Iowa boys’ state wrestling notes: Working at the state meet is a labor of love for the Vaupel family of Center Point

DES MOINES — Cory Vaupel of Center Point celebrated a birthday on Wednesday.

His wife, Sharon, and one of their daughters, Sylvia, joined him, but they didn’t have much time for dinner.

That’s understandable, as all three of the Vaupels serve as scorers and timers for each session of the Iowa high school boys’ state wrestling tournament.

“We ate in Exhibit Hall A,” said Cory Vaupel, who’s volunteered at the state meet for roughly a decade. “We had alfredo, salad and cake.”

Then the family went back to work alongside mat 8 for Wednesday’s evening session — and every ensuing session on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena.

Sharon joined Cory two years ago and this is Sylvia’s first boys’ state tournament. The trio has worked together at several high-profile events, however, including the Dan Gable Donnybrook, the Soldier Salute and the girls’ state meet.

“(It’s) super cool,” said Sylvia, a former wrestling manager at Center Point-Urbana.

It’s also extremely rewarding in a variety of ways.

“Doing it for the kids,” said Cory Vaupel, who serves as an assistant coach for Center Point-Urbana’s junior high program as well as for Cedar Rapids Jefferson’s varsity program. “That’s really why you do it, right, because you love seeing the stories. You love seeing the success and the heartbreak and the hugs, the cheers, the fans — all of that stuff just feeds into the passion of wanting to continue doing it.”

Cory and Sharon are educators, but she wasn’t initially very interested in wrestling. That changed — and sometime down the road, their youngest daughter, Scarlett, and son, Cooper, a junior at Center Point-Urbana, could join in the timing and scoring fun at various events, as well.

“Hopefully now I’m (able) to pass it on to my next generation of kids (and) hopefully they’ll carry it on after I’m long gone and ready to hang up the shoes,” Cory said.

The more the merrier. That, Sharon Vaupel said, is what makes the sport so special.

“The nice thing about wrestling is there’s a spot for everybody,” she said.

Especially for people like her, Cory, and their children.

“Cory has given this sport way more than he has been given from it,” Cedar Rapids Jefferson Coach Rob Martin said. “It’s why I have him on our coaching staff. He’s in it for the sport and the kids.”

Thomas Sexton’s stirring throw

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Decorah’s 190-pounder Thomas Sexton may be a first-time state qualifier, but he found himself in a familiar spot in Thursday’s Class 2A quarterfinal matchup with No. 2-seeded Brody Sampson of Ballard: Poised for liftoff.

Sexton, the seventh seed, scored five points off of a lateral drop he executed late in the second period and held on to beat last year’s 182-pound runner-up, 10-6, to cement a sixth-place or better spot on the medal stand.

“I’ve used it before,” Sexton said of his timely and momentous throw. “So it kind of comes naturally to me. He was kind of loaded up in that position and I just took advantage of it.”

Moments earlier, Sexton had watched teammate Mason Avila advance to the semifinals, as well. Avila, the No. 4 seed at 132, outlasted Kaiden Parker of Oskaloosa, 5-3.

“It was awesome,” Sexton said. “Really excited for him and hopefully we can do (more) good things. We’ll see how it goes.”

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