Callahan lead Golden Hawks at Anamosa, WACO

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 1/20/21

Mid-Prairie heavyweight Gannon Callahan’s week started with a 1-0 decision over a ranked wrestler in Anamosa on Thursday, and it ended with a championship in the WACO Warrior Invitational on …

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Callahan lead Golden Hawks at Anamosa, WACO

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Mid-Prairie heavyweight Gannon Callahan’s week started with a 1-0 decision over a ranked wrestler in Anamosa on Thursday, and it ended with a championship in the WACO Warrior Invitational on Saturday. 

Midway through the final round in Wayland, Mid-Prairie coach Justin Garvey saw his team in fourth place, falling farther behind New London, Pekin, and Wapello as they collected wins in the third and fourth rounds. 

Then Ben Meader won his third-place match at 182 with a pin. Up next, the Golden Hawks had Cael Garvey, Josh Wallington, and Gannon Callahan each wrestling for first at 195, 220, and 285. They went three for three with three pins.

“To get three champs and a third place finish, all with bonus points, that jumped us ahead of Pekin and Wapello and threw us in the second place,” Garvey said.

“I was real, real happy with the way everybody wrestled all day long. That was just like kind of the big takeaway for me, to go out and just have that string of wins, it was just like, here we are. We’ve just been waiting our turn.”

Vinnie Bowlin was out with a minor injury suffered in practice. 

“We’re trying to protect that and get him as healed up as we can for the run in February,” Garvey said. But, you know, if we have Vinnie in our lineup there, we win that tournament.”

Owen Trimpe finished in fourth place at 152 pounds. Mose Yoder won his fifth-place match at 113 and Kaden Meader also took fifth place at 170. Spencer Grout was sixth at 132. 

The Golden Hawks won all three duals at Anamosa on Thursday. 

Kaden Meader, Ben Meader, Garvey, and Callahan each won by fall during a 43-42 win over Cascade.  Mid-Prairie won eight matches by forfeit in 63-18 win over North Cedar. 

In the dual with the host Blue Raiders, Mid-Prairie won five straight matches by pin from Jarron Thomas at 160 to Wallington at 220 before Callahan’s matchup with 2A No. 10 Connor Andresen at 285.

After a scoreless first period, Andresen deferred the choice to Callahan, who took bottom. 

“In heavyweight matches, if you get the choice and it’s tied up, you take bottom early, because you’re fresher, and you get that escape.”

Callahan got the escape and rode him out in the third period for the win. 

“That’s a kid that he’s never been able to beat before,” Garvey said. “And it was just a really strategic match on Gannon’s part, you dress up really well, he listened to coaching staff on what the game plan was, and he stuck to it, and pulled out the win in there.”

Yoder also won a match by fall at 113 during the 45-27 win.