Axmear and Grimm placed third for English Valleys

DES MOINES — The strides by English Valleys were evident when Brennen Grimm turned to the Bears' excited cheering section.

When the senior 195-pounder pinned South Central Calhoun's third-ranked Rylan Richardson, he secured the last of two bronze medals from the Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 1A state wrestling tournament Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena. He joined sophomore Zach Axmear, who was third at 152.

'When you lose up here, the mind-set you have to have to turn around and get your next win is extremely difficult,' English Valleys Coach Brock Moore said. 'I preach to my kids if you can turn around after a loss at the state tournament and finish as high as you possibly can then you've done more than I could ask.'

Grimm and Axmear (53-1) are indicative of the Bears' recent success in Moore's six years as head coach. They have had a medalist the last four years. Axmear, who already has 102 career wins, was fifth as a freshman. Senior Sheldon Ealy, who surpassed 100 career wins but didn't qualify for state, placed sixth at 106 in 2013. Andrew Regnier was fourth at 170 in 2012 for English Valleys.

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The Bears set a record with five district qualifiers and Axmear and Grimm (46-6) are among five wrestlers who surpassed 100 career victories on this year's team. The feat is impressive, considering only three wrestlers went out Moore's first season at the helm.

'Those kids have a lot of heart,' Moore said. 'The program is building. We're getting more youth involved.'

The final win was sweet for Grimm and Moore. He avenged his overtime loss in the quarterfinal, and he capped his career with a victory.

'Brennen has been there from day 1,' Moore said. 'This is third state tournament.

'This was his last hurrah and he wanted to go out on top.'