Southeast Polk out to early lead as state wrestling hits the mats

First, second round action in all three classes takes place

Southeast Polk's Justis Jesuroga (left) is one of 13 who advanced to the quarterfinals for the Rams. / Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

The opening rounds of the Iowa high school state wrestling championships are in the books, as all three classes hit the mats Wednesday from Des Moines and Wells Fargo Arena.

Heavy Class 3A favorite Southeast Polk had a strong day, as the Rams recorded 72.5 points and moved 13 wrestlers into Thursday’s quarterfinals. 

Indianola is a distant second with 46 points followed closely by Waukee Northwest, Johnston and Waverly-Shell Rock.

The 2A team race has several within striking distance of overnight leader Davenport Assumption.

Don Bosco, who won the 1A state duals title over Alburnett, leads the field with 58.5 points. The Pirates are in second with Wilton third. 

Wrestling starts at 9 a.m. on Thursday with the 3A bouts followed by 1A and 2A. 

Southeast Polk puts together nearly perfect day

The Southeast Polk wrestling team showed why they are at the top in the state of Iowa, as 13 of the 14 qualifiers for the Rams advanced to the quarterfinals. 

Eddie Woody, Nico DeSalvo, Matt Prine, Max Riggins, Carter Pearson, Will Oberbroeckling, Justis Jesuroga, Logan Trenary, Abraham Buschong, Wyatt Gibson, Holden Hansen and Cooper Martinson dominated, racking up six pins and three technical falls. 

The 14th qualifier for Southeast Polk, Lafoy Hall, will compete in the consolations on Thursday in hopes of securing a spot on the podium as his team chases history in the standings.

Indianola has seven in the quarterfinals led by unbeaten Mac Crosson, who picked up a technical fall. Waukee Northwest has four still alive for championships. 

Fort Dodge’s two-time defending state champion, Dreshaun Ross, needed just 61 seconds to handle business. Ross, who committed to Oklahoma State University earlier this year, is 17-0 after returning to the mats following offseason surgery.

Davenport Assumption leads tight pack in 2A

The race in 2A is still wide-open after the first day, as Davenport Assumption sits ahead of West Delaware, Independence, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont and Burlington Notre Dame.

Assumption finished the day with 45 points, as six individuals are in the quarterfinals. Rhyis Polenske, Steele Diercks, Cadyn Wild, Maximus Purdy, Dru Diaz and Maxwell Azzaline are all in the running for a state championship.

Algona, the reigning state duals champions, had a tough day. The Bulldogs saw just two of their 10 qualifiers reach the quarterfinals and are 13th overall. 

Gage Spurgeon, a sophomore returning state champion for Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, rolled in his opening match. Spurgeon won by technical fall in four minutes at 126 pounds.

Cyler Cirks for Humboldt knocked off North Central Conference rival Charlie Showalter of Hampton-Dumont/CAL at 132 pounds, 10-3. During the regular season, Showalter had scored three wins over Cirks, including a fall at the league championships. 

Don Bosco has 10 headed to quarterfinals

It was business as usual for Don Bosco, as the Dons advanced 10 of their qualifiers into the quarterfinal round while holding a lead atop the team standings.

Kaiden Belinsky, Hendrix Schwab, Hayden Schwab, Blake Irvine, Kanaan Delagardelle, Dawson Youngblut, Ethan Christoffer, Kyler Knaack, Drew Lansing and Kyler Sallis made quick work of their opponents, racking up 10 wins by either pin or technical fall.

Alburnett will need to get some help to chase Don Bosco down, but they do have seven still alive fighting for a state championship including Rowdy Neighbor, a returning winner. 

Manson Northwest Webster junior Hendrik Puuraid earned a pair of falls to advance to the quarterfinals. Puuraid is a foreign exchange student from Estonia who had no prior wrestling experience before this year, but was a three-time Judo champion. 

Complete results can be found on Track Wrestling.