Bentley to state

Saturday, seven members of the Red Oak Tiger wrestling squad competed at the district tournament in Harlan against members from ADM, Creston-OM, Harlan, Atlantic, Kuemper, Clarinda, Southwest Iowa, Bedford-Lenox, Perry, Shenandoah, and Van Meter-Earlham for the chance to advance to the state wrestling tournament.
Red Oak finished eighth of 12 with 30 team points.
Thomas Bentley is the sole grappler competing at state for the Red Oak Tigers, as he was undefeated in Saturday’s tournament, winning by pin in both matches.
“We had an up and down day,” coach Tiegen Podliska said. “The results don’t always indicate how you wrestled.”
Carlos Guerra finished 1-1 on the day, placing third.
“He lost a tough match early and re-aggravated a previous injury in the process,” Podliska said. “But there was no question in his mind on if he would take the mat for his third-place match. He did so, and won a match by fall after securing three takedowns; he decided his legacy wasn’t going to be a medical forfeit and exemplified a lot of the things we preach in this program. He won with heart.”
Johnathon Erp, Cam Vanderhoof, Michael Gomez, Tyler McMann, and Carter Maynes all finished the day in fourth place in their respective weight divisions.
Bentley will wrestle in Des Moines at the state tournament on Thursday night.