CLINTON —
Dillion Chase couldn’t be denied. Even though he had to take the long way to get there, he is headed to this week’s high school wrestling state tournament in Des Moines along with teammates Hunter Genco, Alex Caldwell, Dustin Caldwell and Justin Guilliams.
He is the third member of his family to qualify for the event at Wells Fargo Arena.
“I couldn’t be the brother that just didn’t make it to state,” he said. “I kind of have big shoes to fill coming in behind them.”
Chase’s older brothers, Dominic and Drake, were state placewinners for Clinton in 2009 before transferring to Bettendorf. Dillion made the opposite move this fall.
“They welcomed me so good,” Dillion Chase said of his Clinton teammates. “I felt like I’ve been there my whole life. I just felt like we’ve been a family.”
Chase (31-10) lost in the semifinals at Saturday’s district tournament, then won the third-place and true-second-place matches at 160 to qualify for state.
Chase and his four teammates begin competition at 2 p.m. Thursday. Class 1A starts the day at 9 a.m.
Follow our live blog for ongoing coverage.
High School Sports
Related Photos
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Clinton’s Dustin Caldwell (right) tries to return Joe Pancratz of North Scott to the mat on his way to winning the championship at 152 pounds and qualifying for this week’s state tournament. Jon Gremmels/Clinton Herald
Discussion
Clinton wrestlers head to state meet
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