After coming from behind for a dramatic win in his first match, Ben Meader faced an even taller task in the final, trailing Davenport Assumption’s John Argo 7-3 with 35 seconds left. 

Argo took a shot, but as he tried to finish the single leg takedown, his momentum carried him out of position. Meader flipped him on his back and pinned the ninth-ranked wrestler to claim the district championship at 182 pounds. 

“I don’t know what I did, exactly,” Meader said after the match. “You know, it was just spur of the moment, just going with it. But praise the Lord, right? That’s all I can say.”

Meader will finish his high school career on the mats at Wells Fargo Arena, wrestling in the state tournament. The way he got there sent his teammates, coaches, and fans into a frenzy. 

“It’s amazing,” Meader said. “Like I said, praise the Lord. Thank you for my coaches, my conditioning, all support in the stands. 

“I put him on his back in the third period of that finals match, and my ears were roaring. I mean, our section up there – they have my back, got me going.”

In his first match, Meader used a late reversal to come from behind with 20 seconds left against Washington’s Ayden Frazer. He added back points and won an 8-4 decision to advance to the final. 

Two last-second comebacks. It seemed like good fortune. It probably had his parents close to a heart attack. But it was all part of the plan. 

“As soon as the sectional was over, we knew what our draws were,” Mid-Prairie coach Justin Garvey explained. “And the game plan was, we’ve got to stay in good position and we’ve got to push these matches to the third period.

 “If I could say one thing about Ben Meader… we laid out a game plan for him for the day and he followed it to a T. He never quit, he never got rattled. He just stayed in the match and kept the pressure on. 

“And that that was our message all week. If you give up a point, keep your head about you and just keep wrestling. And that’s what he did. And that’s why he’s a district champ.” 

Meader came in to the district meet with nine losses. Frazer had lost six, Argo had only five. Meader still has only nine. 

“I mean, on paper it probably should have been third place finish,” Garvey said. “Frazer was ranked earlier in the season, Argo was ranked and now Argo isn’t even going to state. 

“So that’s the message to all the kids – rankings don’t mean anything, it’s just someone’s opinion. You’ve got to go out there and show it on the mat.”

A week ago, Ben Meader shocked his coaches when he told them that his first-place finish at sectionals was his first time on top of a podium. Ever. On Saturday, he went ahead and made it back-to-back climbs. 

Meader along with fellow senior Josh Wallington are proof that you don’t have to wrestle your whole life to have success, according to Garvey. 

“Ben Meader started in middle school,” he said. “Josh Wallington wrestled on and off in kids club, and wrestled middle school. Both of those guys spent a lot of time on the JV squad. Ben Meader didn’t crack the varsity lineup as a full-time guy until after Christmas break last year. He was behind a lot of people. But he kept in there grinding at it, working hard. 

“They stuck with it, and they trained hard, and now it’s paying off for them. So I’m really proud of what they’ve accomplished. And I think that just shows everyone else at the school that if you, you stick with it, and you work hard, great things can happen for you.”

Meader got into shape over the summer going to boot camp with the National Guard. He’s put a lot of hours into his conditioning, into his wrestling. 

“I mean this makes it all worth it, right?” Meader said on Saturday.  I mean, you can do the work, and like last year, I got stuck here at districts. And then that’s it. You know, you look back at the work, and said it was good work. 

“This time good work turned into something.”