Hageman was pitted against Aiden Evans from Bettendorf, who came into state ranked No. 4 at 120 by The Predicament, and though he hung tough with his highly-rated foe, Hageman eventually fell by a 6-0 decision.

Hageman (21-14), who went 1-2 in his first trip to state, said he had opportunities in the match but Evans (38-6) was a step ahead.

“I would have liked to keep it a little bit closer, finish that shot I had,” Hageman said. “He was pretty good, he tied me up. He just scrambled really well and stayed in good position, and I wasn’t able to capitalize on that.”

Evans had takedowns in the first and second periods that gave him a 4-0 lead heading to the third. That easily could have been reversed, as both takedowns came on scrambles where both boys had the opportunity for points, but Evans came away on top in both circumstances.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON - Marshalltown junior Bennett Hageman, left, tries for the double-leg takedown against Bettendorf’s Aiden Evans in the Class 3A 120-pound consolation round Friday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Evans won the match by decision, 6-0, eliminating Hageman.

“You get in those scramble situations with the head between the legs and the guy’s knee posted up, you’ve got to trap that arm,” MHS head coach Mike Mann said. “That kid finished those two scramble situations better than Bennett did, and that makes the difference in the match.”

Down 4-0 heading to the third period isn’t an ideal situation, but Mann said he kept reminding Hageman that the match wasn’t over.

“The first thing we told him was to not panic, you’ve got to just chip away at it. Let’s get an escape and takedown, get back into the match at 4-3,” Mann said. “Obviously we didn’t get the takedown and the match kind of broke open, we had several blood times to talk with him which was good, and when the kid had a chance to be on top after a takedown he definitely controlled Bennett.”

Both Hageman and Evans had several stoppages for blood issues throughout the match, and in the third period specifically it seemed Evans started bleeding every 15 seconds.

“I was wanting to push the pace a little bit towards the end of the match and it was stopped a lot, so I couldn’t really do that too much,” Hageman said of how the blood time affected him.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

Though he couldn’t reach his ultimate goal of making the podium, Hageman said there was a lot of things he can take from his first time competing on the state stage.

“First of all the state tournament is a really good experience, just wrestling in front of this many people,” he said. “I learned that you’ve just got to go out there and wrestle, don’t get too nervous about it or anything.”

Mann said he understands Hageman’s frustration with not reaching the podium, but he knows ultimately this was a good thing for his junior 120-pounder.

“You’re always disappointed when you come down here and don’t become a placewinner, but the good thing is you know you have another year. Now you’ve got this experience under your belt and you know what it takes now,” Mann said. “The coaches were talking with Bennett about some of the little details and what it might take to get to that next step to become a placewinner as far as strategy in a match.”

Hageman said there’s no question what his ultimate goal for his senior season is now.

“This motivates me to come back stronger and finish on the podium next year,” he said.

The upcoming season is set up to be a strong one for the entire Marshalltown program. Hageman and freshman Austin Close at 182 both got their first taste of state action, while Zach Bitker at 126 was a qualifier last year and has a chance for a second qualification as a senior in 2020. Heavyweight Jordan Anderson, who was ranked in the top three for most of the season, will also come into his senior year looking for his first state trip, and Hageman said the Bobcats are in a good position moving forward.

“I think we are in a good spot to come out and surprise some people next year,” he said.

Mann agreed with Hageman that the program is on solid ground right now, but success next season starts in the offseason.

“Right now it’s looking very good, but it’s going to be up to how much these guys want to put into it as a team and individually,” Mann said of his team’s future.