DES MOINES, Iowa — Seth Sanford, an Iola Middle School eighth-grader, went 4-4 and finished one victory shy of earning All-American status at the AAU Middle School National Duals.
Sanford was a member of Team Kansas, earning the designation for winning a state tournament at 189 pounds in March. Sanford’s team was dubbed Kansas Tin Man.
Sanford opened pool play with a forfeit victory, then pinned Gus Cloud of Montana in 2 minutes, 41 seconds.
He lost by pin to Tim Abee of North Carolina in 2:21.
Sanford bounced back to defeat Michael Francis of Team ECCW with a pin in 2:06. He then fell to Triston Richardson of Iowa.
He opened gold medal bracket action by edging Ty Polson of Minnesota, 2-1, then pinning Skyler Powell of Montana in 36 seconds.
He dropped his final match of the tournament, losing by pin to Bailey Thompson of Panhandle Extreme in 2:22.
Kansas Tin Man took seventh, the first Kansas team to earn a top 10 finish in the tournament’s history.
Despite his accomplishments, Sanford expressed disappointment.
“I’m a little bummed,” he said, because he fell one win shy of being an All-American.
“He’ll feel better about it as time goes on,” his mother, Penny Sanford, said.
He is the son of Iolans Adam and Penny Sanford and has wrestled for the IMS and Allen County Wrestling Club teams.
Iolan narrowly misses All-American status at wrestling tourney
