The result? The Webster City wrestling team saw its bid to reach the state duals for the first time since 2018 come up short Tuesday night.

After rallying from an early 16-0 deficit to beat No. 26-ranked West Marshall, 40-34, in the Class 2A regional duals semifinal round, the 15th-ranked Lynx were unable to climb out of an early 17-0 crevice in the regional final against No. 2 Osage, which continued to build momentum as the battle progressed en route to a 53-21 victory.

It wasn’t the best WCHS has looked this season, far from it, in fact. But the reality is that a flawless performance probably wouldn’t have been enough against Osage’s all-star-level lineup, which featured eight ranked individuals, including a pair of transfers that finished second and third, respectively, at the state tournament for Crestwood a season ago.

“We would have had to wrestle absolutely perfect (against Osage),” WCHS head coach Chad Hisler said. “They’re very, very good and you can’t make any mistakes against them.”

WCHS 113-pounder Carson Doolittle (left) waits to hear the slap of the mat during a match against West Marshall’s Landin Eggers on Tuesday. Doolittle won by fall. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Osage (29-6) advanced to next week’s state duals in Des Moines where it will attempt to improve upon last season’s third-place finish. WCHS (19-7) and West Marshall (17-5) both saw their dual seasons end.

Osage claimed 10 of the 14 weights against WCHS and, keyed by six pins, built up a 23-9 edge in bonus points. The Green Devils piled up a 29-9 takedowns margin, and scored a whopping 93 match points to 63 for the Lynx.

Hey, it’s quite possible it could have been worse. Nick Fox, a 2021 state runner-up who was ranked No. 1 at 170 pounds earlier this season, was out of the Osage lineup due to illness, but it didn’t matter. The Green Devils still had plenty of ammunition and others stepped up, namely seventh-ranked Cole Jeffries (195 pounds) and fourth-ranked Barrett Muller (220), who both won their spotlight bouts over CJ Hisler and Jaxon Cherry, both of whom are ranked No. 8 for WCHS.

Jeffries rattled off four takedowns in a 12-7 win over Hisler. Cherry notched the first takedown and briefly had Muller on his back, but one mistake on a stand up cost him. Muller put the Lynx sophomore on his back for the fall in 1:11.

Those two match-ups could resurface at Saturday’s district tournament in Webster City.

WCHS junior Skyler Scott (back) scores a first-period takedown against 10th-ranked Austin Pfantz of West Marshall at 170 pounds during Tuesday’s Class 2A regional duals in Osage. WCHS ended its dual season with a 19-7 record. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“Cherry, he knows he can go with (Muller),” Chad Hisler said. “I think CJ will wrestle better if they see each other again too.”

Brady Jessen (160) and Evan Estlund (170) rattled off back-to-back wins to pull WCHS within 17-10 after five weights. Ahead 5-4 after two periods, Jessen put Osage’s Jake Clark on his back in the third and got the fall in 5:48. Estlund followed with a takedown and two turns in an 8-0 major decision win over Brody Wolf.

Sixth-ranked Carson Doolittle (113) and top-ranked Cam Phetxoumphone (120) added a pin and technical fall late in the dual for WCHS.

West Marshall gave the Lynx everything they wanted in the semifinal round. The Trojans led for the majority of the dual, but the Lynx won five of the last six matches, including the final three, to prevail.

Freshman Tristan Mason (126) secured the trip to the regional final with a hard-fought 3-2 win over the Trojans’ Colin Vellinga in the final match. Mason hit a double-leg takedown at the buzzer to take a 2-0 into the third period. Vellinga tied it on a quick reversal in the third, but Mason escaped with a minute left and then stayed out of danger to bring an eruption from the Lynx bench.

Members of the WCHS wrestling team stand at the edge of the mat as they watch 126-pounder Tristan Mason clinch a Class 2A regional duals semifinal round win over West Marshall on Tuesday in Osage. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“That was a big deal for Tristan,” Chad Hisler said. “We got 19 wins this season, and I think we’ve only had 19 wins five times in (program) history. My message to them is we’re a good, young team. We have a lot of guys coming back next season and if we can make some improvements between now and then, we should be really good.”

Without heavyweight Landon Griffin the lineup, WCHS bumped Hisler and Cherry up a weight against West Marshall and they started the late-dual surge. Hisler held off district qualifier Sam Schaper, 6-3, and Cherry decked district qualifier Elijah Meester in 46 seconds.

Doolittle wasted no time in flattening Landin Eggers in 1:40, and Phetxoumphone gave WCHS its first lead of the dual, 37-34, by pinning Luke Vawter in 49 seconds to set the stage for Mason.

Jordan Vankham (152), Jessen and Estlund were also winners against the Trojans.

WCHS owned an 8-6 advantage on the mat in the regional semifinal round. Both teams secured 16 bonus points, while the Lynx had one more takedown (15-14) and scored seven more match points (62-55).

DFJ photo/Troy Banning

WCHS will now shift its focus to Saturday’s district tournament, which it will host starting at 11 a.m. Doolittle, Phetxoumphone, Austin Mason (145), Jessen, Estlund, Hisler and Cherry will all compete for spots in next week’s traditional state tournament.

Class 2A Regional Duals

Tuesday at Osage

Semifinal Round

Webster City 40, West Marshall 34

132 — JD Downs (WM) pinned Cole Reiling, 1:33 (0-6). 138 — Caden Vellinga (WM) maj dec Luke Estlund, 11-3 (0-10). 145 — Miles Moore (WM) pinned Austin Mason, 3:28 (0-16). 152 — Jordan Vankham (WC) maj dec Dillon McMorran, 15-3 (4-16). 160 — Brady Jessen (WC) pinned Cole Kline, 1:04 (10-16). 170 — Austin Pfantz (WM) pinned Skyler Scott, 5:31 (10-22). 182 — Evan Estlund (WC) pinned Grahm Nason, 3:27 (16-22). 195 — Wyatt Weuve (WM) pinned Dylan Burnette-Bingham, 2:52 (16-28). 220 — CJ Hisler (WC) dec Sam Schaper, 6-3 (19-28). 285 — Jaxon Cherry (WC) pinned Elijah Meester, 0:46 (25-28). 106 — Shane Hanford (WM) pinned Addison Scott, 2:00 (25-34). 113 — Carson Doolittle (WC) pinned Landin Eggers, 1:40 (31-34). 120 — Cam Phetxoumphone (WC) pinned Luke Vawter, 0:49 (37-34). 126 — Tristan Mason (WC) dec Colin Vellinga, 3-2 (40-34).

Final Round

Osage 53, Webster City 21

138 — Nolan Heard (O) tech fall L. Estlund, 19-3, 6:00 (5-0). 145 — Max Gast (O) pinned A. Mason, 5:57 (11-0). 152 — Chase Thomas (O) pinned Vankham, 3:09 (17-0). 160 — Jessen (WC) pinned Jake Clark, 5:48 (17-6). 170 — E. Estlund (WC) maj dec Brody Wolf, 8-0 (17-10). 182 — Ledger Nehls (O) pinned Burnette-Bingham, 0:25 (23-10). 195 — Cole Jeffries (O) dec Hisler, 12-7 (26-10). 220 — Barrett Muller (O) pinned Cherry, 1:12 (32-10). 285 — Mac Muller (O) forfeit (38-10). 106 — Garrett Tusler (O) dec A. Scott, 5-0 (41-10). 113 — Doolittle (WC) pinned Preston Beyer, 1:08 (41-16). 120 — Phetxoumphone (WC) tech fall Darren Adams, 16-1, 3:38 (41-21). 126 — Tucker Stangel (O) pinned T. Mason, 2:30 (47-21). 132 — Anders Kittelson (O) pinned Reiling, 0:12 (53-21).