Ehlen brothers go home seventh, Shaha and Knight finish eighth

DES MOINES – Mount Ayr was well represented on the podium Sunday night at the IHSAA Traditional State Wrestling Tournament as the Raiders put four wrestlers on the Class 1A stand to cap off the season.

Drew Ehlen (106), Bryce Shaha (120), Trae Ehlen (138) and Jaydon Knight (145) each fell into consolation with all four eventually working their way into a match for seventh.

It is the first time in the 60-year history of Mount Ayr wrestling the Raiders had four medalists at state in one season.

Walking out of The Well Saturday night with seventh place medals were both Ehlen brothers, Drew and Trae, while Shaha and Knight went home with eighth-place hardware.

Two brothers in both the wrestling room and in blood, Drew and Trae have been after each other and pushing one another long before donning the black and red for Mount Ayr.

To get to state and both medal is a great feeling of satisfaction for the young grapplers.

“It feels really good, because me and Drew have worked really, really hard this year,” said Trae. “Him coming up as a freshman and placing seventh is huge.”

Drew’s seventh-place match saw him dominate in the first round, scoring a takedown that led to a pin seconds later. Trae attests Drew’s success to the typical bond between brothers by being mean at him to push him harder.

“I guess I’m kind of mean to him,” said Trae, who made his third appearance at state. “I guess I make him better by that and make him work harder.”

Drew’s tournament saw him kick off Thursday afternoon with a 9-4 decision win over North Mahaska’s Paul De Jong. The win then had Drew paired up with eventual champion Gable Porter, a freshman from Underwood.

Porter pinned Drew at 3:37 to put him in the consolations, needing a win to place on the podium. He beat his opponent, Noah Strohmeyer of

Colfax-Mingo, in a 13-9 decision to guarantee hardware. He then lost to West Fork, Sheffield’s Kale Petersen by a 13-9 decision to put him in the seventh-place match.

For seventh, Drew took down Donavon Hanson of West Bend, Mallard at 1:07, letting out a yell as he stood up and celebrated.

“It was just cool being there, heck, I saw it was there (a pin) and I went for it,” said Drew after the win. “It’s just a great feeling.”

Trae’s seventh-place finish was also one that ended in pin, getting it in 3:31 on Jordan Khommanyvong of South Central Calhoun.

Trae’s tournament run started with a win on the front end, pinning BGM’s Blake Mann, before falling to eventual fifth-place winner Jake Mulder of Western Christian by major decision (10-2).

Shaha (120) and Knight (145) ended their day with a loss, but will still go home a medalist in eighth place.

Shaha and Knight both fell by pin, Shaha in the third period and Knight by a technical fall (21-6) in the third period. Assistant coach Eric Ehlen, father of both Drew and Trae, was happy to see not only his sons place, but also Shaha and Knight.

“It’s a real proud dad moment that they placed,” said MA coach Eric Ehlen. “All four placed. I’m happy with that, and I know none of them are satisfied with their place, which is good. Our theme all year has been to stay hungry. Hopefully, they’re still hungry for a higher place next year. I’m super happy for them.”

After dislocating his knee Dec. 5 during Mount Ayr’s meet at Clarke, Shaha went on a tear to close out the season and earn a chance to improve on his early exit at state a year prior.

He kicked off the tournament with a win, taking his first round match in a 15-4 major decision to put him in the quarterfinals.

The quarterfinals was where his hunt for a state title ended, falling to AGWSR’s Trey Lashbrook in a 7-3 decision. In consolation, Shaha needed a win over Josh Glendening of New London to clinch a spot on the podium, doing so with a pin at 5:13.

Top-ranked Stevie Barnes of Underwood then bounced Shaha into the seventh-place match, where he’d fall again for back-to-back pins, finishing eighth.

For Knight, his season had a slight set back after getting into a car accident that hurt is elbow and shoulder. While simultaneously battling the flu and the injuries during the tournament, Eric Ehlen feels the signs of a great wrestler are there for the freshman.

“He’s mentally tough, you know,” said Eric Ehlen on Knight. “He’s only going to get better and hopefully we’ll come up next year healthy with no aches and pains or the flu. It’s a good experience for him.”

With all four finishers returning to Mount Ayr wrestling next season, Trae feels the state of the program is trending upwards with the four state qualifiers leading the way.

“I think we’re going up,” said Trae. “We’re all coming back next year. That’s big. All four of us work really hard, every Sunday we’re in there working hard.”

Drew ends the season with a record of 40-4, Shaha ends his junior year 26-5, Trae at 41-6 and Knight wraps up his first season at 27-9.

Drew Ehlen’s results

First round: Drew Ehlen (Mount Ayr) by decision Paul De Jong (North Mahaska - New Sharon) 29-6 (Dec 9-4); Quarterfinals: Gable Porter (Underwood) pinned Drew Ehlen (Mount Ayr) 3:37; Consolation round two: Drew Ehlen (Mount Ayr) by decision Noah Strohmeyer (Colfax-Mingo) 13-9; Consol. round three: Kale Petersen (West Fork - Sheffield) maj. dec. Drew Ehlen (Mount Ayr) 12-2; Seventh place: Drew Ehlen (Mount Ayr) pinned Donavon Hanson (West Bend-Mallard) 1:07.

Bryce Shaha’s results

First round: Bryce Shaha (Mount Ayr) maj. dec. Drayven Kraft (West Sioux - Hawarden) 15-4; Quarterfinal: Trey Lashbrook (AGWSR - Ackley) by dec. Bryce Shaha (Mount Ayr) 7-3; Cons. round two: Bryce Shaha (Mount Ayr) by pinned Josh Glendening (New London) 5:13; Cons. round three: Stevie Barnes (Underwood) pinned Bryce Shaha (Mount Ayr) 3:18; Seventh place: Chris Ferguson (Sioux Central - Sioux Rapids) pinned Bryce Shaha (Mount Ayr) 4:24.

Trae Ehlen’s results

First round: Trae Ehlen (Mount Ayr) pinned Blake Mann (BGM - Brooklyn) 3:46; Quarterfinal: Jace Mulder (Western Christian - Hull) by maj. dec. Trae Ehlen (Mount Ayr) 10-2; Cons. round two: Trae Ehlen (Mount Ayr) by dec. Dominick Dicesare (Martensdale - St. Mary`s) 7-2; Cons. round three: Karter Krapfl (Hudson) by dec. Trae Ehlen (Mount Ayr) 7-2; Seventh place: Trae Ehlen (Mount Ayr) pinned Jordan Khommanyvong (South Central Calhoun) 3:31.

Jaydon Knight’s results

First round: Cael Rahnavardi (Don Bosco - Gilbertville) pinned Jaydon Knight (Mount Ayr) 5:58; Cons. round one: Jaydon Knight (Mount Ayr) by. dec. Jonah Clark (Waco - Wayland) 9-3; Cons. round two: Jaydon Knight (Mount Ayr) by dec. Eric McIlnay (Missouri Valley) 4-3; Cons. round three: Brody Hawtrey (North Cedar - Stanwood) pinned Jaydon Knight (Mount Ayr) 4:22; Seventh place: Reed Abbas (Clarion-Goldfield-Dows) by tech fall over Jaydon Knight (Mount Ayr) TF-1.5 5:28 (21-6)