Cody Thorn
Melissa was vying for it first-ever state title and was in contention after day 1 of the UIL State Wrestling championship.
The Cardinals came up short in that quest but took a jump from being fifth last year to finishing second in 5A this year.
Coach Oliver Pierce’s program continues to make strides. Ten wrestlers went to state, and half of them came home with all-state medals.
On top of that, two wrestlers earned state champions — headlined by Angelo Ferrari.
The senior finished his wrestling career with three titles, one in Oklahoma and wrapped up his second straight 175-pound title.
The Iowa signee finished with a 34-0 record.
The youngest of the three Ferrari brothers — who will all wrestle at Iowa next season — was ranked No. 1 at 175 in the country and in the state poll headed into the state finals.
He never let the pressure get to him.
“I embrace it every time I go out there, it pushes me in the wrestling room to be better every day,” Angelo said about being ranked highly. “It is awesome; I love it; I’d rather that than people not know me. Pressure is a privilege and I embrace it every time I wrestle.”
Ferrari won his final match by a 27-12 technical fall over Isaac Zapata of Georgetown and finished the tournament earning 29 1/2 of Melissa’s 93 1/2 points.
Ferrari had pins in his other three matches in 1:19, 1:28 and 1:21.
Junior Jadyn Johnson won the 150-pound crown for Melissa with a 4-0 mark that featured two pins and two decisions, including a 9-6 win over Talan Ball of Georgetown in the finals….
