Carter Haberkorn named to Academic All-State Wrestling Team

Press Staff Report

CHARLES CITY — The Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association recently honored several outstanding student-athletes while listing its Academic All-State Team.

Charles City senior Carter Haberkorn is one of those honorees.

Criteria for the honor include being a junior or senior qualifier for the State Wrestling Championships and maintaining a grade-point-average of 3.75 or higher.

Haberkorn was Charles City’s lone state-qualifier and competed in the Class 2A 120-pound bracket. At State, Haberkorn rebounded from a first-round loss with a win in the consolations to stay alive in the tournament.

Haberkorn was stopped short of medal placement and finished with a 23-15 record his senior year.

Arguably the team’s most valuable wrestler, Haberkorn consistently gave loyal Comet wrestling fans something to cheer about during meets where the overall outcome had already been determined due to Charles City unable to fill most of the weight classes.

Some of the biggest thrills of the season were Haberkorn’s numerous come-from-behind victories.

One near example of this was during the semifinals of the district (state-qualifying) meet at New Hampton where Haberkorn found himself down 13-6 against Waukon’s Kaden Mitchell going into the third period after surviving several near-fall predicaments.

Haberkorn appeared to defeat Mitchell with a final-second takedown, but the referee ruled it wasn’t in time as eventual-champion Mitchell advanced by way of a 16-15 decision.

Haberkorn later defeated North Fayette Valley’s Kyson Moss 1-0 in the subsequent wrestleback to earn his second state berth of his high school career.

Haberkorn’s previous trip to Des Moines was at the tail end of his sophomore season where he qualified as a 106-pounder.

Haberkorn took a hiatus from wrestling his junior season when he, admittedly, had commitment issues with the sport.

His return his senior year was welcomed by a program that greatly needed it as Haberkorn was there to assist first-year head coach Ryan Schmalen in rebuilding the Comets from the ground up while encouraging more fellow students to go out for wrestling, and providing leadership and guidance to teammates new to the sport.