The St. Edmond wrestling program owes a lot to Sam Myer and Adam Walker.

On Tuesday night, they were able to honor the seniors with a special event.

Along with hosting North Central Conference rival Clarion-Goldfield/Dows and Forest City, the Gaels brought in perennial state contender Don Bosco to the SEHS gym for action on the mats.

Between all that, they recognized Myer and Walker, two key pieces to keeping the program afloat over these past four years.

“It was great that we were able to present Sam and Adam in front of a large crowd,” SEHS head coach Kaden McClintock said. “They are a big reason we still have this team going and I just can’t say enough good things about both of them.”

Myer, a two-time state qualifier, earned two falls on the night, including a seven-second pin vs. Travis Messer from Forest City in his final match on the home mat.

Earlier in the night, Myer pinned Kolton Hefti from Clarion-Goldfield/Dows in 2:57 at 138 pounds to begin that dual.

“For Sam to go out like that, what an amazing moment for him,” McClintock said. “He was ready and went out there with a bang. He has worked so hard over his high school career and I am so proud of him.”

Despite the 2-1 mark, Myer admitted he was “disappointed in myself for getting pinned,”

“But the only thing I can do now is get better for the last few weeks of the season,” he said. “(The quick pin came) as I just think the other guy wasn’t ready for a toss. I almost never do them.”

Walker got his hand raised one final time in front of the home crowd when he was awarded a forfeit at heavyweight vs. Forest City.

“Adam has been such a key piece for us these last four years,” McClintock said. “I’m excited to see what we can do over the final weeks of the season.”

Freshman Matthew Crimmins also picked up a fall, as he pinned Maison Fleener from Forest City in just 76 seconds.

Crimmins and Walker both suffered losses to the Cowboys, as Crimmins, Myer and Walker all lost vs. Don Bosco.

It has been a busy six-day stretch for the Gael wrestling team. They were in action last Thursday at a triangular in Webster City before returning home to help host the Vinnie Harvey Youth Tournament on Friday.

This past Saturday, St. Edmond hosted its annual dual tournament with four other teams in attendance.

“Now, we get to prepare for the postseason with just tournaments to wrestle,” McClintock said. “We’ll get in the practice room and work on improving each of these kids to be at their best come February.”

Fourth-ranked (Class 2A) Clarion-Goldfield/Dows picked up a 68-11 victory over Forest City, getting pins from Colin Sesker, Jaxen Engstrom, Ryland Morgan, Charlie Campbell, Paxton Redenius and Ryan Hartwig. Caleb Seaba and Adrian Phetxoumphone both won via technical fall, as Mason Warnke had a major decision.

The Cowboys also scored a 42-36 win over No. 2 (1A) Don Bosco with Sesker, Seaba, Morgan, Campbell, JT Kelso, Cole Wibholm, Linden Phetxoumphone and Adrian Phetxoumphone all earning victories.

Don Bosco’s lineup features defending state champions Kyler Knaack and Dawson Youngblut, along with Hayden and Hendrix Schwab, the sons of University of Northern Iowa head coach Doug Schwab. Hayden Schwab was a state runner-up last year and Hendrix Schwab is a freshman this season.

“It was great to see the other three teams bring a lot of people,” McClintock said. “And our fans did a great job of showing up in support of our team and wrestling.”

St. Edmond returns to action on Saturday when they compete at AGWSR for the Cougar Invitational. From that point on, the Gaels have the NCC Tournament on Jan. 25 and the South Central Calhoun Duals the following Saturday before postseason wrestling begins.