Daniel Herrera claims 285 state title, Mickel (2nd), Hinson (4th); Ames finishes 11th

Daniel Herrera closed out his final season of high school wrestling with a gold medal at the IHSAA State Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The two-time California state champion finished a perfect 87-0 across his three years of high school wrestling. California did not sponsor wrestling in 2020 due to COVID.

Herrera defeated all of his Iowa opponents on the mat by either major decision, technical fall, or fall – earning bonus points in all 18 victories in a Little Cyclone singlet. At the state tournament, Herrera pinned his first two opponents before earning a 15-5 major decision over Cooper Martinson (Southeast Polk) in the semifinals. In the championship finale at 285, Herrera recorded an 18-6 major decision over Waverly-Shell Rock’s Caden Wetherell.

Danarii Mickel repeated a silver medal performance from a year earlier – collecting a second round pin before edging out a pair of 2-1 decisions; first over Isaac Thacher (Fort Madison), followed by Brayden Koester (Bettendorf). Mickel fell in the title match against former Little Cyclone Brent Slade – a late takedown, followed by an escape point for Mickel, in the closing seconds proved to be the difference in a 6-5 decision in the 190 finale.

Jabari Hinson earned fourth-place in perhaps the tournament’s most loaded weight class: 138. Hinson earned a second round pin before a setback in the quarterfinals to Bettendorf’s Cody Trevino. Hinson would rattle off three consecutive victories on the backside to set-up a third-place rematch with Trevino. Hinson would fall in a third overtime period to settle for fourth.

The other three Little Cyclone qualifiers did not place, however, all three earned team points. Braxton Winkey (7), Cole Martin (6), and Jackson Winkey (4) all contributed to a team total of 86 points – good for 11th-place in the team standings. It’s the best finish for Ames since a 10th-place finish in 2011.

FULL TOURNAMENT RESULTS: https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/predefinedtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=770683132