In the class 2-A quarterfinal at the state high school wrestling tournament, Osage junior Trent Goodale opened a bid for a second consecutive title by downing Chad Hutchinson of Mediapolis at 119 pounds. It was only Hutchinson’s third loss of the season and Goodale says a quick start is always a plus.Goodale says being a defending champion means every opponent is motivated.Davenport Assumption 125-pounder Josh Watts stayed unbeaten with a 12-0 victory over Keith Logue of Chariton.Watts won a state title two years ago and wants to get back to the top of the victory stand this week.At 140-pounds Maquoketa’s Cole Pape used an escape and takedown in the third period to edge Derek Balsley of Osage 3-0 as Pape opened his bid for another crown.Pape says it was difficult to generate opportunities to score.The state wrestling tournament always draws a packed house and hundreds of journalists. This year the list inlcludes a photographer from Australia. Ken James works for a newspaper in Sydney and has been covering several central Iowa wrestling teams this season. James says it is a training exercise for this year’s summer olympics in Australia. He says he never gets to see wrestling in Australia and the visit to Iowa gives him valuable insight into the sport.James admits he was not prepared to see the crowds that were on hand for the opening day of the tournament.
