Washington tops Williamsburg for State Duals berth

WASHINGTON — With Washington (Iowa) up by 15 team points and three matches to go in a Class 2A regional duals final against Williamsburg, all 170-pounder Logan Escher had to do was not get pinned.

So what did he do?

Simply get a 50-second fall, sealing the Demons' trip to the state duals as they went on to win 36-24.

'It was the best day of my life, honestly,' Escher said. 'It couldn't get any better.'

The night had started hours before with Washington blitzing through Eddyville EBF 57-21 before Williamsburg could finish its 45-23 semifinal win over Albia.

In a crushing display, Washington tallied seven falls, starting off the match with three straight.

Williamsburg proved to be a tougher challenge. Winning four of the first five matches, the Raiders punched the Demons in the mouth early, highlighted by No. 1 ranked 106-pounder Grayson Kesterson pinning Washington's No. 9 Walker Ikert in 3:16. Logan Knutson, Jalen Schropp, and Garrett Jenson were all able to get wins for the Raiders, but not picking up any extra-point wins came back to haunt them.

After the opening salvo from Williamsburg, things started to pick up for the Demons. Starting with a Raider forfeit at 126, Washington won the next six matches in a row — four coming by bonus points.

Alex Latcham (132), Austin Hazelett (145) and Trey Van Weelden (152) all had major decisions during the mid-dual win streak that helped the Demons pull away. Escher also had his pin during the stretch and by the time the Raiders managed to win another bout — 182 — Washington had already clinched the dual.

'It means a lot to me that in their last year, we got the seniors to the State Duals,' Escher said. 'It really does.'

Williamsburg was also the foil for Washington last season in the sectional meet and actually beat the Demons 31-24 in a dual earlier this season. Washington head coach Brent Van Weelden mentioned how much respect he has for the Raiders program and judging from the reaction the team had when Escher finished the Raiders off, it meant a little extra.

'The team set this goal at the beginning of the year,' Van Weelden said. 'It means a lot to the kids, it means a lot to fans and it means a lot to the program.'

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