BURLINGTON — An Iola Middle School squad consisting almost entirely of newcomers to the wrestling world opened its 2012 season Thursday at Burlington.
Among the newcomers, seventh-grader Blake Mittelmeier tasted the most success, sweeping past all three of his opponents to win a gold medal.
Mittelmeier defeated Koltan Gibson of Burlington 7-1, Nick Johnson of Burlington 4-1 and Jacob Davies of Burlington 7-6.
“Blake had never wrestled a day in his life before this season,” Pony wrestling coach Cameron Jesseph said. “For him to get first place his first time out says a lot about how much he’s learned.”
Eighth-grader Seth Sanford, one of only two IMS wrestlers with previous wrestling experience at the middle school level, took first among three competitors, defeating Merrick Millar of Fredonia 13-1 and Austin Schrimscher of Cherryvale 1-0.
“Seth wrestled guys who were quite a bit heavier than he was,” Jesseph said. “He’s a good athlete.”
The Burlington matches consisted of divisions of four wrestlers. Some were grouped together by weight; others by experience and skill level, Jesseph said. The top two finishers earned gold and silver medals.
Eighth-grader R.J. Holding went 1-2 on the day, losing to Anthony Clark of Burlington 10-8 and Rico Cherico of Cherryvale on a third-round pin. He rebounded to defeat Zack Jarred of Wellsville 7-3 in the finale.
Eighth-grader Dacoda Settlemyer, the other returnee for the Ponies, went 1-2. He defeated Aaron Mosher of Wellsville by a pin in the second round. He lost to Troy Miller of Fredonia by pin in the first round and to Cole Griffin of Cherryvale by a pin in the second round.
Isaiah Wicoff, a seventh-grader, went 0-3. He was pinned in the first round by Chance Todd of Caney Valley, by first-round pin to Jeff Adee of Wellsville and by first-round pin to Adam Pinkerton.
Quentin Mallette went 0-3, losing by first-round pins to Jacob Reynolds of Wellsville, T.J. Lang of Burlington and Tim Allen of Cherryvale.
Kendall Jay, an eighth-grader, found himself in one of the toughest brackets imaginable. He lost in a first-round pin to Levi Barron, who has won a state wrestling title as a youth, then to Quentin Payne of Burlington by a first-round pin. He lost his third match to Zane Stanton of Caney Valley by a technical fall. Stanton happens to be a national youth wrestling champion.
Colten Toney, eighth-grader, wrestled Chase Ratzlaff in a best-of-three format.
Ratzlaff pinned Toney in the first match. Toney improved significantly in the second match, forging a tie score before a late point to Ratzlaff was the deciding factor. Jesseph said the score from the round was unavailable.
“All of these kids have improved a great deal,” Jesseph said, to the point they have a solid grasp of the fundamentals, allowing him to offer more advanced lessons during practice.
Jesseph is a two-time high school wrestling champion out of Chanute and a three-time state finalist.
“These are some great kids,” he said. “They’re hard workers and they’re smart.”
IMS opens wrestling season
