Today we continue the top 10 countdown of the top moments of the 2019-20 school year with number two. The Indianola wrestling program had a fantastic season this past year, qualifying for the state dual tournament and sending six individual grapplers to compete at Wells Fargo Arena, with sophomore Ryder Downey making it all the way to the 113lb championship match. Downey easily dispatched his first opponent to make the quarterfinals by Technical Fall, won again in the quarters 7-5, then clinched a top two finish with a 5-2 win in the semifinals. Downey wrestled well with #1 Bailey Roybal from Waverly-Shellrock, but ultimately fell 5-1. Head coach Clint Manny tells KNIA Sports the journey was amazing, and the experience for the sophomore can’t be matched anywhere else.

“We’re always trying to test ourselves against the best guys, because if you are battle tested when it comes down to it at the district meet or the state meet, you know you’ve been there before. Everything we do we try to put the best guys in front of us, don’t worry about losing and just focus on performance.”

The Indians bring back Downey and freshman Cooper Belt with state meet experience.