McGowan advances with upset win

Sokolik, Thacher fall in Thursday wrestling at state tournament

BY CHUCK VANDENBERG
PCC EDITOR

DES MOINES - Jakob McGowan looked at the clock about a dozen times during his first round match at the IHSAA State Wrestling Tournament in Des Moines Thursday.

It's nothing that Head Coach Ryan Smith likes to see from his wrestlers, but it did the trick as McGowan held off 5th-seeded, and 6th-ranked Sean Mwangi of Waverly-Shell Rock 5-3 to advance to Friday's 2nd round of the championship bracket at Wells-Fargo Arena.

"It was a tough match. I think he was seeded 5th and I'm 10th. I went out there and did my thing and wrestled hard. I knew he liked to do a blast double and he'll cross ya and then sit there," McGowan said after advancing Thursday.

Smith said McGowan didn't slow down the entire match.

"Jakob has an ability to wrestle every second of the match and that's good because if you take a snooze on someone up here, it's not going to end well," Smith said

"He wrestled every second of the match. It was nip and tuck. It looks like he's in trouble and then he hits that switch and that kept him out of danger."

McGowan will now take on 3rd-ranked Colin Driscoll in the quarterfinals. Driscoll (28-6) of Waukee was seeded 4th in the 170 lb. draw and is 3rd in the final IAWrestle rankings. With a win, McGowan would secure a spot on the podium for the top eight positions. With a loss, he would slip into the consolation bracket and face Waterloo East's Eli Sallis (27-9).

McGowan appeared to have scored a takedown at the circle in the early going of the first two minute period, but the officials said the action took place out of the circle. About a minute later, Mwangi got control of McGowan in the center of the ring, but only momentarily and was awarded 2 points for a takedown. However, the two officials conferred and waived the points off, leaving the match at 0-0.

"Thankfully, the ref reversed his decision because the same thing happened to Jakob earlier and he didn't get those points - so it was good to see them converse and reverse that. You don't see that happen very often," Smith said.

In the second period, McGowan chose to start on the bottom and, after 1:10, scored an escape and then converted the move into a control position for two points on the takedown to lead 3-0. Mwangi would record an escape out of a restart with just a few seconds left in the 2nd period to cut the lead to 3-1.

Mwangi would start down in the third period to try and catch a quick escape point, which he did 33 seconds into the period. On the regroup, McGowan was able to take advantage of both wrestlers falling in the grasp to gain an advantage with less than a minute left and a 5-2 lead. Mwandi would escape again for the 5-3 score with :24 left in the regulation.

The two would end up twisted together in front of the chairs of Smith and assistant coach Andrew Cartwright, who were both out of their chair shouting coaching instructions. Mwandi seemed to be close to gaining control, but McGowan grabbed his ankle in the final five seconds to prevent the two-point control that would have tied the match up, and was able to run the clock out.

McGowan said it was pretty neat wrestling in that environment and was looking forward to the quarterfinals.

"I feel good about it. This kid's just one seed above the other kid," McGowan said, "They say he's good on his feet."

Daniel Sokolik, wrestling in his first ever state tournament, lost in the first round and then again in the first round consolations.

The first match against Trystin Irvin, a Valley West Des Moines junior who's ranked No. 2 in the state at 220 lbs.

Sokolik got behind early with a takedown at :17 into the match and then Irvin was able to move him into two nearfalls for an 8-0 lead after the first period. Sokolik was able to fight off the pins in the first period, but a second period takedown nine seconds off the whistle turned into a fall, sending the junior into consolation wrestling.

He took on Western Dubuque's Dakota Hoffman (36-4) in the consolation bracket. Hoffman had an 8-0 lead early on after a takedown at 1:23 and then two 3-point nearfalls. Hoffman had Sokolik in a package, but the Bloodhound was able to use his legs and roll the hold over for a 2-point reversal and had his opponent on the ropes before the period break.

Hoffman went right back to work with another pin and nearfall, but Sokolik again fought off the fall for the rest of the period, but trailed 13-2. The third period started with Sokolik on top and Hoffman escaped, but Sokolik would score a takedown five seconds later. The junior couldn't make hay of the hold so he let Hoffman go in hopes of getting another quick grab and 2 points looking for a position he could score a pin with.

Hoffman was cautioned for stalling at :37, but then got a final takedown with :15 left to seal the win, 17-4.

Sokolik said the matches just added to his experience and he would be back next year, hopefully wrestling at heavyweight.

"It was a great experience. At the beginning of the season, I didn't think I'd even be here. I just came out to help with football," Sokolik said.

"But then I get to come here and do this. Next year I'm coming back as a heavyweight. I'll have to put on about 25 to 30 pounds of muscle to get to 250. I don't wanna be fat, so I'm gonna have some work to do."

Thacher, who dropped both his matches at 195, said he wasn't mentally prepared well enough.

"It means a lot just being here, but I kinda felt like I was in a funk in my matches. I think I could've won if I was in the right mindset. I just think I got in my own head a lot. But it was a good learning experience."

Thacher, just a sophomore, suffered a pin at the hands of Andrew Reed of Southeast Polk, the 3rd-ranked wrestler at 193 in 3A, in 1:26 of the first period. He then fell to Evan Surface, a senior out of Epworth Western Dubuque, halfway through the second period.

Thacher said it wasn't the environment that distracted him.

"I don't think the crowd affected me. I think I got in my own head a lot. I'd like work on the mental part of it more - try to get past the mental barrier, but I think it was a good learning experience."

Smith said the losses will hurt, but both Thacher and Sokolik have the right mindset and will use them to lead into next year and try to return to the tournament.

"They both are loose and goofy in a good way. They're disappointed but they're not going to throw a fit about it - and the good thing is they both have another chance. They've felt the environment. It's a huge experience and they'll help be leaders for the future," he said.