Four KNIA/KRLS area wrestlers advanced to the semifinal round of the 2024 Iowa High School Boys Wrestling Tournament on Thursday.

In the first session of the day, PCM’s Tucker Wheeler won a 4-3 decision against fourth seeded Jackson Jaspers of Mount Vernon to advance to the final four at 144 pounds in Class 2A. Wheeler said the narrow nature of the victory made it that much sweeter to advance.

“I mean, when you work hard things are worth a lot more. So, when you end up getting them, it feels a lot better.”

Joining Wheeler in the top four of his respective weight class was Knoxville’s Daniel Gorskikh at 175 pounds. Gorskikh was victorious by a 5-3 decision in his quarterfinal match over Brock Voyna of Crestwood to advance to the semis.

In the Class 3A session, Norwalk’s Tyler Harper used a 13-6 decision over Landon Gottschalk of Dubuque Hempstead to reach the top four at 113 pounds. Indianola’s Dax Clatt was the final athlete from the area to move on to the semifinals, winning a 9-3 decision over Jackson Winkey of Ames in the 175 pound weight division. After reaching the final four, Clatt said that his mentality heading into the semifinals is simply to give it his all.

“I mean I’m just doing my best to leave it all out there. There’s nothing to lose now. I’ve made it this far, so I might as well just give it everything I got.”

Sixteen athletes from the area remain in the consolation brackets, with one from PCM, two from Pella, seven from Indianola, one from Norwalk, four from Pleasantville, and one from Southeast Warren/Melcher-Dallas.

Stay tuned to KNIA/KRLS for updates from the semifinals and consolation matches on Friday.