Mount Vernon's Mikey Ryan is finally a finalist and Decorah's "in the hunt" for team title

DES MOINES — Mikey Ryan’s crimson-dotted face told the story of his four-year mat-based odyssey.

A bloody nose. Cracked lips. A recent bruise by one eye and a less recent one by the other.

These wounds matter. These nicks, cuts and abrasions are fully earned. And all Mount Vernon’s top-ranked and unbeaten 157-pound senior needed to do to reveal their deeper meaning was calmly raise his forefinger to indicate there’s merely one more match to win to finally join two of his older brothers as a state champion.

“One match, one goal,” said Ryan, who outlasted Anamosa’s fourth-seeded Hudson Scranton, 7-2, in Friday night’s Class 2A semifinal at 157 at the Iowa High School Athletic Association state wrestling meet at the Casey’s Center. “Don’t look ahead.”

Until now.

Ryan, a four-time medalist, watched two of his brothers, Trey and Paul, win state crowns. Brother Jacob was a state finalist, and brother Henry was a state medalist.

Now it’s his turn — and it’s all about him, but with deep gratitude attached.

“They’ve all helped me so much in my career,” said Ryan, who finished third, fourth and eighth in his previous trips to state. “But I’m doing it for me this time. In the past it was like, ‘Oh, let’s go do it to be another Ryan brother in the finals.’ No. It’s for me this time.”

Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont leads the 2A team standings with 112.5 points, but Decorah lurks close behind with 109 points. Alburnett’s in third with 93.5 points, Independence stands fifth with 88 points and West Delaware is ninth with 64.5 points.

The Vikings have never won a boys state wrestling title, but they’re very much into the hunt — and their third-seeded 165-pounder, William Fullhart, is a first-time finalist.

“It feels really good to be in the hunt, because there are a lot of things we can accomplish,” said Fullheart, whose father, Lee, won three state titles and is in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Good vibes abounded for Gazette-area wrestlers, as eight of them advanced to Saturday’s championship round.

Two of them — No. 1-seeded heavyweight Eagan Fleshman of Alburnett and second-seeded Lucas Feuerbach of Solon — are fast friends and frequent training partners who will face off for the third time this season.

Fleshman won the first two meetings, and has long considered colliding with Feuerbach in the state final as virtually inevitable.

“It’s gonna be a pretty good showcase,” Fleshman said.

Even though their friendship will be fully suspended for at least six minutes.

“He’s a great guy,” said Feuerbach, who placed second at 215 last season. “I have nothing against him, but it’s just wrestling. Nothing personal.”

Fleshman’s 144-pound Alburnett teammate, Owen Henriksen, also advanced to the finals, 4-2, by sticking a single-leg takedown of second-seeded Brady Patterson of Benton Community late in the third period — and then holding on for dear life.

“Stay composed at all costs,” Henriksen said. “No matter how rattled you may feel, or no matter how much pressure may be on you, you’ve just got to revert back to what you were taught.”

Union Community’s third-seeded 113-pounder Coy Mehlert has outscored his foe’s 45-3 en route to his first title bout.

“My offense is better than, I guess, a lot of people’s defense,” the junior and three-time medalist said.

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Solon’s second-seeded 106-pounder Anderson Osgood of Solon won his third straight match by technical fall to cruise into the finals.

“Never let yourself get to a point where you’re going to coast,” he said. “ There is always something to light a fire in you.”

He’ll face top seed Jackson Parmater of Vinton-Shellsburg In another all-Gazette-area championship bout.

“It’s gonna be a tough match,” said Parmater, who wrestled back to place fourth as a freshman last season. “I’ve beat him twice this year. He’s beat me once, so it should be a great match.”

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