Iowa
Rapid reactions from Iowa high school state wrestling Class 3A session
Southeast Polk’s Wil Oberbroeckling discusses strong start
VIDEO: Southeast Polk wrestling’s Wil Oberbroeckling discusses strong start for his team
We are officially underway from downtown Des Moines for the 2026 Iowa state high school wrestling tournament.
Wrestlers and coaches have a slightly different schedule than in years past, with only Class 3A competing in the evening on the opening day of the tournament. After the first session on Wednesday evening, quarterfinal matches have been set in Class 3A. The start of competition in Class 2A and 1A begins on Thursday, Feb. 19.
Here are some rapid reactions and analysis from the start of the IHSAA wrestling tournament.
Southeast Polk starts hot at Iowa state wrestling tournament
- The Rams are out in front after the first session, to no surprise, sending 11 wrestlers to the quarterfinals and having 13 of their 14 state qualifiers still competing. They’re already out to 68 team points, 10 more than second-place North Scott.
- Leading the way was Amir Newman-Winfrey (106 pounds), Mat Prine (120), Eddie Woody (126), Nash Hanson (132), Nico DeSalvo (138), Wil Oberbroeckling (144), Justis Jesurgoa (150), Dokken Biladeau (165) and Cael Roberts (285). That group of nine reached the quarterfinals while adding bonus points for the team. Those nine wrestlers are responsible for 52.5 team points alone, which would be good enough for fourth place as a team.
- On the team’s mentality entering the tournament, looking for a third state tournament crown, Oberbroeckling said this: “We’re pretty confident. We weren’t so sure at the start, but these guys caught along pretty quick (on) what it is supposed to look like out there.”
Indianola’s Cain Crosson discusses first Iowa state wrestling tourney
Indianola’s Cain Crosson discusses his first Iowa state wrestling tourney, wrestling with his brother
Des Moines-area’s top wrestlers thrive in opening rounds
- As always in the state’s largest class, Des Moines-metro schools came to compete. Of the top 10 schools in the team standings, six of them are from the Des Moines area, including Southeast Polk (first), Indianola (third), Dowling Catholic (fourth), Urbandale (seventh), Waukee Northwest (eighth) and Ankeny (tenth).
- Dowling Catholic has seven wrestlers in the quarterfinals, including Cruz Gannon (106), Jack Wallukait (113), Kayden Eller (120), Kyler Simons (138), Airic Conn (144), Jayden Zachary (150) and Brady Hagan (285). Gannon, Wallukait, Eller and Hagan all earned wins by fall and are expected to be the top-point getters for the Maroons.
- The always pesky Indianola program had a nice showing as well. Five of its wrestlers are in the quarterfinals, including the Crosson brothers, Cain (113) and Mac (165), who both carry legitimate state title aspirations at their weight.
- Waukee Northwest also had a particularly nice showing, sending six of its nine state qualifiers to the quarterfinals. While they sit in eighth, only Southeast Polk and Dowling Catholic have more in the quarterfinals. Of those six, just one is a senior, heavyweight Henry Mohr. The Wolves may not be team state title contenders this time around, but this young program has a lot to be excited about this week and beyond, with wrestlers like Carew Christensen (113) and Hayden Hutt (144) who continue to show potential.
Fort Dodge’s Dreshaun Ross has a dominant start to his fourth state title run
- Ross left nothing to chance in his first match to reach the quarterfinals. He defeated Bettendorf’s Armon Williams in just 56 seconds with a 21-6 technical fall.
- Normally, a 56-second technical fall involves a lot of near-fall swipes, but Ross posted seven takedowns in less than a minute. He mixed equal parts speed in counterattacks and strength with big blast-double takedowns to roll to the quarterfinals.
- Ross is now 32-0 in his senior season as he seeks his fourth state title. Iowa wrestling fans should enjoy his talent now because if he keeps up that type of pace in all his matches, he’ll only have a couple of minutes left of his high school wrestling career.
Class 3A team scores at Iowa boys state wrestling tournament
- 1st – Southeast Polk (68 points)
- 2nd – North Scott (58)
- 3rd – Indianola (55.5)
- 4th – Dowling Catholic (52)
- 5th – Bettendorf (42.5)
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.
DES Moines, Iowa — Gov. Kim Reynolds has ordered all flags in Iowa to be lowered to half-staff Saturday in honor of state Sen. Julian Garrett, who died June 8 at the age of 85.
Flags will be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset June 20, the day of Garrett’s funeral, on the Iowa Capitol Building and across the Capitol Complex. The order also applies to all public buildings, grounds and facilities throughout the state.
Garrett served 16 years in the Iowa Legislature, first representing House District 55 from 2011 to 2013 before serving in the Iowa Senate through the 2026 legislative session.
In addition to his legislative service, Garrett was a farmer, attorney and former employee of the Iowa Attorney General’s Office.
“Sen. Garrett was a friend who served our state with integrity — whether as a cattle producer, a Little League coach, an attorney in the executive branch, or a legislator,” Reynolds said in a statement. “For 15 years, we worked together to unleash opportunities for the Iowans we served, and his impact will be felt for generations to come.”
Reynolds is encouraging individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government entities to lower their flags to half-staff during the same time period as a sign of respect.
Garrett represented southwest Iowa in the Legislature and was known for his work on judiciary and agriculture-related issues during his tenure at the Statehouse.
An Iowa man was injured Thursday afternoon after three vehicles traveling northbound on Interstate 35 collided near Albert Lea.
Thomas Gene Anderson, 34, of Winnebago, Iowa, was taken by Mayo Ambulance to Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea for non-life threatening injuries, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.
Anderson was listed as the driver of a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer.
The report states the Blazer and a 2020 Nissan Rogue, driven by Brenda Sue Bangs, 52, of Glenville, and a 2021 Chevrolet Blazer, driven by Lisa Ann Bettin, 64, of Altoona, Iowa, were all northbound on I-35 near milepost 10 when the vehicles collided at 3:49 p.m.
As we work through the month of June, things are starting to heat up on the diamond around Iowa high school baseball.
With the start of postseason play just around the corner in July, teams are working to get prepared for the stretch run.
High School On SI Iowa has a Top 25 state power ranking while the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association releases weekly class-by-class rankings.
Here are leaders as of June 17, 2026 for several major hitting and pitching categories. Stats are from those uploaded to the Bound website.
Iowa High School Baseball Leaders
Home Runs
- Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 9
- Colton Roemmich, West Des Moines Valley, 9
- Brandon Bea, Davenport North, 8
- Kamden Jorgensen, Saydel, 8
- Gabe Blanshan, Urbandale, 7
Running Batted In
- Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 38
- West Cole, Mason City Newman Catholic, 37
- Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 36
- Chance Georgius, Roland-Story, 34
- Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 34
Stolen Bases
- Aiden Ferry, Roland-Story, 38
- Tate Garman, Algona, 33
- Titan Foster, Nodaway Valley, 32
- Tate Moulton, Grand View Christian, 30
- Cael Wishman, Baxter, 29
Runs Scored
- Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 45
- Aiden Frey, Roland-Story, 43
- Cal Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 41
- Kolton Schiltz, Fort Dodge, 40
- Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 39
Hits
- Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 39
- Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 38
- Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 36
- Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 35
- Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 34
Doubles
- Joe Nilles, Sioux City North, 13
- Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 13
- Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 12
- Brett Harris, Western Dubuque, 12
- Brooks Bond, Lewis Central, 11
Triples
- Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 7
- Will Nesler, Ankeny Centennial, 5
- Jacob Pierro, Dubuque Wahlert Catholic, 5
- Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 5
- Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 4
Total Bases
- Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 68
- Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 68
- Bryce Pauly, Davenport North, 67
- Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 65
- Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 62
Pitching Wins
- Tyler Etten, Urbandale, 9
- Chase White, Dyersville Beckman Catholic, 7
- Colton Moffit, Baxter, 7
- Connor Mullenbach, Saint Ansgar, 6
- Aidan Nielsen, Don Bosco, 6
Earned Run Average (min. 18 innings pitched)
- Connor Mullenbach, Saint Ansgar, 0.00
- Luke Vestal, Pleasantville, 0.00
- Ryan Stedman, West Des Moines Valley, 0.24
- Will Litton, Iowa City Regina Catholic, 0.25
- Judd Jirovsky, Grundy Center, 0.26
Strikeouts
- Colton Moffit, Baxter, 85
- Brody Wangsness, North Butler, 75
- Lincoln Roethler, Denver, 71
- Owen Klocksiem, Louisa-Muscatine, 67
- Cooper Chizek, Emmetsburg, 65
Opponents Batting Average Against (min. 18 innings pitched)
- Macklin Loftus, Logan-Magnolia, .017
- Jack Wedemeier, Waverly-Shell Rock, .065
- Teagan Brunk, Shenandoah, .069
- Ryan Stedman, West Des Moines Valley, .072
- Bronx Siebersma, MVAOCOU, .075
Saves
- Beckham Simon, West Liberty, 4
- Deacon Kucera, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 4
- Graham Rima, Pleasant Valley, 4
- Gavin de Jesus, Waukee, 4
- Easton Goodwin, Waterloo Columbus Catholic, 3
Innings Pitched
- Colton Moffit, Baxter, 43
- Tyler Etten, Urbandale, 38.2
- Owen Galvin, Denison-Schleswig, 38
- Tallon Crandall, Carroll, 37.1
- Austin Remster, Melcher-Dallas, 37.1
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