Iowa
Iowa state wrestling 1A finals recap, Don Bosco makes history
Don Bosco’s Hayden Schwab talks state title after return from injury
Don Bosco’s Hayden Schwab talks state title after return from injury
In a sport with so much tradition within Iowa, it’s hard to set new bars to reach.
Even so, Don Bosco found a way to do it at this year’s Iowa state wrestling tournament. The Dons won their 18th traditional team state title, passing Waterloo West for the most all-time. It’s the program’s eighth in a row, a streak dating back to 2019.
Don Bosco crowned six individual state champions, which ties a 2001 Lewis Central record for the most in a single year. Ty Martin (106 pounds), Kaiden Belinsky (113), Hendrix Schwab (120), Hayden Schwab (126), Dawson Youngblut (144) and Ethan Christoffer (175) each left with a state title. Youngblut, an Iowa commit, won his third and has a chance for four next year. The Schwab brothers, sons of UNI coach Doug Schwab, are now both two-time state champions. Also contributing was Blake Irvine, who took seventh at 132 pounds as the team’s lone state medalist outside of finalists.
It’s a surreal moment for the small-town team from Gilbertville, surpassing a Waterloo West program with so much rich tradition, behind names like Dan Gable, having made so much history within the state. While the Dons are far from the biggest school, they’ve found a way to have it all within their wrestling room.
Hayden Schwab pointed to the people behind the program, particularly the fans who helped propel the team to new heights.
“I don’t know if there’s a more dedicated group of people,” Hayden Schwab said. “They’re driving for these little 1A tournaments in the middle of the year, we got huge crowd at the Hudson tournament. You gotta say the people.”
From World-level talents like Hayden Schwab overcoming a torn labrum, high-end Division I prospects like Youngblut and gritty wrestlers like Kyler Salis, who had the dual state title-clinching match against Jesup two weeks ago, Don Bosco has built a small-town school into Iowa’s most-accomplished program.
“We’ve all grown up together, gone to club together and we just make each other better every day,” Youngblut said after clinching the team title on Feb. 20. “Not just in wrestling, but in life. We’re all brothers.”
Class 1A Iowa state wrestling tournament final matchups
106 – Don Bosco’s Ty Martin vs. South Central Calhoun’s Karson Wuebker, 1-0 decision
Martin escaped in the second period from bottom, while Wuebker did not in the third in a bout decided from par terre.
113 – Don Bosco’s Kaiden Belinsky over WACO’s Ian Maize, 17-2 technical fall
Belinsky saved his best match for last, recording five takedowns and two near-fall points in his state title victory.
120 – Don Bosco’s Hendrix Schwab over Martensdale St. Marys’ Jensen Dyer
Schwab’s takedown just 17 seconds into his finals match, plus a second-period reversal, was all he needed to secure his second state title.
126 – Don Bosco’s Hayden Schwab over Earlham’s Max Millage, fall (1:24)
Coming off an injury, Schwab had a dominant state tournament with two technical falls and a quick win by fall in his finals match.
132 – Jesup’s Cooper Hinz over Lawton-Bronson’s Riley Watts, 4-1 decision
The future Michigan Wolverine had to gut this one out, recording a takedown with 23 seconds left to go to secure the state title for second-placed Jesup.
138 – Riverside’s Drew Anderson over Louisa-Mucatine’s Hayden Riggan, fall (1:26)
Takedown, takedown, takedown, takedown, then finally a pin. Anderson didn’t leave this one to chance.
144 – Don Bosco’s Dawson Youngblut vs. Pleasantville’s Blake Rowson, 17-0 technical fall
Youngblut had just two takedowns in this match, but turns from the top position helped him earn the shutout
150 – Lake Mills’ Steve Brandenburg over Iowa Valley Marengo’s Chance Hoyt, fall (1:51)
Brandenburg only needed one takedown, as he ran the bar and pinned Hoyt in short order.
157 – West Hancock’s Teague Smith over Westwood’s Boston Peters, 7-4 decision
In a battle between a veteran in Smith and a talented sophomore in Peters, Smith’s two first-period takedowns were the difference.
165 – North Mahaska’s Ryan Groom over South Winneshiek’s Kyle Kuboushek, 6-3 sudden victory
The senior found a way in overtime, as Kuboushek disengaged from the handfight for a moment and Groom took advantage for a takedown.
175 – Don Bosco’s Ethan Christoffer over Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley’s Brock Mulder, fall (1:47)
Don Bosco’s sixth state champion nearly pinned Mulder off of his first takedown with four near-fall points, but he was able to get one in the closing moments of the first period to put a bow on the Dons’ special night.
190 – Starmont’s Keaton Moeller over Nodaway Valley’s Caleb Christensen, 21-6 technical fall
The UNI commit came back from missing all of last season with injury with pure dominance, winning all of his matches on the weekend by fall or technical fall.
215 – Woodbury Central’s Carter Wright over Don Bosco’s Kyler Salis, 20-3 technical fall
Aside from giving up a takedown early in the third period, Wright dominated with a mix of takedowns and near-fall points to win a state title.
285 – Nodaway Valley’s Ashton Honnold over Earlham’s Keegan Long, fall (0:55)
Another three-time state champion was crowned, as this UNI commit hit a highlight-reel blast double on Long to take him straight to his back for the win by fall.
Class 1A team scores after the finals at the Iowa state wrestling tournament
- 1st – Don Bosco (222 points)
- 2nd – Jesup (115.5)
- 3rd – Woodbury Central (103)
- 4th – Nodaway Valley (80.5)
- 5th – Lisbon (77.5)
Full team scores and updated brackets can be found on Flowrestling.com.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
Five people were shot and injured at an Iowa City pedestrian mall near the University of Iowa campus overnight, police said Sunday. Students from the university were among the injured, according to school officials.
The Iowa City Police Department responded to a report of a large fight in the 100 Block of East College Street at 1:46 a.m. early Sunday, the department said in a news release. Arriving officers heard gunfire.
Multiple victims were hospitalized, police said. Police confirmed to CBS News that one person was in critical condition, while the other four victims are stable.
University of Iowa President Barb Wilson said in a statement that three students were among those shot. None of the victims has been publicly identified.
No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing. Police said they are seeking information about five “persons of interest associated with this shooting.” The university also shared the request for information.
The pedestrian mall was closed for several hours and reopened Sunday afternoon.
Here are the candidates for High School on SI’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for April 13-18. Read through the nominees and cast your vote.
Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. PT on Sunday, April 26. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:
Taylor Roose, Pella boys track and field
Roose competed in three events at the Norwalk Invitational, winning all three in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and long jump.
Daxon Kiesau, Urbandale boys track and field
Kiesau swept the throwing events at the Norwalk Invitational, taking first place in the shot put and the discus.
Alex Burger, Southeast Valley boys track and field
Competing at home, Burger dominated, earning four gold medals. He won the 400-meter hurdles and the long jump while running on the winning 4×200-meter relay and shuttle hurdle relay.
Kolby Hodnefield, Clear Lake boys track and field
Hodenfield, a defending state champion, broke the meet, venue and school record in the 200 and the 400 at the Clear Lake Invitational. He added victories as part of the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Both relays also set meet records.
Easton Moon, North Polk boys tennis
Moon has started off his senior season on the courts unbeaten, winning all four matches while dropping just one game in 44 played.
Ava Lohrbach, Gilbert girls golf
One of the top golfers in the state, Lohrbach has had a hot start, firing a 35 in her nine-hole debut and a 72 for her 18-hole opener.
Nathan Manske, Algona boys golf
An elite quarterback and basketball player, Manske is showing his golfing skills this spring, coming out with a state-low 30 in a nine-hole event.
Ella Hein, Tipton girls track and field
Hein set school records in the 400-meter run and long jump at the Tiger/Tigerette Relays while also locking in the Blue Standard and qualifying for the Drake Relays. She won the long jump (18-6) and was second in the 400.
Maeve Bowen-Burt, Iowa City High girls track and field
The sophomore helped the Little Hawks land three Drake Relays events on the last night of qualifying, advancing in the 400 hurdles, along with the sprint medley and 4×400 relays.
About Our Athlete of the Week Voting
High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals. Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports. Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.
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The late boxing great George Foreman lies buried in a cemetery in the northwestern corner of Iowa – a place he has no connection to outside of a lone visit to the region nearly 40 years ago.
Foreman died March 21, 2025, at the age of 76 in Houston and was buried in Logan Park Cemetery at Sioux City, Iowa, a month later, city officials confirmed. Foreman’s family returned Thursday to his burial site, holding a news conference with Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott to reveal Foreman’s burial place, marked by a large monument that bears an image of him as a teen following his Olympic gold medal boxing win.
The family explained in a statement released by Sioux City officials that he had visited the Iowa city in 1988, and often recalled the sense of peace he experienced there.
After traveling to the city on April 17 last year to bury Foreman, his family said they immediately understood the region’s appeal.
“Our father lived a life of purpose, faith and gratitude,” the family said in a statement released by Sioux City officials. “To see him laid to rest in a place that brought him peace means everything to us.”
Scott joined the family at Foreman’s monument that lies just a few miles north of the Missouri River in an upper Midwest city of nearly 87,000 people. The cemetery overlooks the scenic Loess Hills, created by windblown silt deposits that reach up to 200 feet high (about 61 meters) and line the river along the Iowa border for 200 miles (322 kilometers).
“Their story is a reminder of how one place can stay with someone for a lifetime,” Scott said.
A native Texan, Foreman rose to fame when he made the 1968 U.S. Olympic boxing team, winning gold in Mexico City. He became the heavyweight champion of the world in 1973 by defeating the great Joe Frazier, only to lose the title a year later to Muhammad Ali in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle.”
A full 20 years later in 1994, Foreman became the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship at 45, defeating Michael Moorer in an epic upset.
Foreman retired in 1997 with a 76-5 career record.
He then moved on to the next chapter in his life as a businessman, pitchman and occasional actor, becoming known to a new generation as the face of the George Foreman Grill. The simple cooking machine sold more than 100 million units and brought him more wealth than boxing.
A biographical movie based on Foreman’s life was released in 2023.
Copyright © 2026 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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