DES MOINES, Ia. — The 2026 State Wrestling Tournament returned to Central Iowa once again, this time at the newly-christened Casey’s Center in Downtown Des Moines, welcoming in wrestling programs from across the state.
Clarion-Goldfield-Dows would be the ones carrying the torch for the KQRadio area, as the Cowboys placed 7th in Class 2A with a total of 84.5 points. CGD’s top placer was junior Adrian Phetxoumphone, who placed 4th at 126 pounds, losing his 3rd place match to Independence freshman Adam Carey by a 3-2 decision, as Phetxoumphone went 4-2 in the tournament with 2 tech falls and a pin. Older brother Linden capped an illustrious prep career with a 5th-place finish at 132 pounds, winning his 5th place match over Burlington Notre Dame’s Colt Boyles by a 4-0 decision, as the elder Phetxoumphone went 3-2 in the tournament with a pin and a major decision. Colin Sesker would place 6th at 157 pounds, losing the 5th place match in a 12-5 decision to West Delaware’s Liam Weber, as Sesker was 3-3 in the tournament with a pair of decisions and a pin, as JT Kelso was 6th at 285 pounds, losing his 5th place match to North Fayette Valley in a 6-2 tiebreaker.
Other qualifiers for the Cowboys saw Cole Wibholm finish 2-2 with a pin and a tech fall at 106, Estuardo Lopez went 2-2 with 2 tech falls at 113, Paxton Redenius went 1-2 with a decision win at 120, Ryan Hartwig would go 0-2 in a tough 138-pound bracket, Ryland Morgan would go 3-2 with 2 falls and a decision, as Easton Beter went 3-2 with 2 tech falls and a decision.
Eagle Grove would finish 45th with 16.5 points, as the Eagles had a podium finisher for the 2nd year in a row in senior Hayden Schafer, who placed 7th at 157 pounds in Class 2A. Schafer won his 7th place match over Alburnett’s Cooper Franklin in an 8-4 decision, finishing the tournament 4-2 with a tech fall, a decision and a sudden victory win. Jayden Kreitlow would come up one win short of the podium at 190, going 3-2 in the tournament with 2 decisions and an injury default victory, Dylan Terwilliger would go 1-2 with a decision win at 126, as Hunter Waldo Martinez would finish 0-2 at 132.
Roland-Story finished 49th in 2A with 13.5 points, as the Norsemen would have a podium finisher for the first time since 2024, as Caiden Latch would place 7th at 138 pounds. Latch would win his 7th place match over Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s Kaden Kirkpatrick by a 6-5 decision, a win that would be apart of holding the Rockets back from winning the outright Class 2A team title, as Latch went 4-2 in the tournament with a tech fall, a pin and 2 decisions. Teammate Chance Georgius would wind up a win short of the podium, going 2-2 on the tournament with a decision win and a sudden victory decision.
Webster City would not see a podium placer in 2026, as Cody Elliott had the top performance of the tournament, finishing 2-2 with a decision and a fall, before bowing out in the 3rd round of consolations at 2A 215. Gavin Wynkoop would go 1-2 at 2A 144, winning his first round match by an 8-6 decision, before losing by decision in the 2nd round and losing by fall in the 2nd round of consolations.
South Hamilton would not see a podium placer in 2026 in Class 1A, but did have a surprise run from Brody Harris at 285, as Harris went 2-2 in the tournament with 2 wins by fall before bowing out in the 3rd round of consolations by a 5-4 decision. Parker Stuck would finish the tournament 0-2 at 190 pounds.