The boys wrestling team has been red-hot lately.

For the first time since 2012, head coach Nate Moore’s squad won the MVC conference meet this past weekend in Dubuque. Before that, the team won matches against Wahlert, Muscatine and Liberty by a combined score of 188-42.

Two dramatic finishes rounded out the team’s latest victory, a 66-12 win over the Wahawks from West Waterloo.

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Owen Aanestad

The crowd cheers for female wrestler Salima Omari '20, who won the heavyweight title at the girls state wrestling tournament on Feb. 25. Omari became the first female wrestling champion in program history, helping her team place fifth at the state competition.

After Senior Night festivities that featured recognition for West High’s inaugural female wrestling season, the Trojans began with a 12-0 lead after two forfeits by the Wahawks. Parker McBride ’22 picked up a pin at 126 pounds with some aggressive takedowns in the first period, followed by fellow sophomore Hunter Garvin’s second-period pin which set the score at 24-12.

The best match of the night featured Drake Davis ’22 at 145 pounds, who fell behind 6-0 early in the first period before getting two straight reversals. Down 7-6 in the final minute, assistant coach Kody Pudil began thinking strategically from the West bench. Per Pudil’s instruction, Davis allowed his opponent to escape and took him down three straight times, ultimately earning the 10-9 decision victory in one of the more thrilling matches of the season.

Coming off MVC conference victories, Graham Gambrall ’21, Ashton Barker ’21 and recent Harvard commit Will Hoeft ’20 all pinned their opponents to extend West’s lead to 51-12.

First-year wrestler Anu Dokun ’20 also displayed some powerful takedowns in his match at 195 pounds, picking up his opponent three separate times before slamming Wahawk wrestler Adam Teare ’21 to the ground. Dokun fought off his back in the second period before winning the match in a 12-8 decision.

“I’m really happy about the win, especially on Senior Night,” Dokun said. “I’m glad I was able to help my team, [I’m] looking forward to districts.”

It was more of the same for Brett Pelfrey ’22 and Ben Alden ’21, who both earned pins at 220 pounds and 285 pounds respectively.

The Trojans wrapped up the regular season with a win against the Wahawks, giving the team some momentum heading into their dual team regional tournament on Feb. 12.