Career ends at State for Luensman

     Kain Luensman’s storied Monticello High School wrestling career ended in the quarterfinal round of the State Class 2A Wrestling Tournament Feb. 18-19 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

     Luensman, a senior and four-time State qualifier, entered the tournament after a regular season in which he broke Monticello’s all time records in career wins and falls, and earned his 150^th victory in the process.

     He opened the state tournament with a first round victory over 10^th-ranked Shea Parkis of Carroll Kuemper, winning 12-6 in the Thursday evening session.

     “Kain wrestled tough in his first match,” Monticello coach Ryan Luensman said. “This was a very tough opponent and I was proud of how Kain stayed in the match and opened it up at the end.”

     That moved him into the quarterfinal round against Reed Abbas, a returning state medalist from Clarion-Goldfield-Dows.

     Luensman took a 1-0 lead with an escape early in the second period, but was taken down with 1:18 left. He escaped again to tie it 2-2, before Abbas scored another takedown with 14 seconds left in the period, and went on to win 4-2.

     The end of the match took a sour turn when an angry Luensman reacted to the loss, and was ruled by an official to have committed “flagrant misconduct.” It resulted in him being disqualified from the rest of the tournament.

     “It was a tough match, and Kain came up short,” coach Luensman said. “At the end of the match, Kain reacted on emotion and said something he shouldn’t have. This prevented him from wrestling his next match, and his state tournament was over.

     “I’m still very proud of Kain and everything he has accomplished in the sport of wrestling,” the coach said. “This one moment doesn’t define him. He takes ownership of his mistake and wants to improve. That means a lot to me about his character and the person he is working to be. I know he will learn and grow from this and other challenges that life pushes his way.”

     Luensman finished the season with a 41-3 record.

Feb. 18-19

State Class 1A

Tournament

(at Des Moines)

MONTICELLO RESULTS

     138 – Kain Luensman dec. Shea Parkis, Carroll Kuemper, 12-6; lost to Reed Abbas, Clarion-Goldfield-Dows, 4-2; lost to Staveley Maury, West Delaware, forfeit.