Fairfield’s wrestling team delivered a strong performance in front of their home crowd at the Southern Iowa Classic on Saturday, January 31st, finishing second in the team standings with 152 points. Fort Madison claimed the team title with 199 points in the six-team tournament.
Team Standings
Fort Madison dominated the tournament with 199 points, followed by Fairfield (152), Mount Pleasant (139.5), Burlington (103.5), Washington (110.5), and Keokuk (92.5).
Individual Champions
Jasper Carpenter (132 lbs) captured his first varsity tournament championship with an impressive 3-0 performance. Carpenter opened with a comeback victory over Clayton Bartholomew of Washington, trailing 8-3 and then 9-5 before rallying to pin his opponent in the second period (3:02). He continued his strong showing with a second-period fall in 2:55 over Darren Roberts of Keokuk after building a 9-3 lead. In the last match, Carpenter dominated Easton Richers of Fort Madison with a technical fall in the second period (3:17) by a score of 18-3 to claim first place.
Dusty Haynes (150 lbs) also earned his first varsity tournament title with a perfect 4-0 record. The sophomore opened with a technical fall in the second period (2:24) over Landon Yocum of Mount Pleasant, winning 18-2. He followed with a first-period fall in 1:16 over Junior Valdez of Washington, then posted a hard-fought 4-0 decision over Gavin LeMaster of Keokuk. In the championship match, Haynes dominated Ryker Peters of Fort Madison with a technical fall in the second period (2:31), winning 16-0 to claim first place.
Dain Burkhart (175 lbs) completed a 3-0 tournament run to earn his bracket championship. Burkhart won his opening match by fall in the third period (5:24) over Cliff Stewart after building a 13-5 lead. He continued with a second-period fall in 2:57 over Mark Chenoweth of Washington, then captured the championship with a second-period fall in 3:29 over Adrian Perez-Hall of Burlington.
The victory over Perez-Hall, who is ranked in the weight class, was particularly significant. Burkhart had lost to Perez-Hall three times previously this season at the Ottumwa Wrestling Invitational, the Mike Halupnick Big Red Invite in Centerville, and the conference dual against Burlington. After finally defeating his rival, Burkhart displayed remarkable class and sportsmanship. According to Burkhart, he told Perez-Hall after the match: “You are the best kid I’ve wrestled on my feet, and I expect to see you on the podium at state.”
Other Individual Performances
Noah Patel (106 lbs) finished second after winning his opening match by first-period fall in 1:11 over Adan Oronia of Fort Madison. He fell in the championship match to Aven Beauchamp of Mount Pleasant by technical fall at the end of the third period (6:00), 17-2.
Kenneth Houston (165 lbs) placed second with a 1-1 record. Houston won his opening match by first-period fall in 1:14 over Zeke Scott of Keokuk but lost to Jack Benner of Fort Madison by first-period fall (1:50) in the championship match.
Quinn Settles (113 lbs) filled in for an injured Cael McCabe and finished third after going 0-2. Settles lost to Gavin Navarre of Burlington by first-period fall in 49 seconds and to Zane Houtz of Fort Madison by first-period fall (1:15).
Kohda Higdon (120 lbs) placed third with a 2-2 record. Higdon opened with a technical fall victory in the second period (3:15) over Cole Quittem of Fort Madison, winning 19-4. He lost to Brody Bolander of Burlington by technical fall in the third period (4:15), 17-2, then fell to Levi Evans of Mount Pleasant by first-period fall in 29 seconds. Higdon bounced back to claim third place with a major decision victory of 11-3 over Ashton Droege of Keokuk.
Ezekiel Moore (138 lbs) finished fourth with a 1-3 record. Moore won his opening match by first-period fall in 39 seconds over Oliver Schelich of Fort Madison but lost his next three matches by fall to Caden Greiner of Washington (1:26 in the first period), Charlie Bohnenkamp of Mount Pleasant (2:25 in the second period), and Roy Brown of Burlington (1:31 in the first period).
Aiden Holthus (157 lbs) placed fourth with a 1-3 record. Holthus opened with a first-period fall in 1:03 over Brenden McLeod of Keokuk but lost to Peter Seyb of Fort Madison by fall in the second period (3:02), Ramzy Davis of Mount Pleasant by first-period fall (1:32), and Caden Heisner of Washington by fall in the second period (3:22).
Calvin McClain (190 lbs) finished fourth after going 1-3. McClain won his opening match by first-period fall in 2:00 over Rainer Johnson of Fort Madison after building an 8-3 lead, but lost his next three matches by fall—to Blaine Rees of Washington in the first period (1:14), Owen Difederico of Burlington in 58 seconds of the first period, and Jarod Anderson of Keokuk in 56 seconds of the first period.
River Fulton (144 lbs) placed fifth after going 0-4. Fulton lost to Liam McEntee of Fort Madison by technical fall in the third period (4:45), 23-8, to Xaiver Nelson of Keokuk by technical fall in the second period (2:22), 16-1, to Kolbein Ostby of Mount Pleasant by fall in the second period (3:05), and to Jax Rohrer of Burlington by first-period fall (1:37).
Jo Jo Childs (285 lbs) finished fifth with a 1-4 record. Childs won his opening match by first-period fall in 1:25 over Dylan Whitaker of Keokuk but lost his next four matches—to Rudy Wolfe of Washington by first-period fall (1:49), Baylor Ferreira of Fort Madison by first-period fall in 57 seconds, Juan Lopez of Mount Pleasant by first-period fall in 55 seconds, and Cal Hennings of Fort Madison by technical fall in the third period (4:14), 18-3.
Coach’s Comments
Fairfield Wrestling Coach Dane Kool praised his team’s aggressive performance in front of the home crowd. “The wrestlers seemed to show up with their best stuff today. They came out of the gates on the attack and got right to their offense in many of the matches,” Kool said. “The excitement of wrestling in front of the home crowd lit a spark for them and they used it to compete very well.”
Kool highlighted the breakthrough performances from his first-time tournament champions. “Freshman Jasper Carpenter and sophomore Dusty Haynes both won their first varsity tournament. Both wrestlers defeated opponents that they had previously lost to,” he noted.
Looking ahead to the postseason, Kool expressed satisfaction with his team’s timing. “A lot of these guys are peaking right towards the end of the season, which is exactly what we want to see. Districts is right around the corner, and that will require us to be at our very best.”
The Trojans will look to carry this momentum into the district tournament as they pursue state qualifying berths.
Photography provided by Lee Muntz.
Edited to add more information.
