Trojan senior Shane Hanford and sophomore Urijah Courter won their quarterfinal matches during Thursday night’s Class 2A session of the IHSAA state wrestling tournament at Wells Fargo Arena to move one step closer to championship gold.

Hanford improved to 44-0 this season with a 4-2 decision over Clear Lake’s Aiden Hippen.

Hippen broke a scoreless tie in the second period with an escape from bottom position and Hanford did the same to start the third period.

After what felt like at times a wide-open scramble between the two, Hanford was able to shoot on Hippen’s right leg, closing the gap and finding the leverage needed to drive Hippen to his back for three points with under 50 seconds remaining. Hippen was able to spin out with 25 seconds left but couldn’t get a clean shot as Hanford finished up the win.

“There were multiple times in that match I thought we had a takedown coming and we didn’t get it,” West Marshall head coach Stephen Adams said. “But there were some scary shots on Shane, too, but man, Shane fights. He’s never going to give a free point. He’ll battle to the end.”

Hanford said his endurance won the day against an opponent that he felt was stronger than him.

“I haven’t wrestled many people that have outpowered me, but it was hard to get to my ties,” Hanford said. “I just tried to be heavy on his hips — he’s very powerful, but I started seeing him wear out and took advantage of it.”

Friday’s semifinal pits Hanford against Anamosa’s Hudson Scranton — Hanford defeated Scranton by 10-4 decision on Jan. 4 at an Osage tournament. Scranton pinned West Liberty’s Briggs Collins to reach the semis.

If Hanford’s match was chaotic, Courter’s was much tamer by comparison, exactly where he wanted it against Rowan Berndt, a crafty freshman from Burlington Notre Dame that Courter was able to neutralize for a 4-0 decision in a 113-pound quarterfinal.

“I didn’t wrestle as well as I thought I could yesterday,” Courter said of a 13-7 decision over North Butler-Clarksville’s Carl Shew on Wednesday. “I was more focused today on winning the match, I knew I was up against a good kid, and I knew to get my feet moving, how to circle, how to stay composed.

“I’ve got to stay in good position, because I don’t want to let up any takedowns that I have to make up, even though I think I can come back from any point deficit.”

Courter lost in the semifinals last year at 106 pounds. Sioux Center’s Bryce Oostenink will try to play the role of this year’s spoiler in Friday’s semifinal.

“I’m ready for revenge,” Courter said. “Last year did not go as I planned. This year, I plan on winning it all.”

Jon Gonzalez was knocked to the consolation bracket after a 16-3 major decision defeat against Crestwood’s Mitchell Schmauss in a 120-pound quarterfinal.

Schmauss’ lead was 4-3 going to the third period after riding out Gonzalez in the second, and Schmauss was able to turn shot defense into offense, getting around Gonzalez for a takedown and some extra back points in the third period.

“We got after him early, and he’s right there in the third period,” Adams said. “The score looks different than what it was and I think that match could’ve gone either way.

“You never want to take that loss when you feel like you’re worthy of being in the finals, which he is, but now it’s a mission to prove that you belong and go beat up some kids on the backside.”

Gonzalez can lock in his state medal with a win over Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s Garrett Pumphrey on Friday.

West Marshall’s 126-pounder Jack Decker and 144-pounder Kinnick Geers bowed out on Thursday.

Decker was pinned in a second-round consolation against Aplington-Parkersburg/Grundy Center’s Carter Liston, while Geers won his first match by tech fall but lost by fall to Algona’s Barrett Morgan.

“Jack was excited for his matchup because he knew that match could go either way, we had seen him earlier in the year,” Adams said. “It was just a sad ending, but a very good career for him at West Marshall.

“[Morgan] is not a guy you expect to see on the backside yet, that’s tough. We saw him a few weeks ago at regional duals and Kinnick didn’t score a single offensive point on him, but he had multiple takedowns tonight. I was proud of how he wrestled, and we were aggressive. You never want it to be your last match of the year, but it was a nice last match.”

AROUND THE AREA: A-P/GC’s Carter Liston lost a third-round consolation by 11-5 decision against Decorah’s Gavin Knutson to end his senior season as a three-time state qualifier for the Falcons. … Teammates Maison Copp (190) and Jesse Brouwer (215) also won their second-round consolation matches but were eliminated in the third-round consolation; 113-pounder Brayden Jara was knocked out in the consolation second round…. East Marshall/GMG’s Jordan Meling lost by fall to Decorah’s Will Larson, eliminating Meling from the 138-pound bracket. The Mustangs’ 190-pounder Drew Wheater lost to Carroll’s Quinten Polking by fall in the second period, ending his state tournament at 1-2. … South Hardin-BCLUW’s Beau Towne lost by fall to Williamsburg’s Brady Grier to end his tournament.

Friday’s schedule

Class 2A session, 6 p.m.

Fourth-round consolations

120 pounds — Jon Gonzalez, soph., West Marshall, 39-4 vs. Garrett Pumphrey, soph., Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, 27-7

Semifinals

113 pounds — Urijah Courter, soph., West Marshall, 41-0 vs. Bryce Oostenink, jr., Sioux Center, 39-4

150 pounds — Shane Hanford, sr., West Marshall, 44-0 vs. Hudson Scranton, jr., Anamosa, 41-3