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WEBSTER CITY - The current face and a candidate to be the future face of the Webster City wrestling program were among the elite grapplers last month when the USA Wrestling Preseason Nationals were held in Cedar Falls.

Eighth grader Connor Larson claimed a national championship in the middle school 144-pound weight class on Halloween day, while his future Lynx teammate Tyler Patten, a junior, placed fifth in the high school 125-pound division arguably the most stacked bracket of any at the tournament.

More than 800 wrestlers from across the nation took part in the illustrious tournament. Larson dissected three opponents, including one by pin, en route to the gold medal, while Patten won eight of 10 matches in a 64-man field.

"It's a pretty big venue and it's a good measuring stick to see where you're at with kids from within the state and kids from out of the state," Webster City head wrestling coach Ted Larson said after watching his son and brightest prep pupil compete. "You're only as good as the competition that you wrestle, so it was a good start for them this year."

Connor Larson put Caleb Worral on his back in the opening period of the 144-pound final. Worral came to the tournament from North Dakota.

"As a dad I was very proud," Ted Larson said of his son's accomplishment. "But we've got to keep this in perspective too. Yeah, there were a lot of tough kids at that tournament, but we're a long ways away from the main goal once he gets to high school."

Patten, a two-time third-place medal winner at the Iowa State Wrestling Tournament, lost his opening-round match and was forced to claw his way into medal contention from the back side of the bracket. He beat longtime nemesis and state runner-up Jacob Colon of Clear Lake, 6-2, in the fifth-place match. The two wrestled a total of eight times during their freshman and sophomore seasons with Colon - also a junior - winning seven of them.

"It was a huge day for Tyler for the simple fact that he just kept getting stronger and stronger as the day went on," Ted Larson said. "I couldn't believe how he kept coming on."

Levi Wolfensperger of Denver topped John Meeks of Des Moines Roosevelt, 1-0, in the final at 125 that featured a pair of prep state champions who combined to win 90 of 91 high school matches last winter. Wolfensperger - a senior and University of Northern Iowa recruit - won the Class 2A 119-pound title last February, and Meeks - only a sophomore - was the 3A champion at 119.

Wrestlers from Iowa won five more national titles at the tournament. They included Denver's Brandon Sorensen (119), Waverly-Shell Rock's Jordan Rinken (130) and Cody Krumwiede (215), Bettendorf's Bo Schlosser (135) and North Scott's Walt Gillmor (171).

Other Webster City wrestlers who competed in the tournament were Avery Jackson, Royce Nessa, Joe Powers, Luke Shannon, Tyler Raygor, Brandon Patten and Jake Powers.