Prep Boys’ Wrestling- Teams from all over Iowa confined themselves into 32 distinct districts for a Valentines Day showdown to decide who would get the opportunity to wrestle at the IHSAA 2026 State Tournament in Des Moines, starting on Wednesday, February 18th.
After a day’s work, the southeast Iowa region will be well represented.
Class 1A District 5
New London and WACO traveled north to Lisbon High School and the Warriors had four wrestlers punch their ticket to Des Moines.
In the 113-pound weight class, Ian Maize had only one match to wrestle, and he took care of business against Jack Gogel of Lisbon, picking up a 4-0 decision victory to win to walk away as the district champion. Maize, who is 35-3 on the season, will be looking to avenge his runner-up finish at last year’s tournament.
Rydge Sterna (36-12) collected another district championship for WACO, as he steamrolled his way through the quarterfinals and semifinals of the 126-pound weight class. The championship match proved to be the toughest, but all he needed was another 50 seconds in the second period to pin Cael Stricker of Lisbon.
Teage Pepper, in the 132-pound weight class, defeated AJ White of Regina Catholic by major decision in the semifinals, which proved to be beneficial. Pepper would fall to Carter Gadberry of Lisbon in the championship match, but did not need to participate in the wrestle back, claiming a qualifying spot. He enters the state tournament with a 28-17 record.
The final qualifier was Harley Larrimore in the 150-pound weight class. Larrimore had an arduous day on the mats with consecutive pins catapulting him to the championship match against Wade Sankot of Belle Plaine. Sankot fell to Larrimore, resulting in the Warrior needing one more match to clinch a spot at state.
In a match that went the distance and resulted in 21 total points divvied out, Larrimore escaped with an 11-10 decision victory over Kaleb Moeller of Regina Catholic. Larrimore is 24-12 entering the state tournament.
New London’s Killian Kelly finished with the team’s best record of 19-16 in the 157-pound weight class.
District 10
Three of our local teams ventured over to Sigourney to participate in their district meet and a total of five wrestlers were able to stake their claim for a bid to the state tournament. Four of which wrestle for Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union.
The Wildcats had one district champion in Justin Knipfer for the 106-pound weight class. Knipfer (30-5) had to earn his way through the bracket after pinning Braxton Headley of Van Buren County within 20 seconds of the opening first period.
In the semifinals, Knipfer would defeat Highland’s Landon Sweeting by an 8-5 decision, placing him against Kaleb Gordon of Jesup. Again, Knipfer would have to depend on points and a narrow 9-8 decision victory sent Knipfer to the Casey’s Center.
In the 113-pound weight class, Dakota Aney (26-7) had to worry about just two other wrestlers. His 10-9 decision victory over Christian Demayo of Louisa-Muscatine in the semifinals was all Aney needed, despite falling in the championship match. He finished the district in 2nd place.
Bowen Thomson, who collected his 100th career victory back in January, earned his way to the 132-pound weight class district championship match after defeating Jarrison Mahon of Van Buren County by fall and Sedric Lamb of Louisa-Muscatine by a 12-5 decision. That victory over Lamb meant Thomson did not need to wrestle back, cementing his spot at state. Thomson (33-5) would fall to Cooper Hinz of Jesup to secure 2nd place.
Over in the 175-pound weight class, Trevor Phillips dominated his way through the quarterfinals and semifinals with a win by fall and a victory by major decision, respectively. Phillips would lose by major decision against Mason Hoyt of Iowa Valley in the championship match, meaning Phillips would need to wrestle one more time.
In a win or go home match, Phillips would clobber Wyatt Renner of Jesup by major decision to finish in 2nd place. He enters the state tournament with a 26-13 record.
Wapello’s Cohen Wolford will be heading back to the state tournament after collecting a win by fall and two major decision victories to finish the day 3-0. Wolford will enter the state tournament with a 38-4 record for the 157-pound weight class.
Van Buren County had a trio of wrestlers claim 3rd place in Leo Jirak, Carver Goehring, and Alex Scott.
Class 2A District 3
Fairfield and Fort Madison traveled over to Centerville and two of the members of the Southeast Conference will be sending five wrestlers to the state tournament.
As the only district champion of the bunch, Dain Burkhart of Fairfield will be heading back to the state tournament after pinning Tatian Freeman of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont in the championship match of the 175-pound weight class. Burkhart is 37-6 entering the tournament.
In a shortened season for Cael McCabe, the senior defeated Christ Guzman of Chariton by fall in the first period, setting him up for a match against Garrett Pumphrey of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont. In a battle that could be seen again in Des Moines, Pumphrey got the better of the Trojan, beating McCabe by an 11-9 decision.
That loss meant McCabe had to wrestle again to earn his spot at the state tournament in the 113-pound weight class. It did not take him long to secure that ticket as he pinned Josiah Kaster of Albia within the first period. McCabe is 19-3 entering the tournament.
Fort Madison’s James Fuller, in the 120-pound weight class, bested Lucas Anderson of Chariton by major decision in the semifinals. That victory secured Fuller another trip to the state tournament, but he would fall to Simon Bettis of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont in the championship match by technical fall. Fuller is 33-7 entering the tournament.
Two more Bloodhounds punched their ticket to the state tournament after finishing in 2nd place in their respective weight classes. In the 215-pound weight class, Ren Watson (41-8) had three tough matches and finished 2-1, while Baylor Ferreira (22-13), in the 285-pound weight class, went 3-1 with a couple of wins by decision.
District 4
Mt. Pleasant made the long trip north to Central DeWitt and the Panthers will be sending one wrestler to the state tournament.
In the 120-pound weight class, Levi Evans made swift work of his competition in the quarterfinals and semifinals with consecutive pins within the first period. Evans and Noah Garcia of West Liberty would compete in an epic for the district championship with Evans escaping with a pin in the 3rd period. Evans is 32-5 entering the state tournament.
(Picture taken by MPTV-CloseUp)
Lane Beckler, Keegan Birdsell, and Juan Lopez each took 3rd place int their respective weight classes.
District 12
Four of our local teams competed in the Williamsburg District and Burlington Notre Dame will be looking to run it back this year with another Class 2A team championship after six Nikes finished as district champions.
In the 113-pound weight class, Kohen Dietzenbach will enter the state tournament with a perfect record after defeating Landyn Guiterrez of West Marshall by fall in the semifinals and Riker DeWitt of Williamsburg by major decision in the championship match. He will be 36-0 entering the tournament.
Rowan Berndt, in the 120-pound weight class, snuck past Urijah Courter of West Marshall by a 7-6 decision in the championship match, handing him his first loss of the season. Berndt is 41-5 heading into Des Moines.
The Nikes kept up their winning ways in the 120-pound weight class with Ryan Rose and 132-pound weight class with Colt Boyles. Rose (38-7) finished the day 2-0 with an 8-5 decision victory over Jon Gonzales of West Marshall to collect a 38-7 record, while Boyles (41-3) finished 3-0 with a narrow 3-2 decision victory over Hayden Albaugh of Williamsburg.
In the 150-pound weight class, Kael Cook pinned both of his opponents in the first period to punch his ticket to state. Cook is an impressive 43-1 for the season. Lastly, Joey Glendening, in the 165-pound weight class, defeated Kyler Wade of Williamsburg by a 12-8 decision to take the gold. He will by 39-6 entering the tournament.
Also earning a spot was Jared Glendening. In the 138-pound weight class, Glendening made quick work of his quarterfinal and semifinal opponents; yet Caden Greiner of Washington kept the Nike in a stalemate until sneaking away with the 1-0 decision victory. Glendening would pick up his 31st victory of the season with a major decision victory over Riley Hanford of West Marshall to earn a spot at the state tournament.
Our local teams had two other district champions by the end of the day. Mediapolis’ Kyler Crow made it four-for-four in terms of state qualifiers as he outlasted Brady Grier of Williamsburg in the 175-pound championship match by a 14-9 decision. Crow is 48-1 this season as he looks to finish his career with a state title.
Along with Greiner, Washington also had Blaine Rees (33-6) in the 190-pound weight class earn the gold. He was able to take down Jarod Anderson (24-11) of Keokuk, the Chiefs only state qualifier, in the championship match by an 8-5 decision.
The Demons will be taking three other wrestlers with them to Des Moines, as Jace Kinzenbaw (15-5) in the 157-pound weight class, Brayden Vermillion (14-8) in the 215-pound weight class, and Rudy Wolfe (22-15) in the 285-pound weight class each managed to finish in 2nd place in their respective weight classes.
Class 3A District 6
Looking at our final team, Burlington ventured north to Iowa City High and claimed three state tournament qualifiers, as the top three place winners earned a spot at Casey’s Center.
In the 190-pound weight class, Owen Difederico (28-10) was the lone district champion for the Grayhounds as he dominated the competition, winning by technical fall in the quarterfinals before pinning both of his opponents in the semifinals and finals within the first period of the match.
Roy Brown, 132-pound weight class, had to battle his way through the consolation bracket, defeating Austin Mizer of North Scott by fall and Zander Robson of Newton by a 12-7 decision to earn a spot in the state tournament. He would end the day 3-2 and 27-18 on the season.
Lastly, Adrian Perez-Hall also made his way through the consolation bracket after losing in the semis. Perez-Hall would advance to the 3rd place bout after pinning Osten Robertson of Cedar Rapids Jefferson, then best Jack Hayes of Cedar Rapids Kennedy by a 14-7 decision to earn 3rd place. He will enter the tournament with a 35-5 record.
More Information
Stay tuned to KILJ for first-round matchups for our local wrestlers and updates throughout the four-day tournament, starting on Wednesday! KILJ would like to thank all of our tournament sponsors for allowing us to cover the 2026 Boys’ Wrestling State Tournament.