Four Iowa High School State Wrestling Storylines To Watch

Will the four-time list grow and will Southeast Polk, Don Bosco continue dominance?

Osage's Blake Fox wrestles Lake Mills' Steve Brandenburg at 144 lbs during the Class 1A state wrestling final on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. / Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One of the biggest and most tradition-rich high school wrestling tournaments in the United States is upon us with the start of the Iowa high school state wrestling championships.

The action gets underway Wednesday, February 18 inside the Casey’s Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

And we have some exciting storylines to follow throughout the four-day event.

Here are some of those storylines set to take place at the Iowa High School Athletic Association State Wrestling Championships.

Will The List Of Four-Time Individual State Champions Grow By Zero, One Or Two?

A pair of elite high school wrestlers are set to try and become four-time individual Iowa high school state wrestling champions in Blake Fox of Osage and Dreshaun Ross from Fort Dodge Senior High.

Thirty-two wrestlers have won four state championships, starting in 1962 with Bob Steenlage and running through 2023 with Ben Kueter. The list includes seven undefeated four-timers, including Kueter.

Others who have reached the four-time club include Brody Teske of Fort Dodge Senior High, Cory Clark from Southeast Polk, Centerville’s T.J. Sebolt and Mark Schwab of Osage.

Fox will get the first crack at winning his fourth state title, as he competes in Class 2A at 150 pounds. He is currently 25-0 on the year for the Green Devils, was 59-0 last season and is now 185-3 for his career.

Ross, meanwhile, is an Oklahoma State University commit and the top-ranked heavyweight in the world who competes in Class 3A. He went 20-0 last year after returning from surgery and sports a record of 31-0 on the year with just two career high school losses in a singlet for the Dodgers.

Can Don Bosco Win An Eighth Straight Traditional Team Title?

The Dons locked up a sixth state duals championship already and will now be on the hunt for an eighth straight traditional team championship in Class 1A.

Don Bosco features several top-ranked wrestlers who are expected to not just make the finals, but stand atop the podium led by returning champs Kaiden Belinsky, Hendrix Schwab, Hayden Schwab and Dawson Youngblut, the latter of whom is going for a third.

With 11 qualifiers set for action, the Dons will be tough to dethrone.

Southeast Polk Looking For Third Straight

Like Don Bosco, the Rams claimed the state duals title and are now seeking a third straight Class 3A traditional championship.

They are going to be extremely difficult to defeat this week, as all 14 weights advanced through districts for Southeast Polk led by returning state champions Eddie Woody, Nico DeSalvo and Justis Jesuroga.

Woody, a junior, chases a third individual state title this year.

How Tight Will The Class 2A Team Race Be?

Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont won state duals in Class 2A, but Decorah, Clarion-Goldfield/Dows and Independence will all be in pursuit at traditional state.

Both Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont and Decorah qualified at 11 of the 14 weights while Clarion-Goldfield/Dows and Independence pushed 10 through at districts.

Last year, Burlington Notre Dame prevailed with 129 points, and the Nikes are likely to be in contention as well again this season.