North Linn's Mulnix is a man on a mission

DES MOINES – Getting a step closer only means you still have not reached your destination.

At least that would be the way to summarize the opinion of Logan Mulnix. Of course, he's been waiting to get back to that place for about two years.

The North Linn senior remained dominant, claiming two wins Friday during the Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 1A state wrestling tournament at Wells Fargo Arena. He earned his third state finals appearance and will try to capture his first crown since his sophomore season.

Top-ranked Mulnix handled No. 2 Sam Solis of Clarion-Goldfield, 7-1, in the 138-pound quarterfinals. He added a 4-2 win over Don Bosco's Scott Weber.

“As of right now, it doesn't mean much,” Mulnix said. “Some Saturday when they announce my name then it will mean a lot.”

Mulnix (44-0) has attempted to make a loud statement with his actions, tallying points to prevent opponents from believing they have a chance. He proved that by scoring from all three positions against Solis, getting a takedown in the first, three back points in the second and a reversal in the third.

“I'm just going out trying to score more points and more points,” Mulnix said. “I want the kid to be out of the match by the second period.”

North Linn's Brendan Schott almost had his finals hopes dashed in the quarterfinals. The top-ranked 170-pounder trailed No. 4 Dalton Ciavarelli of Clarksville, 2-0, in the third. Schott (45-0) conjured up a win, throwing Ciavarelli to his back and getting the fall in 5:25.

“I got lucky with the hip toss,” Schott said. “He was a great kid and it was a great match. I was happy to come out with a win there.”

The Lynx junior had been waiting for his chance for revenge, remembering an overtime loss to Ciavarelli in junior high school.

“It still burns,” Schott said. “I wanted to come out and get this one.”

Now, he is one step away from the main desire to reach the top of the awards stand, just like his teammate.

“The goal has been a state title all year,” said Schott, who pinned Corning's Kory Schmelzer in 1:56 in the semifinals. “It's only intensified with the tough matches I've wrestled all year.”

Nobody's fans were louder than the West Branch faithful, and they had plenty to cheer about at the end of the night. The Bears, who were tied with North Linn for fourth with 59.5 points, advanced three into the finals for the first time in school history.

“All them, man. They're going after it,” an elated West Branch Coach Marc Juergens said. “They wrestled smart matches and it paid off.

“It's pretty exciting.”

Jake Slocum (44-4) started things off for the Bears, beating Fort Dodge St. Edmond's Teddie Harvey, 11-4, at 145.

Cade Jones (39-6) and Derrick Miller (43-5) posted back-to-back wins at 195 and 220, respectively. Jones scored a takedown with four seconds left to drop Maquoketa Valley's undefeated freshman Ryan Parmely, 5-4.

“I don't know what happened,” said Jones, who dropped to the floor in the tunnel of the arena floor for a brief rest. “You just have to take that shot at the end and that's what it took.”

Two's were wild for area teams Alburnett and Lisbon as each had two finalists. The Pirates were in second with 64 points, looking to improve two straight third-place team finishes. They trailed leader Nashua-Plainfield by 15.

Alburnett senior Tyler Shulista will look to become the Pirates second three-time state champion with his semifinal victory over second-ranked Chet Utesch of Akron-Westfield at 126.

“It was a pretty tough match to get me ready for the finals,” Shulista said. “I couldn't ask for a better match to get me prepared.”

The top-ranked Shulista (45-1) pinned his way through the 119-pound bracket last year and has nine in his last three state appearances. He had a slightly tougher time, using three takedowns for a 12-5 win.

“A win is a win down here,” Shulista said. “I was trying to get bonus points for the team. I couldn't quite pull that out, but I'm looking forward to that third.”

For the third straight year, Shulista has company in the finals. Top-ranked Hunter Washburn stayed undefeated with a 1-0 win over Underwood's Taylor Curtis at 103. Washburn (45-0) scored an escape in the second period for the difference.

“I've seen him work his tail off all year. It's paying off,” Shulista said about Washburn. “I told him all week I didn't want to go in the finals solo. I was hoping someone would join me.”

Lisbon's Kolbi Kohl (31-4) reached the finals for the second straight year, but needed some last-second heroics to do it. Kohl trailed Don Bosco's second-ranked Austin Demuth by a point with 12 seconds remaining.

Following a re-start, Kohl hit a duck under for a takedown with six seconds left and a 4-3 semifinal win at 132. Kohl's teammate Tait Simpson (30-0) reached the 152 finals with a pin over Emmetsburg's Brady Bailey.

South Winneshiek's Nick Schmelzer was fifth last season and he assured himself of at least a runner-up finish, pinning Aplington-Parkersburg's Alexander Cutshall in 1:06 at 220.