Bobcat seniors Carson Williams and Julian Gomez both punched their tickets to the state wrestling tournament by claiming second place at their respective weights in Saturday’s Class 3A District 6 tournament at the Roundhouse, following in the footsteps of their older brothers before them.

Marshalltown’s chances of advancing came down to five wrestleback matches, the all-or-nothing final round that determines a true second-place finisher for the last of two automatic berths to state.

Sophomore Luke Hageman and junior Gannon Williams both younger brothers to two former MHS state qualifiers, suffered wrestleback defeat and finished third in their brackets, while senior Sergio Zaragoza made the most of his final opportunity in a Bobcat singlet by simply reaching the wrestleback round.

None of the three managed to make it through the wrestlebacks, settling instead for third place and putting the weight of the Bobcat program on the backs of a pair of seniors.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE - Marshalltown senior Julian Gomez, right, celebrates his 3-1 win in overtime against Newton’s William Muckler in their 285-pound wrestleback match at Saturday’s Class 3A District 6 meet at the Roundhouse. The win secured a state meet berth for Gomez.

Carson Williams, ranked fourth at 220 pounds by The Predicament, bounced back from a championship-round loss by fall to No. 2 Kalob Runyan of Southeast Polk and handled Ankeny Centennial’s Nate Howe, pinning him in 2 minutes, 55 seconds, to earn his first trip to state in his last chance — just like his older brother Peyton.

Peyton was a district champion who went on to place fifth at 220 in 2016, and reaching the podium is one of Carson’s goals too.

“It means a lot, especially after last year coming up short with the tough district,” Carson said. “I was just really fired up and glad I got the win. After last year it’s been on my mind all year, and this year I put a lot of extra work in and I felt it and it showed.”

Williams (32-2) had won 19-straight before falling to Runyon (22-2) in the finals, but he didn’t have any trouble bouncing back with a trip to state on the line in wrestlebacks. The momentum of his win carried over to Gomez, who scored the only takedown of his wrestleback match in overtime against Newton’s William Muckler (22-11) for a 3-1 decision and a shot at state.

Gomez’s older brother Pedro was a two-time state qualifier who became Marshalltown’s 13th state champion, winning the heavyweight bracket in 2013.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

“It’s like a dream come true,” Julian said of advancing to state. “I’ve been thinking about it since I saw my brother Pedro go to state. I was like in fourth grade and he was a state champ. It’s all I’ve been thinking about since then.

“I went to state (to watch him) because I wanted to envision myself there, and now I’m going.”

Julian (12-4) won a pair of decisions to reach the 285 chamionship, where he was pinned by top-ranked Gabe Greenlee (31-0) of Ames, but he saved his best for the last wrestleback match of the tournament.

“We were wrestling really good all day then we took some hits in the semifinals, and that forced us into some wrestlebacks,” said MHS head coach Mike Mann. “I don’t think I’ve ever experienced five wrestlebacks. I know I haven’t.”

When the first three Bobcats were defeated, Mann said he felt things going sideways until Carson stepped to the mat.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

“You’re kind of worried that it was just all going to roll downhill, but Carson’s been the big dog all year and I was pretty sure he was going to come through,” Mann said. “Last year the Nos. 1 and 2 came out of his district and they were the state champ and runner-up, so that’s pretty tough sledding, and Runyan was fourth. This year was [Carson’s] time and he came in and wrestled with Runyan and it didn’t quite turn out the way we wanted, but he’s still making the trip to Wells Fargo.”

In trying to join older brothers Reese and Bennett as state qualifiers, Luke Hageman made his way into the 132 finals with a pin and a narrow 8-5 decision over Kieran Shawhan of Dallas Center-Grimes. Fourth-ranked Ayden Kingery pinned Luke in the first period of their finals bout, and Hageman watched nervously as Shawhan surrendered a late lead in a 10-6 loss to Drew Dunn of Ankeny Centennial in the consolation finals.

If Shawhan had won, Hageman (27-10) would have advanced to state without needing to wrestle back, but Dunn earned his chance at true second place and capitalized on it, beating Hageman 11-7.

Zaragoza battled injuries throughout his senior season but fought all the way to third place, finishing 12-5 after a loss by fall to Boone’s ninth-ranked Jayden Angle (21-6) in the 182 wrestleback match.

Gannon Williams got bounced in the 195 semifinals by second-ranked Taner Harvey of Boone (31-0), losing by second-period pin, before rebounding to beat Southeast Polk’s Quentin Hill 9-3 in the consolation finals. Drew Clausen of Dallas Center-Grimes earned the second spot at state, however, with a 7-3 decision in the wrestleback round.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

“Gannon and Luke, those guys have something to look forward to,” Mann said, “and I don’t have to tell them but they know that stings. So now you’ve got to decide what you’re going to do about it — are you going to step up and try to get to the next tier and do what it’s going to take to improve yourself to get past this point here and qualify for state?”

In all, Marshalltown earned 10 medals on its way to fourth place in the eight-team district tournament. The Bobcats totaled 115 points and trailed second-ranked Southeast Polk (269.5), Ankeny Centennial (199.5) and Dallas Center-Grimes (143.5) while finishing ahead of Ames (104), Urbandale (102.5), Boone (84) and Newton (80).

Southeast Polk advanced eight wrestlers to state while Centennial secured seven berths. Boone, DCG and Urbandale each got three wrestlers through, while Ames and Marshalltown had two apiece. Newton came up empty in its quest to advance to Des Moines.

Marshalltown had a pair of fourth-place finishers in Damien Rodriguez (113) and Saul Pantoja (126), while Ivan Pantoja (106) and Nick Rebik (160) both scored fifth. Dylano Castellanos (170) placed sixth.

I would say as a coach you’re never really ever satisfied, especially when you have five wrestlebacks and we took three thirds,” Mann said. “Obviously you’re wanting to sweep it.

“I’m somewhat satisfied but no, I’m not content because the guys that got third aren’t satisfied and they all should have been able to win their matches. The other guys wrestled better than we did in their matches, and that’s why we wrestle.”

The first session of 3A wrestling at the state tournament is Thursday from 1:30-4:30 p.m.