We had a historic state wrestling weekend in Des Moines with the fifth highest point total out of all schools in the state of Iowa (4th in 3A), three state champions, a 5th place individual finish, and 7th place finish in the State Duals. Needless to say, we were the talk of the tournament from other coaches, fans, and various media outlets.
State Tournament Results:
3A-113 - Jacob Close (25-5) placed 5th and scored 12.00 team points.
3A-126 - Nathan Betts (32-11) place is unknown and scored 2.00 team points
3A-132 - Bradan Birt (48-3) placed 1st and scored 24.00 team points
3A-138 - Ryker Kurimski (38-15) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points
3A-170 - Devin Ludwig (19-10) place is unknown and scored 2.00 team points
3A-182 - Max Lyon (52-0) placed 1st and scored 27.00 team points
3A-285 - Aaron Costello (53-0) placed 1st and scored 30.00 team points
- State Duals 7th Place
- Dual #1 WD 30 Waverly 43
- Dual #2 WD 21 CR Prairie 47
- Dual #3 WD 55 Indianola 15
- We wrestled Waverly Shell-Rock first round and lost two swing matches. Then, against CR Prairie, we allowed five of our state qualifiers to rest for the next day and then against Indianola we were able to finish in a strong fashion claiming our 7th place trophy.
*we beat CR Prairie by 20 points at the Battle of Waterloo.
- Individual State Tournament:
- Jacob Close finished 5th place among an elite group of wrestlers. Jacob has overcome the loss of his father, multiple concussion issues, and has battled through everything to cement himself as one of the top lightweights throughout the last 10-20 years. Jacob has been a fixture in our wrestling program, as he was a youth wrestler under Coach Gotto’s guidance for many years, and was also a 4 year starter. I will miss him next year and his exciting style, as he always had the potential to pin someone. Congrats Jacob and thanks for the many years of great memories!
- Nathan Betts won his first match and then lost twice to some tough opponents. Nathan wrestled for six weeks in 8th grade and then had his first full season as a freshman. Like Jacob, he has steadily progressed throughout the last few years and was literally ‘one’ move away from being a state placewinner. Nathan is one of the hardest workers that I have coached, is a multiple-sport athlete (soccer, cross country), is a very good student (3.95 GPA) and has aspirations to become a nuclear engineer after attending the Naval Academy.
- *the wrestler that Nathan defeated 1st round came back to place 8th. Thanks Nathan for all that you have done for the program!
- Bradan Birt won a state title defeating the number 1 ranked wrestler from nationally ranked and perennial power SE Polk. Bradan wrestled for six weeks in 7th grade, but chose not to participate in 8th grade. Then, as a freshman, he joined the team to find some more friends and not necessarily because he wanted to be a state champion. After his freshman year, and with the support of his family Bradan put in a ‘ton’ of time to improve his incredibly unique style. Because of his recent start, I really believe that Bradan is nowhere close to his ceiling and I do expect that will watch him become a star for his father wrestling at Milikin College. Thanks Bradan for the many years of great memories!
- Ryker gained valuable experience last weekend as well by competing with some of the best wrestlers in the state, but was eliminated after losing his first two matches. Ryker battled the flu the week of Districts and only had one practice before wrestling at Districts. He is one of the hardest workers on our team and defeated the 3rd place finisher in 2A earlier in the year. Ryker has a total ‘growth’ mindset, as he did not even qualify for the state tournament in 8th grade and now is poised to help be a great leader as an upperclassmen next year. Ryker will certainly be wrestling at every opportunity available this spring/summer and we will be very excited to have him as a leader next year.
- Devin Ludwig had a good tournament and had to wrestle the 2x defending state champion from Ames in the first round. Soon after his first match loss, Devin bounced back to come within one match of being a state placewinner. Devin then drew the 3rd ranked wrestler from CR Jefferson who was up 7-1 in his quarterfinal and got upset. Needless to say, this was a tough draw, but Devin did not back down, as he battled back and forth to be down only 12-7 with one minute left in the third period before he was caught/pinned. Devin gained valuable experience this year working out with Max and we will certainly look to him to be a great leader for us next year.
- Max Lyon won his second state title without giving up a single point all week. Max pinned his first opponent, then won 11-0 over a guy who was 44-1 before finally winning with complete control over the #2 wrestler from Glenwood. Max has solidified his spot as the most dominant wrestler in school history, as he has won 187 times surpassing our previous record of 165 wins set by Jim Gotto. Max has represented our program with class and will be one of three representatives for the Dan Gable Award (Heisman of wrestling) on Wednesday in Des Moines. Max is ranked in the top 10 of the country, and is a near perfect student who will excel at everything he does at Purdue next year. Thanks Max for many years of great memories!
- Aaron Costello won his first state title and improved his record to a perfect and dominant 53-0. Aaron has set the record for pins this year and pinned everyone that he wrestled in Des Moines. He finished as a runner-up last year and vowed to himself that he would not get beat again in Des Moines and he certainly had a growth mindset all Spring, Summer, and Fall, as he is the total champion at heavyweight with his victories over the 1A and 2A champions from IC Regina, and Mt. Vernon. Aaron is presently ranked 10th in the country and I have no doubt that he is going to excel wrestling for Coach Brands at the University of Iowa. He has the personality and training style that will work perfectly for the Hawkeyes. Thanks for the many years of great memories Aaron!
- BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS---The bottom line for the blueprint of success is hard work and mat time. If you want your son to be successful and to be wrestling on Saturday night in pursuit of a state title, then the blueprint is to put in a lot of mat time, while also working hard in the weight room and most importantly being a good person. All of our state medalist put in a ton of mat time at one, some, and/or all of the following wrestling opportunities:
- Loras Spring Freestyle Club
- Wednesday night open mat freestyle held at WD throughout late March-early May
- Disney Duals in Florida
- Team Iowa Junior Freestyle/Greco Roman Duals
- Luther Team Camps that we always attend
- Cadet/Junior Freestyle Greco Roman Nationals
- USA Folkstyle Nationals
- J Robinson 28 Day Intensive Wrestling Camps
- Our own fighter short camps
- Our own open mats throughout the summer
- Fan Support at State:
- I wish I could thank every single fan who contributed to the success we had at the state tournament. Once again everyone in the state knows that Western Dubuque has the largest and most supportive community in the state. Our success this weekend was not just a team effort, but it certainly was a community effort. We had amazing fan support all four days at state. On Wednesday, I looked up during our match with Prairie and was truly AMAZED at the support from all of the students, parents, and fans that showed up. Then, for the finals, we had 450 tickets organized and facilitated by our ticketmaster Rob Hoerner - Thanks Rob. I would estimate that we had double or triple the amount of fans from any other team-THANK AGAIN TO EVERYONE that came to support the team. To say that our fans are the talk of the tournament would be an understatement.
- 3A Coaching Staff of the Year
- On Saturday night I was very proud to have our coaching staff walk across the floor of Wells Fargo, as we were recognized as the 3A Coaching Staff of the Year. This was voted on by all coaches from 387 programs in the state and also by all of the referees from across the state. To say that this is a humbling honor would be an understatement. Our coaching staff has worked their tail off for the last few years and this is a very well deserved honor for all of them.
- I believe firmly in WE over ME and this is a great honor for everyone associated with our program.
- I was also very proud to have my wife Ashley along with children Jillian and Sean with us. Ashley has been a single parent for the last three months and has had essentially no help in raising our twins throughout the winter as I am gone an additional 40-50 hours a week. She has been incredibly supportive of my hobby/career. Also, I was very happy to have my father with us on the floor of Wells Fargo, as he was the one who introduced me to the sport of wrestling at the age of 7. Similar to Coach Gotto, he ran the kids club in my hometown of El Paso, Il and ran it in a family atmosphere very comparable to how our youth program is run.