For the third time in four years, the Hinton boys wrestling team qualified for state duals in Coralville with a 42-29 win over Westwood at home on Tuesday night.
The Blackhawks were in a spot to return to state duals last year, but their quest fell short at the hands of Woodbury Central. Co-head coach Jordan Langley says the sting of last year fueled this year’s team to return to state duals.
This moment took some preparation to get back to. Senior Jackson Kounkel says he and his teammates put in a ton of work to get better in the offseason.
The Blackhawks fell behind early being down multiple matches throughout the early weight classes. Hinton faced deficits of 11-0 and 29-15 throughout the match. Coach Langley says he knew the early weights would be tough, and he credits his guys for avoiding pins.
Getting down early could have easily made the heavier weight wrestlers nervous knowing that their matches were that much more important. Kounkel says he had to reset and calm the nerves prior to his matchup.
Down 29-15, the momentum flipped with the 165-pound and 175-pound matches where Tommy Tanner and Jackson Kounkel got big win. Those two were also wrestling up a weight class from where they normally compete. Coach Langley says his team has relied on those two all season.
The mentality was pretty simple for Kounkel who was looking to score six points however possible. He says he was doing everything in his match to get the pin for his team.
Following last year, second-year co-head coaches Jordan Langley and Matt Pugh were wrestling with another disappointment of missing out on state duals as coaches. Coach Langley says it felt really good to get a huge weight lifted off their shoulders.
In the last two appearances, Hinton has ended their tournament in the seventh-place match winning that dual in 2024. Kounkel says the goal for this year’s group is to stay out of the seventh-place matchup by any means necessary.
The Class 1A field will be tough featuring local power Woodbury Central and Don Bosco who has won a state record 15 dual state championships. Coach Langley says winning in Coralville will take continued toughness like his team has shown all season.
Hinton wrestles their first-round match in Coralville on Saturday morning. As of now, their first-round opponent is TBD.
