Don Bosco closes in on another rare 5-peat at Class 1A high school wrestling championships
Kyler Knaack ran back toward the Don Bosco camp underneath Wells Fargo Arena on Friday morning, all energy and confidence. He had just punched his ticket to the finals of the Class 1A state wrestling tournament, and he had a message for all within earshot.
“We run this show!” Knaack yelled, celebrating with his coaches and teammates. “We run this!”
Hard to argue otherwise after the Dons’ performance on Friday morning.
The Don Bosco wrestlers obliterated whatever remained of Iowa’s small-class field, totaling 152 team points to put a stranglehold on the Class 1A team race. They began Friday with a 13-point lead, but will now take a 47-point advantage into Saturday, putting them on the cusp of another 5-peat (they previously did it from 2006-10).
The Dons pushed four wrestlers into Saturday night’s finals — Kaiden Knaack (145), Kyler Knaack (152), Jared Thiry (220), Mack Ortner (285) — and will finish with nine total medalists. They went 4-1 in the semifinals and 4-1 in the bloodround to take a commanding lead over second-place Wilton (105), who will finish with 8 medalists.
More:Iowa high school state wrestling: Class 1A state finals matchups are set
It’s not mathematically clinched yet. Wilton has one finalist — Mason Shirk, at 106 — and six more alive for third. If the Beavers pin out, they can hit as high as 180. But that requires a perfect performance all day on Saturday, which is a tough assignment. You can read between the lines there.
Nashua-Plainfield sits third, with 99 points. Both Jayden and Garret Rinken reached the finals at 106 and 126, respectively. Garret, a future Northern Iowa wrestler and now a three-time state finalist, recorded a 14-4 major decision over Alburnett’s Preston Klostermann in the semifinals, which briefly gave Nashua-Plainfield the 1A team lead.
It did not last. Kaiden Knaack scored late takedowns in the second and third periods for a 5-2 win over Interstate 35’s Nick Steinlage at 145, then Kyler Knaack followed with a a big third period in a 10-4 win over Alburnett’s Carson Klostermann at 152.
That gave Don Bosco the lead. They do not plan to give it back. Like Kyler Knaack said, they run this show.
“That’s what we do,” Knaack said. “We stay on people until they’re done and roll over.”
Reanah Utterback becomes second Iowa girl to win state wrestling medal
While Don Bosco steamrolled the Class 1A competition, the coolest story of the day took place in the bloodround, where winners become state medalists and losers miss out on the podium.
That’s where Reanah Utterback started her Friday. She will end her weekend in the state history books.
Utterback, a Sigourney-Keota sophomore, rallied for a 7-2 win over Earlham’s Dallas Canoyer in the bloodround at 106 pounds to become just the second Iowa girl to win a medal at the state wrestling championships.
Canoyer scored a takedown in the first period, but Utterback leveled the match 2-2 early in the third. She took a 4-2 lead on a takedown with 1:20 left, then added three back points in the final moments to secure her spot on the podium.
Related:This Iowa girl is wrestling against boys — and she's winning at the Iowa state tournament
Utterback joins Megan Black, who became the first Iowa girl state wrestling medalist in 2012, finishing eighth for Eddysville-Blakesburg-Fremont in Class 1A. Utterback will wrestle for seventh place on Saturday morning for a shot to finish one spot higher.
Black has long been a hero-turned-mentor for Utterback growing up, so much that when someone mentioned that Black was the only Iowa girl state wrestling medalist, Utterback would quickly respond, “So far!” It was an outward expression of her goals, but also a promise to her coaches, parents, and teammates who supported her.
On Friday, Utterback made good on that promise, turning a rare opportunity into history. The crowd inside Wells Fargo Arena met the moment with a standing ovation. Her coach, Cory Van Den Heuvel, could not stop smiling afterward.
“That ranks up there with the Grand March walk,” he said.
Come Saturday night, Reanah Utterback will get to experience that for herself.
Sigourney-Keota’s Reanah Utterback is a Class 1A state medalist after a 7-2 win in the bloodround at 106 pounds. Scored a takedown and three backs in the third to turn a 2-2 tie into #iahswr history.
Second Iowa girl ever to medal at the Iowa state wrestling championships. 💥 pic.twitter.com/s9HxqkrVr6— Cody Goodwin (@codygoodwin) February 17, 2023
Weight-by-Weight analysis from the Class 1A state wrestling semifinals
106: Wilton’s Mason Shirk stormed into the finals as the 6-seed, topping Lake Mills’ Lucas Oldenkamp, the 10-seed, by a 1-0 decision in the finals. Now he’ll face top-seeded Jayden Rinken of Nashua-Plainfield, who’s outscored his opponents 22-4 this week.
113: Alburnett’s Rowdy Neighbor pulled a stunner over Missouri Valley’s Eli Becerra, a returning state champ. Neighbor rode out Becerra in the second period, then scored a reversal late in the third period for a 2-0 win to reach the state finals. He’ll now face Akron-Westfield’s Cael Morrow, now a two-time finalist who’s outscored his opponents 27-2 this week.
120: Lisbon’s Brandon Paez has cruised into the state finals for the fourth time in his career, scoring 40 points in three matches while allowing zero. He’ll wrestle for a third state title on Saturday against West Hancock freshman Teague Smith, who looked mighty impressive in a 14-5 semifinal major over ACGC’s Tegan Slaybaugh, the 2-seed.
126: Garret Rinken reached the state finals for the third time with a 14-4 major over Alburnett’s Preston Klostermann. He will wrestle for his second title on Saturday against Wapsie Valley’s Dawson Schmit, a four-time medalist but now first-time finalist after he knocked off the 3-seed on Thursday and the 2-seed on Friday. His 4-2 semifinal win came over Ogden’s Kolton Munson, a returning state finalist.
132: Underwood senior Gable Porter joined Paez as a four-time state finalist after a quick semifinal fall over Wilton’s Jordan Dusenberry. Porter has outscored his first three opponents 37-4. He’ll get North Butler-Clarksville’s Tanner Arjes, who has scored two technical falls in three matches to meet Porter in the finals.
138: Blake Allen gave Underwood a second finalist with a 3-2 semifinal win over Don Bosco’s Myles McMahon. Allen, a first-time finalist, will try to join younger sister Molly as a state champion (Molly’s won two girls state titles). He’ll get South Winneshiek’s Collin Holm, who won a tight 2-1 semifinal over Alburnett’s Brody Neighbor.
145: The third trip to the semifinals turned out to be the charm for West Sioux’s Mikey Baker. After coming up short each of the last two years, Baker broke through with a 5-3 win over MFL’s Karter Decker, the 13-seed, on Friday. Kaiden Knaack won the other semifinal to jumpstart the Bosco train.
152: Kyler Knaack’s 10-4 win over Alburnett’s Carson Klostermann gave Bosco a second-straight finalist. He’ll face a familiar foe in the finals in West Hancock’s Kellen Smith, who won 12-6 over Underwood’s Maddox Nelson. Knaack is 39-2 this season. Both losses — a 4-2 decision and a 3-1 overtime defeat — have come to Smith.
160: The finals matchup here pits Logan-Magnolia’s Wyatt Reisz, a two-time champ who has over 200 career wins, against New London’s Dom Lopez, Iowa’s all-time career wins leader (at 221 and counting) who is now a first-time finalist. Should be fun.
170: Max Magayna became the first of three finalists for Columbus Catholic after recording his third pin in as many matches. Standing in the way of his third state title in as many years is Emmetsburg’s Jace Nelson-Brown, who rallied to win 4-2 in overtime over Nashua-Plainfield’s Titus Evans.
182: One of the stories of the tournament is at 182 pounds in Midland’s Caden Ballou. He did not place at state as a sophomore and didn’t even qualify last year as a junior. He came into this week as the 15-seed, and has taken out the 2-seed, 10-seed, and 3-seed to reach the state finals. He’ll get Columbus Catholic’s top-seeded Carson Hartz on Saturday night.
195: Westwood’s Jackson Dewald, a senior who’s headed to Air Force, is back in the state finals for the third consecutive year after an 11-1 semifinal major over Akron-Westfield’s Ian Blowe. He’ll face Mediapolis’s Josh Glendening in a 1-vs-2 final.
220: Jared Thiry, a returning state champ, became Bosco’s third finalist with his third pin in as many matches this week. He’ll get Columbus Catholic’s Mason Knipp, the 3-seed who took out Interstate 35’s Evan Foreman, the 2-seed, in a 9-5 semifinal decision.
285: The final Class 1A final features a classic rivalry, with Lisbon’s Wyatt Smith against Bosco’s Mack Ortner. Smith needed a late takedown (literally with two second left) to beat Treynor’s Dan Gregory, 3-2, in one semifinal. Ortner pinned East Buchanan’s clearly-hobbled Cody Fox in the other. Giddy up!
Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.
2023 Iowa high school state wrestling championships
Class 1A Team Scores, after Day Three
Don Bosco, 152
Wilton, 105
Nashua-Plainfield, 99
Lisbon, 87
Alburnett, 83.5
Columbus Catholic, 81
West Hancock, 76.5
Emmetsburg, 71
Underwood, 68.5
Logan-Magnolia, 61.5
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Don Bosco nears another 5-peat at Class 1A state wrestling tournament
