook)
Junior Will Howes picked up two victories in Des Moines, including a fall against Hudson’s Alston Loeb (shown here). (Photo by Audrey Posten)
Howes and his coaches agreed that winning two matches provides good momentum for next season. (Photo by Audrey Posten)
Sophomore Gavin Kishman, wrestling at 138 pounds, was 1-2 at the state tournament. (Photo by Audrey Posten)
He picked up his first state victory in the consolations, out-lasting Treven Delagardelle of Jesup 9-6. (Photo by Audrey Posten)
113-pound freshman Tacoma Thompson wrestled hard in both his state matches. (Photo by Audrey Posten)
Thompson wrestled all six minutes against both Hunter Hodina of BGM, Brooklyn and Konner Keller from Earlham (pictured here). (Photo by Audrey Posten)
By Audrey Posten | Times-Register
Members of the MFL MarMac boys wrestling team are returning from the Iowa High School Athletic Association state tournament with wins, a medal and confidence for the future.
Leading the way is senior Quinn McGeough, now a three-time state qualifier, who placed sixth at 165 pounds in Class 1A. After an opening round bye, McGeough kicked off the tournament pinning Mason Hoyt of Iowa Valley, Marengo in just 33 seconds. He advanced to the semifinals after edging South Winneshiek’s Kyle Kuboushek 8-5. Kuboushek later placed third.
In the semifinals, he met top-ranked, undefeated Kyler Knaack of Don Bosco, who was vying for a third straight state title. Knaack pinned McGeough, sending him into the consolation semifinals against Hinton’s Jackson Kounkel, who also secured a fall. Clay Wilgenbusch of East Buchanan got the best of McGeough in the fifth-place match, winning in overtime.
While the loss to Knaack was tough, McGeough said he was thankful to have made the semifinals.
“After the match, I just wanted to get the next best thing...that was what I was focused on,” he reflected. “I was really sad after losing those last two matches, but once we did the grand march and I was on that podium, I felt super grateful.”
“Wins and losses don’t define me. I was just thankful to finally get a medal,” he concluded.
Co-head coach Chet Bachman was also happy to see McGeough’s success. The senior came into the state tournament with just two losses, after winning conference and district championships and beating wrestlers he previously lost to.
“Quinn has been working at this for a long time. It was nice to see him get what he deserved,” Bachman said. “You probably would have liked more, but I think placing top six and getting to the semifinals...What you did was very impressive, and how you did it.”
Like McGeough, junior heavyweight Will Howes opened the tournament with a win—a major decision over Maverrick Kalb of Treynor.
“It felt pretty good,” said Howes. “But I tried not to think about it too long and focus on the next match.”
Eighth place finisher Zach Teague from West Central Valley pinned him in the quarterfinals, but Howes rebounded on the back side of the bracket with a fall against Hudson’s Alston Loeb. Joel Cooper of Panorama later won by major decision to end Howes’s tourney run.
Winning two matches provides good momentum for next season, said Bachman.
“There were a lot of heavyweights in there who were seniors. He’s got some opportunities next year,” the coach stated. “Will, there are a lot of people looking forward to what you can do next year and take that next step.”
Howes agreed.
“It sucks to not get a medal, but it was a great thing to get me ready for next year,” he said.
Sophomore Gavin Kishman, wrestling at 138 pounds, dropped his opening match by major decision to New London’s Gage Burden, the eventual sixth-place finisher. He picked up his first state victory in the consolations, however, out-lasting Treven Delagardelle of Jesup 9-6.
“Going into my first match, I knew I didn’t have the best match-up, but I just had to put on my shoes and go to work and try to put myself in the best situation possible. I didn’t get the job done in the first match, but it felt really good to go down there and get a win against a highly talented Jesup senior,” Kishman said.
Kishman’s final match was an 11-8 loss to Dane DeVault from Underwood. He was proud of how he performed.
“Obviously the podium was the end goal, but I’m not too down on myself. This season prepared me for the next two upcoming years to be able to reach that goal,” Kishman said.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the way he wrestled. Six minutes each match. Wrestled some tough, hard-nose kids and battled the whole entire time,” Bachman added.
The coach felt Kishman “blossomed” this season.
“Had some ups and down and tough love, but he really responded well and matured. Because all of us coaches were helping him, it really gave him some support and confidence,” Bachman shared.
MFL MarMac’s youngest wrestler, 113-pound Tacoma Thompson, did not win either of his matches at state, but wrestled all six minutes against both Hunter Hodina of BGM, Brooklyn and Konner Keller from Earlham.
“The second match, he lost by a point. It was a great effort,” Bachman said.
As the coaches warned him, Thompson said being on the state mat for the first time “did feel like I was in quick sand for a little bit,” but it was a valuable learning experience.
“A lot to work on next year,” Thompson quipped. “High standards. I want to get a medal.”
The freshman’s progress is even more exciting, noted Bachman, because Thompson did not wrestle a season ago.
“We didn’t know if he was going to go out. He turned it into something special, and I think he got a lot out of it,” Bachman said.
Along with the wrestlers’ hard work and determination, Bachman credited the MFL MarMac coaches who pour time into the athletes. He, co-head coach Travis Johnson and assistants Collin Stubbs, Chip McGeough and Mike Meyer have been a consistent presence in the wrestling room for years.
Bachman said that’s important when MFL MarMac’s geography doesn’t give youth easy access to ever increasing clubs in bigger cities like Des Moines and Iowa City.
“We’re tucked up in an area that’s hard to find resources. We have to create our own resources and have good people around,” Bachman said. “We’ve got a real good situation here where coaches invest in these kids to make them better. We’ve got so many helping. What is really special is our past generation of kids come in and work out with them.”
“We might not be bringing home four state champs like [Don] Bosco, with guys who move in to the hot spot. We just do the best we can with what we’ve got and we give ‘er holy heck,” he added.
Johnson echoed those sentiments.
“Real magic, learning and growth happens when you have multiple people who have experience. These kids gravitate to the people they like working with,” Johnson said. “Chet has been the guiding light for everything. We can’t thank Chet enough for steering the ship and getting these guys to where they want to be.”
Johnson also credited the state qualifiers—the current and future team leaders—who continue to raise the bar for themselves, their teammates and future wrestlers.
“You successfully raise that bar when you come in and work hard every day. A lot of these guys, from youth all the way up, they see you, they watch you. When you come in the room and set that hard work ethic and expectation of how things go, it all rises up as one,” Johnson said.
