North Tama's fifth-ranked Aiden Zook works his way to his feet against seventh-ranked Kolby Scott of Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto during the opening round of the Iowa High School State Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Zook defeated Scott 3-1 and is in action Friday in the quarterfinal round against third-ranked Max Kohl of Lisbon. -- Photo by Noah Rohlfing

Aiden Zook pointed to the contingent of North Tama fans in Wells Fargo Arena right after the official signaled that he won his first-round match at the 2022 state wrestling tournament.

The North Tama senior is one of two Redhawks headed to Friday’s quarterfinals in Class 1A, but it wasn’t easy. Heading into the match ranked No. 5 at 170 pounds, Zook went up against No. 7 Kolby Scott of Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto. With two mid-ranked opponents up against each other, the match was scrappy and low-scoring. Neither wrestler gave an inch, and with less than a minute left in the match it was tied 1-1 and the potential of overtime was clear.

With less than 30 seconds left, Zook made his move and got a takedown, riding out the final 10 seconds of the match and taking a 3-1 victory to advance.

North Tama head coach Andrew Knaack said it was a huge moment for the senior.

“For Aiden to dig deep and get that win was huge,” Andrew said. “Not just for him, but for his confidence going forward. Right now there are going to be some ugly wins to get going to the next round, it’s a fight and a scrap, and every match you get in like that gives you a little more confidence.”

North Tama's No. 8 Case Monat wrestles against No. 12 Molly Allen of Underwood during the opening round of the Class 1A State Wrestling Tournament Thursday evening. Monat defeated Allen by fall and will take on No. 3 Brock Morris of Cascade Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals. -- Photo by Noah Rohlfing

Zook’s opponent on Saturday will be No. 3 Max Kohl of Lisbon.

The other North Tama wrestler to advance was Case Monat in 106. Ranked No. 8 heading in, Monat was in one of the first matches held during the evening session and he went up against No. 12 Molly Allen of Underwood. After what Knaack called a slow start, Monat pounced early in the second period. Taking a pin in 2 minutes, 25 seconds, Monat moves on to face Brock Morris of Cascade on Friday. Morris is No. 3 at 106 pounds.

Kolt Knaack was the third Redhawk to make it to Wells Fargo Arena. The freshman, ranked No. 6 at 132 pounds, was matched up with No. 5 Joe Ebaugh of Denver. Kolt was pinned in 5:15 by Ebaugh in a close match and sent to the consolation bracket, where he met a similar fate against Kitt Lundy of Pleasantville.

Andrew said there will be brighter days ahead for Kolt, and he expects him to use this first experience at state to improve next year.

“Kolt was in a tough spot in the bracket,” Andrew said. “Either he builds off of it or he lets it set him back. I think he’s gonna take those last two losses to heart. I mean, he won 41 matches this year, a school record for a freshman. He has nothing to hang his head about.”

North Tama’s Kolt Knaack, right, fights for position with Denver’s Joe Ebaugh during their first-round match at 132 pounds in Class 1A competition at the Iowa High School State Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Knaack lost twice on Thursday to be eliminated from the state meet. – Photo by Noah Rohlfing

Zook and Monat will wrestle Friday in session 5, which begins at 2:30 p.m.