New London’s Dominic Lopez is Iowa's new wrestling career wins leader

Team races heat up through second day of state

By Dana Becker | Photos by Matthew Putney 

Dominic Lopez likely never set out to become Iowa’s career wrestling wins leader. But that is exactly what the New London senior accomplished on the second day of the state championships. 

With a major decision in the quarterfinals of Class 1A Thursday in Des Moines from Wells Fargo Arena, Lopez moved past Missouri Valley’s Nathan Haynes with his 220th career win. Haynes set the mark from 2015-18.

Lopez, the No. 2 seed at 160 pounds, is now 56-0 this season. He has won at least 50 matches all four years and has placed third each of the past three seasons at state.

Up next for Lopez, who is 220-8 overall, will be West Monona-Whiting’s Kaden Broer with the winner advancing to the finals on Saturday night.

History runs in the Lopez family, as older brother Marcel became the school’s first-ever four-time state champion last year. He can also become the 11th champion for legendary head coach Mark Chiri, who has announced plans to retire following state.

Chiri, who has guided the program for nearly four decades, has coached over 100 state qualifiers, 14 state finalists and 10 state champions since 1986.

Late surge helps Don Bosco stay out front

The Class 1A team race appears to be coming down to two teams, with Don Bosco holding a solid advantage of Nashua-Plainfield. The Dons sit atop the standings with 87 points, while Nashua-Plainfield has 74.

Wilton is third with 68 and Alburnett fourth with 62.

Myles McMahon, Kaiden Knaack, Kyler Knaack, Jared Thiry and Mack Ortner all secured spots in the semifinals with wins for Don Bosco. Several others remain alive on the consolation side and will need victories on Friday to move into the medal round.

Nashua-Plainfield still has Jayden Rinken, Nic Brase, unbeaten Garret Rinken and Titus Evans going for state gold. They qualified 13 individuals and have a handful yet to be knocked out.

Wilton boasts Mason Shirk, Gabriel Brisker, Jordan Dusenberry and Kaden Shirk in the final four, while Alburnett has Rowdy Neighbor, Preston Klostermann, Brody Neighbor and Carson Klostermann.

Osage pulls away from field in 2A

It was a dominating second day for favorites Osage, as the Green Devils built a commanding 37-point cushion over West Delaware.

While Osage will be tough to catch, the battle for second and third place could be interesting. West Delaware has 55.5 points with Sergeant Bluff-Luton right behind with 50.5. Notre Dame, Burlington is fourth with 50 followed by Webster City, Glenwood and Mount Vernon.

Blake Fox, Anders Kittleson, Tucker Stangel, Chase Thomas, Max Gast, Nicholas Fox and Barrett Muller all advanced to the finals, while several others remained in medal contention on the consolation side. Helping the cause, Blake Fox, Stangel, Nicholas Fox and Muller all earned bonus points.

For West Delaware, only heavyweight Cameron Geuther was able to get through the championship side, as he earned his second fall in as many matches. They went 1-4 in the quarterfinals as a team.

Sergeant Bluff-Luton has one remaining on the championship side while Notre Dame, Burlington has three and Webster City has two.

Thirteen of the 14 No. 1 seeds advanced to the semifinals including Greene County’s duo of Kale Petersen and Oregon State commit McKinley Robbins. Petersen is 40-0 on the year and Robbins is now 46-0.

Strong day gives Waverly-Shell Rock big lead

Waverly-Shell Rock put together a strong quarterfinal round, adding to its lead throughout the day in Class 3A. The Go-Hawks sit atop the team standings with 101 points, as Southeast Polk is in second with 85.5.

Bettendorf, Linn-Mar and Johnston round out the Top-5 followed by Ankeny, Ankeny Centennial, Iowa City High, Carlisle and Fort Dodge.

Waverly-Shell Rock went 6-2 in the quarters, led by University of Iowa commit Ryder Block. The unbeaten and defending state champion had no trouble with Isaac Bruhl, scoring a technical fall.

Joining Block in the semifinals on Friday will be Ryker Graff, Bas Diaz, Danny Diaz, McCrae Hagarty and Jake Walker. Hagarty, a defending champion and future Iowa State Cyclone, had trouble with Jes Krcil of Carlisle before putting together a late rally to earn a 7-2 victory.

Several other Go-Hawks remain alive on the consolation side and will have a chance to secure a spot in the medal round on Friday.

Southeast Polk has Carter Pearson, Maximus Riggins, Harrison Gibson and Antonio Loving in the semifinals, while Bettendorf pushed Jake Knight, Timothy Koester, Jayce Luna and Elijah Mendoza into the final four at their respective weights.

Ben Kueter, the unbeaten and three-time defending champion from Iowa City High, was even more dominant in the quarterfinals. After receiving a bye and recording a 14-second pin on Wednesday, he pinned Will Hinrichs of Ankeny in just 12 seconds to improve to 37-0.

Kueter will be joined by teammates Cale Seaton, Kael Kurtz and fellow future Iowa Hawkeye Gabe Arnold in the semis.