ihsaa recaps
Wrestling Waverly-Shell Rock & Don Bosco repeat, Osage stuns 2A, Happel wins fourth DES MOINES, Iowa – Another packed arena. Another unbelievable week at the biggest state high school wrestling tournament in America. The 2020 edition of the Iowa High School State Wrestling Championships packed Wells Fargo Arena in downtown Des Moines from Feb. 19-22, crowding in communities across the state for high-level competition. The dual team tournament (see P. 15) set the table for the three-day traditional tournament, putting 336 student-athletes on the podium across 14 weight classes and crowning three team champions. Lisbon's Cael Happel made history on Saturday night becoming the 28th four-time wrestling champion in state history, capping an outstanding varsity career for coach Brad Smith. Details from each class continue below. work by winning three individual titles and earning a fourthplace finish. Neighborhood Iowa City, City High also topped CLASS 3A the podium with freshman Ben Kueter at 160. Des Moines, Waverly-Shell Rock ended the last decade with four con- Lincoln won its first title since 2003 with Mickey Griffith at secutive team championships (2008-11) in 3A and started this 170, and Bettendorf junior Griffin Liddle added to his football one by emphatically repeating, earning four individual titles accolades with a title at 285. and another team crown in 2020. Ryder Block (106 pounds), Bailey Roybal (113), Evan Yant (152), and Brayden Wolf (220) CLASS 2A all won titles for coach Eric Whitcome's team as the GoThe always wild team race in 2A lived up to its billing as Hawks edged out runner-up Southeast Polk and third-place Osage stepped up from 1A on a request from coach Brent Fort Dodge in that order for the second straight year. Jennings and delivered the program's first team title since Class 3A featured a slew of repeat champions as well, 1981. Five of the six Green Devil qualifiers finished fifth or with Fort Dodge's Drake Ayala (120), Ankeny's Caleb Rathjen better to stun a 2A field that included defending champion (138), and Southeast Polk's Gabe Christenson (195) all add- West Delaware (12 qualifiers), Solon and Centerville squads ing to their 2019 titles with wins on Saturday night. Mason that had two title-winners each, and an excellent effort from City's Cullan Schriever capped his varsity career by winning Union, LaPorte City. his third championship, overcoming an injury-plagued junior Centerville's Matthew Lewis won his third title in his third season with an unbeaten 2019-20. different weight class and will have an opportunity for four at Moments after head coach Nate Moore was inducted into the 2021 tournament. Six wrestlers capped their seasons with the IHSAA's Wrestling Hall of Fame, Iowa City, West went to titles and unbeaten runs: Webster City's Cam Phetxoum-
2020 State Traditional Tournament Champions Class 3A 106–Ryder Block, Waverly-Shell Rock 113–Bailey Roybal, Waverly-Shell Rock 120–Drake Ayala, Fort Dodge 126–Cullan Schriever, Mason City 132–Hunter Garvin, Iowa City, West 138–Caleb Rathjen, Ankeny 145–Graham Gambrall, Iowa City, West 152–Evan Yant, Waverly-Shell Rock 160–Ben Kueter, Iowa City, City High 170–Mickey Griffith, Des Moines, Lincoln 182–Will Hoeft, Iowa City, West 195–Gabe Christenson, Southeast Polk 220–Brayden Wolf, Waverly-Shell Rock 285–Griffin Liddle, Bettendorf
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Class 2A 106–Camron Phetxoumphone, Webster City 113–Carter Fousek, Crestwood, Cresco 120–Colby Lillegard, Bondurant-Farrar 126–Matthew Lewis, Centerville 132–Kayden Kauzlarich, Centerville 138–Jalen Schropp, Williamsburg 145–Hayden Taylor, Solon 152–Will Esmoil, West Liberty 160–Adam Ahrendsen, Union, LaPorte City 170–Jax Flynn, Solon 182–Sage Walker, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 195–Evan Rosonke, New Hampton/Turkey Valley 220–Cody Fisher, Woodward-Granger 285–Kaden Sutton, ADM, Adel
Class 1A 106–Gable Porter, Underwood 113–Marcel Lopez, New London 120–Brandon Paez, Lisbon 126–Aidan Noonan, Cascade, Western Dubuque 132–Robert Avila Jr., Lisbon 138–Cael Happel, Lisbon 145–Nick Hamilton, Underwood 152–Marshall Hauck, Lisbon 160–Benjamin Smith, Iowa Valley, Marengo 170–Ethan Fulcher, Hudson 182–Thomas Even, Don Bosco, Gilbertville 195–Tate Hagen, West Hancock, Britt 220–Blake Haub, Ogden 285–Chet Buss, North Butler-Clarksville IHSAA Bulletin
