Paustian in a ‘league of his own’

MOUNT VERNON – Avery Paustian is a wrestler.

The sport became his sole athletic focus, attending multiple clubs during the coronavirus pandemic. The Mount Vernon freshman was good as a youth competitor but was motivated by his love for wrestling.

Paustian channeled Jimmy Duggan, the fictitious baseball player turned manager in “A League of Their Own,” when discussing what makes it so worthwhile.

“It’s a very hard sport but that’s what makes it fun,” Paustian said. “You’re showing off all your hard work against these tough opponents.”

Paustian’s effort has paid dividends in his first two weeks of high school competition. Paustian remained unbeaten, pinning Marion’s Lucas Stearns for the 150-pound title Saturday at the Mount Vernon Invitational. The Mustangs crowned four champions and placed second with 200.5 points, 37 back of champion Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont.

“He’s off to a real good start,” Mount Vernon Coach Vance Light said of Paustian. “He’s wrestled for a little bit. We knew he’d be pretty good. He’s improving every day. We’ll see where he is at the end of the year.”

Paustian improved to 11-0 and has won individual crowns in his first two tournaments.

“I like it,” Paustian said about his start. “High school is pretty tough but it’s also fun. You come out here and compete with a bunch of hard dudes. They’re all strong.”

Paustian reached the finals with a technical fall, major decision and a semifinal pin over Cascade’s top-seeded Bryce Carroll. He built a 5-0 lead with a takedown in the first and a reversal in the second, putting Stearns on his back for two nearfall. Paustian continued the pressure, turned and ended the match in 2:57.

“He was a little bit high with the arm bar,” Paustian said. “So, I was able to reach over and brought him to his back. From there, I was able to sink the half(-nelson) in.”

Potential came into focus at the AAU state tournament in the spring. Paustian recorded a runner-up finish and realized he had nothing to fear from anyone on the mat.

“I hadn’t had that success before and it just kind of clicked,” Paustian said. “I don’t have to be scared of these people I go out on the mat with. I can just let it fly and do whatever.”

Light said Paustian attended a team camp at Luther in the summer. He defeated a couple state qualifiers there. Paustian trains with three-time state medalist and top-ranked Mikey Ryan and doesn’t shy away from competition in the Mustangs practice room.

“He loves the sport,” Light said. “That’s his thing. He’s doing a good job. He’s going to get better and better.”

Ryan (157), Jaxon Anderson (215) and heavyweight Andrew Dix also won titles for Mount Vernon. The Mustangs has 12 place sixth or better, advancing five to the semifinals.

“I thought we competed well,” Light said. “There is stuff we need to work on but that’s just the way it is. We had great effort and that’s what you want.”

Lisbon and West Liberty crowned a champion. The Lions’ Caleb Brown tallied two pins, including a 3:32 fall over Mount Vernon’s Caleb Keegan for the 175 title. Brown was joined in the finals by teammates Cade Happel, who was second at 126.

West Liberty’s Briggs Collins pinned his way through the 165 bracket, including a 2:25 fall over Davenport Assumption’s Rolan Alvarez in the final.

Cedar Rapids Xavier finished eighth in the team standings and had two finalists in Anakin Deppe (106) and Dusty Cook at 190.

Class 2A top-ranked EBF went 6-1 in championship matches and rolled to the team title. Keller Little (106), Garrett Pumphrey (113), Slater Thomas (126), Gage Spurgeon (132), Kaden Kirkpatrick (138) and Landen Davis at 144 won titles.

The one match the Rockets lost was a rematch of state finals match last season. West Marshall’s top-ranked Urijah Courter scored an escape with seven seconds left for a 6-5 decision over No. 3 Simon Bettis at 120.

58th Annual Mount Vernon Invitational

At Mount Vernon

Teams – 1. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 237.5, 2. Mount Vernon 200.5, 3. Davenport Assumption 145, 4. Anamosa 134, 5. Lisbon 132, 6. West Marshall 128, 7. West Liberty 122.5, 8. C.R. Xavier 106.5, 9. Muscatine 96, 10. Cascade 58.5, 11. Central DeWitt 47.5, 12. Marion 46.5, 13. Wapsie Valley 36, 14. East Buchanan 31.

Championship matches

106 pounds – Keller Little (EBF) pinned Anakin Deppe (CRX), 1:09; 113 – Garrett Pumphrey (EBF) major dec. Charlie Lindley (Ana), 14-4; 120 – Urijah Courter (WM) dec. Simon Bettis (EBF), 6-5; 126 – Slater Thomas (EBF) pinned Cade Happel (Lis), 1:09; 132 – Gage Spurgeon (EBF) technical fall Eli Edfors (CD), 17-1; 138 – Kaden Kirkpatrick (EBF) pinned Riley Hanford (WM), :50; 144 – Landen Davis (EBF) technical fall Chase Krantz (DA), 20-4; 150 – Avery Paustian (MV) pinned Lucas Stearns (Mar), 2:57; 157 – Mikey Ryan (MV) dec. Hudson Scranton (Ana), 4-3; 165 – Briggs Collins (WL) pinned Rolan Alvarez (DA), 2:25; 175 – Caleb Brown (Lis) pinned Caleb Keegan (MV), 3:32; 190 – Andy Franke (Mus) dec. Dusty Cook (CRX), 4-0; 215 – Jaxon Anderson (MV) dec. Dru Diaz (DA), 2-1; Hwt. – Andrew Dix (MV) dec. Maxwell Azzaline (DA), 3-1.

Comments: k.j.pilcher@thegazette.com