This past weekend West High wrestling teams competed at Xtreme Arena in the annual Dan Gable Donnybrook tournament. The three-day tournament features over 40 teams in both the girls and boys divisions from across the Midwest.
Due to the variety of teams from multiple states, the tournament is known for being very competitive at a level comparable to the state tournament. Instead of a traditional double-elimination bracket, wrestlers are not done after two losses, and often end up wrestling at least five matches. Of the 22 Trojans who went, 10 placed, four in the boys bracket and six in the girls.
Boys
The boys division started at 3:00 on Friday and continued at 8:30 on Saturday.
The Trojans sent 10 wrestlers, and four placed. The results are as follows:
113: Hugo Hughes ‘29
Freshman Hugo Hughes started the tournament with a big win over Kellan Hack from Lincoln Way West (IL), then dropped two tough matches. He responded with two straight wins by forfeit and tech fall securing a placement in his bracket.
120: Alexander Pierce ‘26
Senior Alexander Pierce showed his experience in his last Donnybrook appearance, sweeping his bracket for a first-place finish at 120 pounds. Pierce won a tough first match, then cruised to first place finishing with a major decision over Allen Woo of Montini Catholic (IL) in the finals.
126: Matthew Tran ‘27
Junior Matthew Tran dropped two tough matches to Adonis Washington of Joliet Catholic (IL) and Colby Fiser from Bondurant-Farrar before having to medically forfeit the rest of his matches.
132: Wyatt Schultz ‘27
Junior Wyatt Schultz dropped his two preliminary matches to tough opponents in Mickey Olszta from Lincoln-Way West (IL) and Caleb Alhussaini of Ankeny
144: Owin Koethe ‘29
Freshman Owin Koethe put on a strong performance in his first Donnybrook appearance. He started with a win by fall before dropping two matches to quality opponents. He finished strong with two more wins before losing his final match to Noah Kauffman from Ankeny in a close decision.
150: Mehdi Bangana ‘28
Sophomore Mehdi Bangana responded to his first-round loss with a big fall over Noel Yanes from Albert Lea Area (MN) in his second match. A forfeit kept him alive before he dropped his final two matches to out-of-state opponents.
165: Blest Woods ‘29
Freshman Blest Woods showed his resiliency after losing his first two matches to Murphy Beyer of Freedom (WI) and Kasen Tyler from Decorah, rattling off three straight wins over more experienced wrestlers.
190: Jack Law ‘26
Senior Jack Law finished the tournament with a 2-3 record, but left with a lot to appreciate. Two big wins over Brady Wayson from Don Bosco and Andrew Grither of Staley (MO) got him close to the podium.
215: Ashten Holmes ‘28
Sophomore Ashten Holmes started fast, pinning his first opponent in just 17 seconds. After dropping a tough second match, he beat Delvine Blidi of Waukee Northwest in his third to secure a place. After dropping his last two matches, he managed a 12th place finish.
285: Kaden Stitt ‘26
Senior Kaden Stitt, a transfer from Oklahoma, won his first two matches easily before losing to eventual finalist Andrew Hine of Waukee in his third match. He came back to beat Henry Mohr from Waukee Northwest in his last match to take a podium finish.
Girls
The girls division started at 11:30 on Thursday and continued at 8:30 on Friday. West had a representative in 12 out of the 14 weights in the bracket, and six girls total placed. The wrestlers were as follows:
105: Lila Bihun ’27
Bihun entered the tournament as the 17 seed. She ended the tournament with a 2-3 record, and did not place.
110: Angela Wang ’29
Wang was one of two Trojan girls that won her first match. The freshman pinned her opponent in a minute and 28 seconds. The rest of the tournament was rough for Wang, with her losing by tech fall once and fall three times, but her first-round win led to her 16th-place finish.
115: Brianna Lucero ’27
Lucero, a junior transfer from New Mexico, entered Donnybrook as the eighth seed. She won her first match and second matches by fall, but lost her third after to ninth seed Amelia Terrill from City High by fall. Her fourth match was a close battle, and she ended up losing 8-5 to 17 seed Ava Hendricks of South Tama High School. She finished out the tournament strong, though, pinning her last two opponents in under 45 seconds each. She placed 13th.
120: Kaylee Hampton ’28
The sophomore entered the tournament as the 17 seed, but after winning her first match in the preliminaries, she continued on to get pinned four times. She won her fifth match by fall in two minutes and 53 seconds, but did not place in the tournament.
125: Asal Petramfar ’27
Petramfar entered the tournament as the 28 seed. She lost all her matches by fall and did not place.
130: Michaela Vogel ’28
Vogel lost her first match in the main bracket, then went and wrestled in the Silver B bracket. She lost both of her matches in the next bracket.
135: Noah Overholt ‘28
Overholt was the 25 seed. She lost her first two matches, but was able to turn around and win her next two, one in a close battle that ended with a 5-4 victory, and the other with a 3:27 fall. She won her final match. She did not place.
140: Sylvia Broffitt ’26
The team’s captain was seeded eighth, but lost her first match to Heaven Patton of Liberty High School. Broffitt rallied and pinned her next two opponents, but losing her next match by fall led her to wrestle for 19th place. She won that match 6-3, and finished 19th.
145: Camila Rivera ’29
Rivera entered the tournament as the 27th seed. She lost her first match, but won her next two by fall. She lost her final two matches by fall and finished 20th place.
170: Emmerson Reimers ’28
Reimers lost her first match by fall to Faith Jeffers of Solon High School. She won her next match by fall, but continued on to get pinned twice. She won her final match 5-4, and finished 23rd.
190: Eva Jara ’28
Jara was the 25 seed, but after her loss in the first round to 8 seed Ellie Callahan of Mid-Prairie High School, she rallied and dominated the rest of her matches, winning all of them by fall. She finished 17th — the best one can do if they lose the first round.
235: Amira Vazquez ’29
Vazquez lost her first two matches by fall and her final match in a close 2-0 decision.
