Jace Hedeman News Today

Meet The Gazette’s 2024 all-area high school girls’ wrestling team: Linn-Mar’s Kane Naaktgeboren is the Wrestler of the Year and Alburnett’s Clayton Rush is the Coach of the Year.

A look at Saturday’s Class 2A Iowa high school boys’ state wrestling finals. Klayten Perreault pinned 41 of his 46 foes this season while being ranked No. 1 from start to finish. His stirring run helped the Mustangs cap a remarkable season with a second-place team trophy.

A long time ago and far, far away from the Iowa high school state wrestling tournament, Union Community’s star 126-pounder Jace Hedeman doubted himself. Not always, but just enough to prompt the two-time and counting state champion to create an internal script that vanquished any of those concerns, and build a foundation of unshakable confidence.

Here are five storylines to follow during the 2024 Iowa High School Athletic Association traditional state wrestling tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Cedar Rapids Prairie Coach Derick Ball emphasizes the mental aspect of wrestling. The Hawks have made progress from a slow opening week to the season. They were fifth at the Battle of Waterloo and are ninth in the IHSAA Class 3A dual rankings.

Each of his first two seasons, Alburnett’s Preston Klostermannwas forced to settle for second the opening weekend of the season. Not this time. Klostermann tallied four pins in the two-day competition, including a third-period fall over Clear Creek Amana’s Ryker Jones, to claim the 144-pound title Saturday at the Cliff Keen Independence Invitational.

Here are 18 Gazette-area individuals to keep an eye on during the 2023-24 Iowa high school boys’ wrestling season.

Mikey and Henry Ryan and Jase and Jackson Jaspers of Mount Vernon all advanced to the Class 2A state wrestling quarterfinals. The Mustangs are in second in the team race after the first day.

By Dana Becker | Photo by Matthew Putney  What a first weekend of prep wrestling in Iowa fans was treated to. There were meets statewide with the best of the

After winning the 16U freestyle title last year in Fargo and finishing second in Junior freestyle, Pennsylvania is geared up for another title push.