Iowa

Southeast Polk wrestling wins 3rd straight Iowa state duals title

Published

3 weeks ago

February 7, 2026

Southeast Polk wrestling wins 3rd straight Iowa state duals title

CORALVILLE − After a regular season full of dual dominance, the Southeast Polk wrestling team capped it off with an Iowa boys state duals championship on Saturday, Feb 7.

It’s the third straight for the program and the fifth since 2019. The Rams now own eight boys state duals titles, which is the third most in Iowa and only behind Don Bosco (16) and Davenport Assumption (9).

The Rams opened with a wire-to-wire victory over Pleasant Valley, winning 11 of 14 bouts to claim the dual, 54-15. In the semifinals, Southeast Polk drew its likely top challenger for a title against No. 4-seed Dowling Catholic.

While Southeast Polk lost the opening two matches to the Maroons by fall to Cruz Gannon at 106 pounds and technical fall to Jack Wallukait at 113, the Rams bounced back to win 46-25 over Dowling Catholic. In total, the Rams won nine of 14 matches to reach the finals.

Southeast Polk drew Indianola for the final dual to secure a team title. Ultimately, the hammers at the beginning of the lineup shined for the Rams as they blitzed Indianola, 57-11. At 106 pounds, Amir Newman-Winfrey rolled to a 15-0 technical fall over Indianola’s Chandler Brown. Indianola’s Cain Crosson answered with a win by fall over Jaren Wirtz, but Southeast Polk went on to win the next eight matches to clinch a third-straight duals title.

The Rams got wins from Mat Prine at 120 (fall over Max Metzger), Eddie Woody at 126 (fall over Hayden Wessel), Nash Hanson at 132 (18-3 technical fall over Cameran Cunningham), Nico DeSalvo at 138 (fall over Grady Nelsen), Wil Oberbroeckling at 138 (17-1 technical fall over Stoney Wood) and Justis Jesuroga at 150 with a thrilling 6-1 win by decision at the buzzer over Elijah Blewitt. Alex Penzkover clinched the dual at 157 for Southeast Polk, winning in sudden victory (4-1) over Rylan Hilton. After a win for Dokken Biladeau at 165, Southeast Polk was able to let some junior varsity guys on the mat and enjoy the win.

“Our lineup hasn’t really been full until the last few weeks, so it was nice to see everyone kind of come together and get some really good wins,” Southeast Polk head coach Jake Agnitsch said.

The Rams were one of several central Iowa teams that found success. Following Indianola as a runner-up, Waukee Northwest secured a 36-29 win over Dowling Catholic in the third-place dual. Dallas Center-Grimes also took sixth in the program’s first appearance in the event since 2010.

Those teams will all be chasing the Rams in two weeks at the traditional state tournament. The tough part for them is that the Rams’ leaders have stepped up into their new roles and gotten things rolling at the perfect time.

“We were the younger guys looking up to Mike Slade, the Martinsons and now we had to step into that and show all the younger guys what it’s like to work hard and win championships,” Oberbroeckling said.

1. Southeast Polk
2. Indianola
3. Waukee Northwest
4. Dowling Catholic
5. Linn-Mar
6. Dallas Center-Grimes
7. Iowa City West
8. Pleasant Valley

Eddyvillle-Blakesburg-Fremont emerges from Class 2A to claim duals state title

For the the forth-consecutive year, we have a new Class 2A duals team state champion. This time around, it was the Rockets of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont. It’s the program’s first-ever duals state title in what was only the school’s fourth-ever appearance in the tournament.

The Rockets opened with a 40-29 dual victory over Alburnett in the first round, downing a quality program that has been in these moments plenty in recent years. They followed it up with a 41-25 victory over Clarion-Goldfield-Dows to reach the finals, where they won a thriller of a dual vs. Decorah.

The lightweights from 113 pounds to 144 pounds racked up 31 of the team’s 37 points in the 37-33 dual win over the Vikings. Those same guys will be the ones hoping to win state titles in Des Moines in two weeks, and could very well propel the Rockets to a traditional state title as well.

“We’ve probably been doubted as a dual team, just because we have a lot of really good individuals,” Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont head coach Dimitri Boyer said. “It’s something they’ve looked forward to and something that’s been our goal sheet.”

1. Eddyvillle-Blakesburg-Fremont
2. Decorah
3. Clarion-Goldfield-Dows
4. Independence
5. Alburnett
6. West Delaware
7. Algona
8. Glenwood

Don Bosco wins sixth duals title in a row

The Dons winning Class 1A’s state duals title is one of the more-reliable things wrestling fans in Iowa can count on from year-to-year. Don Bosco secured its 16th duals state title with a 53-27 over Logan-Magnolia in the first round, a 52-15 win over Hinton in the semifinal and a 36-30 win in the finals over Jesup in what was the dual of the day.

Going into the final match of the dual at heavyweight, the score was just 33-30 and the state title hung in the balance. Don Bosco’s Kyler Salis’ second-period takedown to win a 5-3 decision was the decider, as the Dons showed grit to walk away with another state title.

“I’m proud of our kids for being composed and getting the job done,” Don Bosco head coach Chris Ortner said.

Don Bosco already had a firm lead on the most dual state titles heading into the tournament, but the program’s continued dominance of Class 1A extended another year behind a special group of wrestlers. The Schwab brothers Hayden and Hendrix, Ty Martin, Kaiden Belisnky and Dawson Youngblut are just a few of their state title contenders as they look to potentially have a historic state tournament in two weeks.

1. Don Bosco
2. Jesup
3. Hinton
4. Lake Mills
5. Woodbury Central
6. Riverside
7. Logan-Magnolia
8. Nashua-Plainfield

Match-by-match results and 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.

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Iowa

Iowa Boys High School Basketball Substate Finals Locked In For 4A

Published

7 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Iowa Boys High School Basketball Substate Finals Locked In For 4A

The fourth and final bunch of Iowa high school boys basketball substate championship games are now set after the second round of Class 4A games were completed on Friday, February 27.

Substate championships in Iowa’s largest classification will take place on Tuesday, March 3, with the higher seed serving as host in all eight games. Winners advance to Des Moines, Iowa and the Casey’s Center to compete in the Iowa High School Athletic Association Boys State Tournament beginning March 9.

Three-time defending 4A state champion Valley was eliminated by Ankeny, 72-36. The Tigers, who lost all five starters from a year ago, won just one game prior to earning a victory in the opening round of postseason play.

Cedar Falls, who has held the No. 1 spot in 4A throughout the season, scored a dominating 78-45 decision vs. Iowa City High to move on.

Colin Rice, a Nebraska commit for Fred Hoiberg, scored a single-game school-record 50 points as Waukee Northwest topped Iowa City Liberty, 101-58.

Council Bluffs Lincoln, Ames, North Scott, Dowling Catholic, Dubuque Senior, Johnston, Linn-Mar, Muscatine, Norwalk, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Des Moines Roosevelt, Urbandale and Waukee all joined them in the next round after winning games at home.

The 1A and 2A substate finals will take place on Saturday, February 28 while the 3A games go down on Monday, March 2.

Here are the Iowa boys high school basketball Class 4A substate finals for Wednesday, March 3.

Wednesday, March 3

Class 4A

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Iowa

The One Game That Will Define Iowa’s 2026 Season

Published

19 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

The One Game That Will Define Iowa’s 2026 Season

When it comes to the Iowa Hawkeyes 2026 football season, it doesn’t get much bigger than Ohio State coming to Kinnick Stadium.

No one knows at this stage where the Buckeyes will be come Oct. 3, but Iowa has a chance to make an early impression against a team that is no stranger to winning the big one.

Iowa’s B1G schedule couldn’t get off to a worse start as they head to Michigan and then welcome the Buckeyes to Kinnick.

Hopefully for Iowa’s sake, their first three games against Northern Illinois, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa are enough to get them prepared. If not, things could get ugly.

ESPN Believes Ohio State is Iowa’s Biggest Opponent in 2026

The helmet of Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith sits on the sideline prior to the NCAA football game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Nov. 29, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Michigan game will certainly be a test, but hosting the Buckeyes is a different animal. That gives the Hawkeyes an advantage like no other, and if there was ever a time to give OSU a run for their money, it’s in Iowa City on Oct. 3.

“The Hawkeyes haven’t faced Ohio State at Kinnick Stadium since 2017, when Nate Stanley threw five touchdowns as they stunned the Buckeyes 55-24. An early October win over Ohio State could propel Iowa into the Big Ten title and playoff conversations,” Jake Trotter wrote.

To put things into perspective, Indiana and Oregon were the other two teams that had the Buckeyes listed as their defining game in the 2026 season. Shockingly, Iowa was actually selected against a team, that being Minnesota. Seeing as that’s for the Floyd of Rosedale, it makes complete sense.

Iowa Can’t Let Regular Season Opportunities Go To Waste

Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski (10) throws a pass during warmups before a college football game against the Penn State Nittany Lions Oct. 18, 2025 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Last year was seemingly the Hawkeyes’ first time to actually make the College Football Playoffs. They came up short as their losses to No. 16 Iowa State, No. 11 Indiana, No. 9 Oregon and No. 17 USC all added up. Sure, those were by a combined 15 points, but that doesn’t matter, as it’s bad enough that a three-loss team made the playoffs.

Iowa ended with a bang as they took down No. 14 Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl, 34-27. Now, all eyes are on either Jeremy Hecklinski or Hank Brown. One of those men will have a chance to make their first B1G start at the Big House in Michigan.

It doesn’t get any tougher than that, as Iowa is immediately putting their new QB into deep water. They’ll have three games prior to that to get up to speed, but other than that, it’s go time as OSU awaits after their trip to Michigan.

Don’t forget to bookmark Iowa Hawkeyes on SI for the latest news. exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and more!

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Iowa

Kee High School remembers legendary coach Gene Schultz

Published

1 day ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Kee High School remembers legendary coach Gene Schultz

MANCHESTER, Iowa — The state of Iowa lost a titan of the prep coaching world this week. Former Kee High School baseball coach Gene Schultz died on Monday at the age of 80.

Schultz spent 45 seasons as the baseball coach at Kee, helping turn the program into an Iowa dynasty. He won 9 State championships (not counting 2 fall titles, which the IHSAA doesn’t recognize in the record books), and took the Hawks to 19 State tournaments, which is also the most in Iowa history.

His 1,754 wins are not only the most in Iowa history, but the most of any high school baseball coach in the country.

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