Webster City senior Luke Estlund competes at 165 pounds during the state wrestling meet in Des Moines. (Photo by Britt Kudla)

DES MOINES — It wasn’t the way Luke Estlund wanted his high school career to end, but it was definitely where he wanted it to finish.

The Webster City senior suffered a fully torn anterior cruciate ligament, along with a torn medial and lateral meniscus, in early October during the football season. Initially, it appeared to sidelined Estlund for the entire wrestling campaign.

Four months removed from surgery, though, Estlund decided to compete at a Class 2A district tournament in his home gym — and punched an unlikely state ticket at 165 pounds.

In his second state appearance after finishing 30-14 a year ago, Estlund went 0-2 at Wells Fargo Arena to conclude his abbreviated season.

He lost by major decision, 14-0, in his opener versus Cooper Hird (33-15) of Mount Vernon. Estlund was then eliminated by Mitchel Fischer (36-11) of Sheldon/South O’Brien by fall in 3:08.

“Luke went through a lot just to be wrestling at the state tournament,” said Webster City head coach Drake Doolittle. “As a competitor, I know going 0-2 is hard for him.

“Making it there was pretty crazy, even though he wasn’t happy with his performance. If he was fully healthy, he would have been beating these guys.”

Junior Cody Elliott (26-10) was competing in his first state meet. He lost his 215-pound opener to Jackson Wacha (30-8) of Ballard by fall (3:38). He was eliminated by Jesse Brouwer (42-6) of AP-GC in an 11-4 decision.

“Last year, Cody was a JV wrestler,” Doolittle said. “He has made huge gains and has been giving strong performances. He bought in.

“He has one more year to get on the podium. It’s great to get guys down there before their senior year and feel the landscape. That takes some of the pressure off the next time around.”