Des Moines, IA- Championship Saturday brings out the best in everyone and even your best might not be enough in an environment that the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines provides. Sometimes you just have to be clutch. Here’s how our local wrestlers competed.
Class 1A
106-Pound
What a match between WACO’s #7 Ian Maize and undefeated junior #1 Kaiden Belinsky of Don Bosco for the state championship. Belinsky drew first blood with a first-round takedown, but Maize would not be deterred, scoring himself a takedown a few minutes later.
The match slowed its pace as the two wrestlers jockeyed for position with Belinsky unable to escape Maize’s clutches, but the Warrior equally struggling to accomplish anything through the third period.
Therefore, the two had to battle it out in overtime, where Belinsky, as if he was shot out of a cannon, took Maize down to claim the sudden victory and the gold medal.
The freshman capped off an incredible season as the runner-up in the 106-pound weight class and a 37-4 record.
190-Pound
Only one loss over the past two years for WACO’s #1 Louden Huisenga, unfortunately, that one loss occurred at the state championship match last year. He had a chance to avenge that loss from a year ago, but #3 Gatlin Rogers of Wilton was not going to make it easy.
The Warrior started the scoring off with a takedown of Rogers for a 3 to 0 lead, but the Beaver went on a 5 to 0 run to claim a 5 to 3 lead to start the third period. The two were clearly exhausted after the first two periods, yet the two were prepared to go as long as it took to decide a champion.
Rogers appeared to be in control in the third round after a flashy slam, but Huisenga was able to wiggle out for a one-point escape to set the score 5 to 4 still in favor of Rogers. Running out of time and energy, Huisenga shot the leg of Rogers and took him down with just 17 seconds to go in the third period.
Rogers took 11 seconds too long to escape and Huisenga was able to stall to claim the gold with a 7-6 decision win.
Huisenga finished his senior campaign with a championship and a perfect 42-0 record.
Class 2A
126-Pound
#2 CJ Davis of Burlington Notre Dame finished in 4th place last season and was hoping to provide some fireworks to end out his senior campaign. Entertainingly, there were fireworks in his match against #4 Carter Schmauss of Crestwood.
The underdog kicked off the scoring with a takedown and was able to extend his lead throughout the match with Davis lagging in the points department. As time continued draining from the third period clock, Davis found himself down 7 to 5.
Yet, it felt like the Nike was just waiting for the perfect time to strike and that was with 20-seconds remaining in the match as he managed to take down Schmauss and added a few more points to win by a 12-7 decision.
Davis provided a bit of flair after the match with a backflip to commemorate the state championship and provide an exclamation mark on his senior campaign. He ended the season with a 50-4 record.
138-Pound
It was the predicted outcome if you based your picks on the highest seeds, as #1 Landen of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont was paired up with #2 Kaiden Dietzenbach of Burlington Notre Dame for the state championship.
Dietzenbach with a mantle full of medals as he has claimed 4th place, 3rd place, and 2nd place in past tournaments was aiming for the one medal that has eluded his grasps. Davis certainly had a claim for it as well, losing only one match this year against Mt. Vernon’s Jase Jaspers, who won the title in Class 2A’s 144-pound weight class.
It was contentious match throughout as the two were scoreless through the first two periods. Davis broke the seal early in the third period, earning a point off an escape.
Yet, the Nikes must drill what to do in the clutch constantly as Dietzenbach nabbed a takedown of Davis with just 17 seconds in the period. The Rocket was able to grab a quick point with another escape, but Dietzenbach was able to stall for the final seconds and claim the gold on a 3-2 decision.
The senior finished the season as the state champion and with a 46-1 record for the season.
Full List of State Champions
Class 3A
106: Eddie Woody of Southeast Polk
113: Nico DeSalvo of Southeast Polk
120: Jake Knight of Bettendorf
126: Christian Castillo of Ames
132: TJ Koester of Bettendorf
138: Mac Crosson of Indianola
144: Justis Jesuroga of Southeast Polk
150: Justin Avila of Iowa City, West
157: Maximus Dhabolt of Ankeny Centennial
165: Jaxon Miller of Carlisle
175: Jacob Helgeson of Johnston
190: Asa Hemsted of Carlisle
215: Dreshaun Ross of Fort Dodge (3rd in three years)
285: Cooper Martinson of Southeast Polk
Class 2A
106: Dylan Williamson of Van Meter
113: Urijah Courter of West Marshall
120: Brayden Bohnsack of Union
126: CJ Davis of Burlington Notre Dame
132: Jace Hedeman of Union
138: Kaiden Dietzenbach of Burlington Notre Dame
144: Jase Jaspers of Mt. Vernon
150: Shane Hanford of West Marshall
157: Brent Dennhardt of Greene County
165: Bo Koedam of Sergeant Bluff-Luton
175: Zayvion Ellington of Sergeant Bluff-Luton
190: Austin Scranton of Anamosa
215: Mason Koehler of Glenwood
285: Jaydn Cooper of Winterset
Class 1A
106: Kaiden Belinsky of Don Bosco
113: Hendrix Schwab of Don Bosco
120: Hayden Schwab of Don Bosco
126: Gavin Landers of Denver
132: Jayden Rinken of Nashua-Plainfield
138: Dawson Youngblut of Don Bosco
144: Blake Fox of Osage (3rd in three years)
150: Corbin Reisz of Logan-Magnolia
157: Boden White of Denver
165: Kaiden Knaack of Don Bosco (3x Champ)
175: Kanen Decker of Wapsie Valley
190: Louden Huisenga of WACO
215: Ashton Honnold (2x Champion)
285: Trenton Warner of Nodaway Valley
Top Three Team Results
Class 3A
Class 2A
Class 1A
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This wraps up KILJ’s coverage of the 2025 Iowa Boys’ High School State Wrestling Tournament and we would like to thank our sponsors for allowing us to cover all our local wrestlers!
Des Moines, IA- It’s championship Saturday for the 2025 Iowa Boys’ High School State Wrestling Tournament, a sacred day for many in the state of Iowa and a packed day of competition as the top eight for all 14 weight classes for the three classes are decided. Here’s a look at how our local wrestlers competed.
Class 3A
106-Pound
Burlington’s #2-seed Braxton Hutchinson started the day with a match against #4 Chase Watkinson of Prairie in the consolation semifinals and the Grayhound exited with the victory by a 6-2 decision, throwing him into the third-place match.
Hutchinson was presented a rare opportunity, a rematch against #7 Abe Heysinger of Dubuque Hempstead—the wrestler who knocked him into the consolation bracket. Unfortunately, the result was congruent with the first, a 1-0 decision win for Heysinger.
The Grayhound ended the year with a 42-6 record and 4th place overall.
Class 2A
Burlington Notre Dame’s #6 Kohen Dietzenbach had the tough draw of facing off against #1 Coy Mehlert of Union in the consolation semifinals and was unable to execute the upset, losing by technical fall and being sent to the fifth-place bout.
Similarly, the Nike was unable to displace #2 Charlie Boelman of North Polk, falling by technical fall to take home 6th place. Dietzenbach finished the year with a 44-7 record.
113-Pound
In a local matchup, Fairfield’s #2 Cael McCabe was paired up #8 Rowan Berndt with the winner advancing to the bronze medal match. The Trojan would thump Berndt by technical fall to advance.
McCabe would parlay that victory into a 7-1 decision win over #7 Kolbe Hanson of Iowa Falls-Alden to claim 3rd place. He ended the year with a 37-3 record.
Berndt was able to avenge his loss with a 10-4 decision victory over Bryce Oostenink of Sioux Center to take 5th place. He ended the year with a 50-8 record.
120-Pound
Burlington Notre Dame’s #6 Colt Boyles competed against #4 Mitchell Schmauss of Crestwood in the consolation semifinals and fell to Schmauss by major decision, sending the Nike to the fifth-place match.
Awaiting him there was #5 Jon Gonzalez of West Marshall and Boyles did not miss out on his opportunity, winning by a narrow 5-3 decision to claim 5th place. Boyles finished the season with a 46-9 record.
132-Pound
Washington’s #2 Aaron Boone was not going to let anyone stand in his way as he started off the day with a pin of #4 Steele Diercks of Assumption in the consolation semifinals. Boone only had #5 Kaiden Parker of Oskaloosa left to beat for third place.
In a difficult match, Boone was able to stave off Parker to pick up a 4-1 decision win and the bronze medal, collecting a 50-4 record for the season.
150-Pound
Burlington Notre Dame’s #7 Kael Cook had one match on the day, and it was a high-scoring affair that needed overtime to decide against #9 Aiden Hippen of Clear Lake. Aptly, the #7-seed Cook was the one who grabbed the sudden victory (15-12) to grab 7th place for the tournament.
He ended the season with a 45-8 record.
157-Pound
#3 Cason Miller of Fairfield tangled #16 Hayden Schafer of Eagle Grove for 7th place and it was the Trojan who grabbed the decisive victory by an 11-2 decision to finish the year with a 39-4 record.
165-Pound
Burlington Notre Dame’s #5 Blake Wilson paved his path to the third-place match after pinning #6 Degan Miller of Greene County within the first minute of the match. However, the battle for the bronze would not prove so easy.
#4 William Fullhart of Decorah pulled out with the 16-10 decision victory over the Nike. Wilson finished the year with a 44-7 record and 4th place.
175-Pound
Lastly, #4 Kyler Crow of Mediapolis was unable to pick up the pieces after losing his semifinal matchup as he fell #2 Brock Mulder of Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley by technical fall in the consolation semifinals and #9 Braylen Bieber of Independence by a 12-8 decision to claim 6th place.
The Bulldog finished his senior season with a 40-3 record.
Class 1A
120-Pound
#5 Gage Samo of WACO unfortunately finished the day 0-2 as he fell by two narrow decisions: 6-3 versus #11 Owen Henriksen of Alburnett and 3-0 against #3 Brock Shaha of Mount Ayr.
Samo finished the year in 6th place and with a 38-5 record.
138-Pound
For his senior season and fourth trip to the state tournament, New London’s #13 Gage Burden wanted to finish in the top eight and he guaranteed that yesterday. In two tough matchups the Tiger would come up short, losing by fall against #6 Aiden Timm of Belle Plaine in the consolation semifinals.
In the fifth-place match, he was tasked to take on #5 Dustin Van Oort of West Sioux in a rematch from earlier in the tournament. Burden battled valiantly forcing overtime, but Van Oort would claim the match with a sudden victory.
Burden finished the season with a 43-9 record and 6th place.
#8 Cohen Wolford of Wapello was looking for 7th place in his matchup against #3 Gabriel Brisker of Wilton; nonetheless, Brisker was able to hold off Wolford to collect a 7-4 decision.
Wolford ended his sophomore campaign with a 38-8 record.
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Stay tuned to KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, for the championship finals for the 2025 Iowa Boys’ High School State Wrestling Tournament as thank our local sponsors for helping us with our coverage!
High School Girls’ Postseason Basketball
In Class 2A Region 2, Danville’s big second quarter helped send the Bears back to the regional championship after defeating Columbus 53-49. After initially struggling against the press defense of the Wildcats, Danville avoided the turnovers and dominated the offensive rebounds with Reagen Henklevig and Alaina Gourley each putting up 14 points in the win. Bears head coach Matt Morris has witnessed a season worth of growth from his squad and the result was a complete team effort,
“Just you know, overall, obviously going on the road with a very young, growing team, I really, honestly couldn’t be prouder of a group of kids. You know, I always feel like basketball is one of the greatest team sports in the world and I really thought tonight, you know, was the definition of team. I mean, you look down that bench, everybody played, everybody could really contribute in a positive way. We went to every kid at different times, different moments, asking them to do different things. And every one of those kids stepped on the floor and you know, sold out and did everything they possibly could to help the team, but man, overall, very proud. A great team win.”
Columbus finished the season with an 18-5 record as Isabel Rendon led the way with 16 points. Danville will compete against #2 Regina Catholic on Wednesday, February 26th, at 7 pm at Muscatine High School. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.
In Class 4A Region 4, Keokuk will play Clear Creek Amana tonight at 7 pm on the road.
In the top half of the bracket, Burlington will take on Central DeWitt tonight at 7 pm.
High School Wrestling
Day three of the boys’ state tournament has sent four of our local athletes to their championship match and another 15 wrestlers are guaranteed at least top eight. Here’s some of the highlights from day three.
In Class 1A, WACO’s Ian Maize, in the 106-pound weight class, and Louden Huisenga, in the 190-pound weight class, both punched their ticket to their respective state championship matches.
In a Southeast Iowa Super Conference showdown, New London’s Gage Burden knocked off Wapello’s Cohen Wolford with a 6-0 decision win. He has a chance at 3rd place, while Wolford will compete for 7th place.
In Class 2A, CJ Davis and Kaiden Dietzenbach of Burlington Notre Dame will face off for their respective state championships after going 3-0 through the bracket. For a complete tally, 10 of our local athletes have a shot at 3rd place.
If you would like to see a full breakdown of all day three action, then follow the link:
Class 1A Results: Day Three Results
Class 2A Results: Day Three Results
Class 3A Results: Day Three Results
High School Boys’ Postseason Basketball
For Class 1A Substate 4 District 8, Holy Trinity Catholic will face off against #10 Burlington Notre Dame for the district championship on Tuesday, February 25th, at 7 pm at Central Lee. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.
For Class 2A Substate 5: District 9, #10 West Burlington will compete against Mid-Prairie for the district championship on Tuesday at 7 pm at Knoxville High School.
For Class 3A Substate 6, #8 Mt. Pleasant will hit the road to take on the #1-seed #3 Knoxville and #7 Fairfield will travel to #2 Mt. Vernon for their first round of postseason action on Monday, February 24th, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call for the Panthers game with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.
High School Bowling
The state bowling tournament will begin on Monday, February 24th, in Waterloo. On the girls’ side, Keokuk will be competing as a team on Monday, while Mt. Pleasant’s Madalyn Millard and Bethany Drury will bowl individually on Tuesday, February 25th.
College Basketball
The #8 Iowa State men’s team will be tested in a road bout against #5 Houston today at 1 pm.
The Iowa men’s team will take on Washington at home at 3 pm today.
The Iowa women’s team will host #3 UCLA tomorrow, February 23rd, at 1 pm.
The Iowa State women’s team will face off against #19 Baylor today at 1:30 pm on the road.
This Day in Sports History
1888 – “Father of American Golf” John Reid first demonstrates golf on a Yonkers cow pasture to friends.
1893 – The first Iron Bowl: Auburn beats Alabama 32-22 in Birmingham.
2018 – The US wins the Olympic women’s ice hockey gold medal for the first time in 20 years with a 4-3 shootout victory over Canada in Pyeongchang; scores tied 3-3 after overtime.
The Mt. Pleasant Community School District School Board will meet in special session on Monday, February 24th at 6pm in the Media Center at the Mt. Pleasant High School, 2104 S. Grand Avenue. The Howe Rooftop Unit Replacement Project is on the agenda and this meeting is open to the public.
The Iowa Public Information Board is holding its Legislative Committee Meeting on Monday, February 24th at 2:00pm. This meeting is being held virtually and can be found at youtube.com/@IowaPublicInfiormationBoard.
Des Moines, IA- Championship Saturday is set for the 2025 Iowa Boys’ State Wrestling Tournament after an exciting day of action for Class 2A. Here’s a look at how our local wrestlers competed.
106-Pound
Burlington Notre Dame’s #6 Kohen Dietzenbach defeated #7 Tyson Dewall of Spirit Lake Park in his first match of the day with a win by fall. #10 Mitchell Williams of Creston tried to knock out the Nike, but Dietzenbach was too strong, taking him down by technical fall.
He will take on #1 Coy Mehlert of Union in the consolation semifinals.
113-Pound
#8 Rowan Berndt of Burlington Notre Dame sprinted past #12 Hunter Campion of Anamosa by major decision to guarantee at least a spot in the top eight. His follow up 13-6 decision victory over #17 Carl Shew, resulted in the Nike at least finishing in the top five.
Unfortunately for Fairfield’s #2 Cael McCabe, he was upset by #6 Simon Bettis of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, sending the Trojan to the consolation bracket semifinals. He will be paired up against Berndt with the winner advancing to the third-place match.
120-Pound
Burlington Notre Dame’s #6 Colt Boyles finished the day 2-0 with a major decision victory over #18 Gabriel Schnerre of Assumption and then #10 Judah Gurwell of Winterset. Boyles will compete against #4 Mitchell Schmauss of Crestwood with the winner advancing to the third-place bout.
126-Pound
The first Nike to claim a spot in the finals was #2 CJ Davis outdueled #3 Emmitt Newton of Davis County to collect a 6-5 decision victory. In a bit of a shocker, #4 Carter Schmauss of Crestwood will be his opponent for the state championship.
132-Pound
Washington’s #2 Aaron Boone did not let an upset derail his tournament as he handed #6 Charlie Showalter of Hampton-Dumont-CAL a loss by a 9-2 decision. In his next match, Boone handled business, defeating #3 Mason Avila of Decorah by technical fall.
He will face off against #4 Steele Diercks of Assumption in the consolation semifinals.
138-Pound
#2 Kaiden Dietzenbach of Burlington Notre Dame is back in the championship match after manhandling #3 Logan McDonald of Grinnell with a victory by technical fall. The Nike will take on #1 Landen Davis of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont for the championship tonight.
150-Pound
After splitting his matches, Burlington Notre Dame’s #7 Kael Cook will compete for 7th place. His day started with a high scoring 14-11 decision win over #14 Brady Patterson of Benton.
Nevertheless, the Nike was handed a 7-0 decision loss by #3 Ayden McRoberts of Sergeant Bluff-Luton. Cook will face off against #9 Aiden Hippen of Clear Lake today.
157-Pound
A southeast Iowa showdown pinned Fairfield’s #3 Cason Miller against #7 Dirk Boyles of Burlington Notre Dame in the consolation bracket. The Miller got the better of the Nike, winning by major decision. Boyles finished his senior season with a 47-4 record.
Miller was unable to parlay that victory into a possible third-place match as he fell to #11 Owen Klocke of Carroll by a 4-1 decision. The Trojan will tango with #16 Hayden Schafer of Eagle Grove for 7th place.
165-Pound
Burlington Notre Dame’s #5 Blake Wilson finished the night 2-0, pinning #15 Ryland Morgan of Clarion-Goldfield-Dows and shutting out Christopher Meyer of Independence by a 6-0 decision.
Wilson will attempt to get to the third-place bout when he faces off against #6 Degan Miller of Greene County.
175-Pound
A pair of local wrestlers competed today from southeast Iowa; unfortunately, neither picked up a victory. Fairfield’s #6 Dain Burkhart’s tournament run was ended by #5 Charlie Campbell of Clarion-Goldfield-Dows by major decision. He finished the season with a 39-6 record.
#4 Kyler Crow of Mediapolis attempted to knock off #1 Zayvion Ellington of Sergeant-Bluff-Luton in the semifinals, but Ellington exited the victor by major decision. The Bulldog will compete against #2 Brock Mulder of Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley in the consolation semifinals.
215-Pound
Lastly, Fairfield’s #6 Dre Smithburg lost by fall against #10 Carson Grier of Williamsburg in the consolation bracket. Smithburg finished the season with a 42-7 record.
More
Stay tuned to KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, for live updates and wrap-up articles as we cover the 2025 Iowa Boys’ High School State Wrestling Tournament thanks to our local sponsors!
Des Moines, IA- Championship Saturday is set for the 2025 Iowa Boys’ State Wrestling Tournament after an exciting day of action for Class 1A. Here’s a look at how our local wrestlers competed.
Class 1A
106-Pound
The beginner’s luck continued for WACO’s #7 Ian Maize as he handed #3 Ethan Humphrey of West Branch a loss by a 7-2 decision. Maize will compete for the 106-pound state championship against #1 Kaiden Belinsky of Don Bosco with the finals starting at 5:15 pm.
120-Pound
#5 Gage Samo of WACO continued his path through the consolation bracket as he defeated #16 Boston Mateer from Interstate-35 by a narrow 6-4 decision. In his second match of the day, Samo pinned #8 Jesse Burton of Westwood to advance to the consolation semifinals.
He will tangle with #11 Owen Henriksen of Alburnett with the winner advancing to the third-place match.
138-Pound
The Southeast Iowa Super Conference showdown was bound to happen, but first New London’s #13 Gage Burden and #8 Cohen Wolford of Wapello had to get through their first opponent of the day.
Burden made quick work #9 Chance Christensen of Riceville, shutting him out for a win by major decision; meanwhile, Wolford also shut down his opponent, winning by a 4-0 decision against #4 Landon Price of GT/RA.
Earlier in the season, Wolford got the better of the Tiger and Burden stated it was his most frustrating match of the season albeit an excellent learning opportunity. That lesson resulted in a 6-0 decision win over Wolford.
Burden will compete against #6 Aiden Timm of Belle Plaine in the consolation bracket as he eyes third place, while Wolford will face off against #3 Gabriel Brisker of Wilton for 7th place.
190-Pound
WACO’s #1 Louden Huisenga will be attempting to win his first state championship in his return to the finals after sneaking past #4 Jayden Dickerson of Shenandoah in the semifinals by a 4-3 decision.
#3 Gatlin Rogers of Wilton awaits the Warrior in the championship match.
More
Stay tuned to KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, for live updates and wrap-up articles as we cover the 2025 Iowa Boys’ High School State Wrestling Tournament thanks to our local sponsors!
