Chaz Graves, a junior wrestler at Melcher-Dallas, advanced through districts on Saturday to make it to the state tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday, February 13.
“I’m confident with my ability to place at state,” Graves said. Unsure if he would wrestle this season, he ended with a record of 18-3, getting second at districts, and moving on to the state tournament.
“I got a real bad seed this year,” Graves acknowledged the fight he would have to make to move up the tournament bracket. Graves wrestles in the 5th seed of the second round in the tournament. While the placement isn’t ideal, he said he was confident in his ability to place at state.
When preparing for state, Graves said, “I try to treat it like a normal tournament so that I don’t get nervous about it.” Graves is motivated by seeing college wrestlers improve, and uses that to get himself ready for college wrestling.
Class 1A wrestling starts at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 14. Information on how to view it can be found on IHSSN (Iowa High School Sports Network).
PHOTOS TAKEN BY KAMRYN HENDRICKSON
