(Youth1 Wrestling) – Middle school wrestlers emerged out of a competitive weekend with impressive finishes in the Iowa AAU Kids State Championship. The action came from the ground of the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa where over 1,400 wrestlers competed across three different divisions. 

Youth1 follows all the weekend’s matches and breaks down the winners of the 7th-8th Grade Divisions. 

 70-pound 

Kyle Biscoglia of Waukee Youth Wrestling took home another state championship when he toppled Joseph Harney of Iowa City Mat Pac, 8-1, in the 70-pound championship match. Brandon Davenport of the Young Bucks won the consolation match in 1:41 over Conrad Braswell of DC Elite. 

 75-pound 

Spencer Hutchinson of Ubasa Wrestling secured the 75-pound matches with a 6-5 victory over Donald Schmidt of Wapsie Valley Wrestling in the final match. Hutchinson was champion of the Iowa Wrestling Super State Championships in January. Gauge Perrien of SE Polk defeated Gabie Fox of Team Bosco, 9-2, in the consolation match. 

 80-pound 

Sebolt Wrestling’s Eric Faught outlasted Cooper Siebrecht of the Junk Yard Dogs, 5-2, in the title match to win the 80-pound gold medal. Brody Teske of Fort Dodge Wrestling won third place by a 16-1 tech-fall against Brandon Weiland of Council Bluffs. 

 85-pound 

In the 85-pound contest, Winter Nationals Champion Drew Bennett of Fort Dodge Wrestling defeated Nathan Thoms of Camanche Jr. Wrestling, 2-0, in the final round. The third place finalist was McGwire Midkiff of Cobra Wrestling with a 1-0 decision over Brock Henderson of DC Elite. 

 90-pound 

Alex Thomsen of Head Wrestling took home the 90-pound title in 1:30 over Adam Brown of SE Polk in the championship. Thomsen posted a perfect 5-0 record which included three victories by fall. Taking consolation honors was none other than Gable Sieperda of Legends of Gold after a 3-1 victory against Nathan Lendt of SE Polk in the battle for third. 

 95-pound 

Zach Barnes of Waukee Youth Wrestling won the 95-pound contest with a 16-3 major victory against Zane Mulder of High Altitude Wrestling. Barnes, who won an Iowa Junior High State Championship earlier this season, finished 5-0 during this weekend’s event. Nelson Brands of Eastern Iowa Wrestling won the bronze after a win in 0:51 against Ross Randall of West Marshall. 

 100-pound 

Triston Lara of Fort Dodge Wrestling secured the 100-pound title in 3:32 against Brayden Curry of Team Predators in the gold medal match. Nathan Feldman of Dubuque Wrestling came in third after he defeated Drew Sams of the Young Bucks, 3-1. 

 105-pound 

The 105-pound competition saw Ryan Leisure of Clear Lake with a 9-0 major decision over Joel Shapiro of Waukee Youth Wrestling in the title match. The victory was Leisure’s third state championship as he won at the Iowa Wrestling Super State Championships and Iowa Jr. High State Championship earlier this season. Billy Higgins III of MWC Wrestling Academy defeated Jacob Schipper of North Scott Wrestling in 1:54 in the fight for third place. 

110-pound 

Out of the 110-pound competition, Drew West of Highland added another championship to his belt as he took out Zachary Oldham of the Young Bucks in a 13-2 major decision to win the title. West finished 5-0 in the series. DC Elite’s Josh Gerke obtained a third place finish with a 4-3 final over Kyle Anderson of Washington. 

 115-pound 

It was Bryce West of Highland who claimed victory at the 115-pound contest after defeating Jacob Hansen of the Warhawks, 7-2, in the championship match. Just like his brother, the title was Bryce’s third state championship of the season. Luke Hageman of the Little Blazers shutout Ben Sarasin of Ubasa Wrestling, 7-0, in the battle for third place. 

120-pound 

Winning the 120-pound championship was John Tuttle of the Junk Yard Dogs who defeated Preston Dunn of Sgt. Bluff-Luto with a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory in the finals to grab hold of the championship. Cooper White of West Marshall secured the consolation match with a 2-1 victory against Trey Van-Weelden of Washington. 

 125-pound 

Karsen Seehase of Elite Takedown achieved a 4-0 victory over Kaleb Simacek of the MNW Little Cougars in the final round. Seehase went 5-0 in the series after winning in the Iowa AAU NE District 3 at Waverly a few weeks ago. Zach McCloud of the Ogden Bulldogs rounded out third after a 4-2 victory over Cody Feldman of Dubuque Wrestling. 

 130-pound 

Winning the 130-pound was none other than Brock Jennings of Osage as he defeated Jarel Arbegast of West Fork, 4-2, in the final match. Sawyer Phillips of ICE accomplished a 10-8 win in overtime against Daniel Bishop of Team Predators in the consolation match. 

 135-pound 

Trent Johnson of Iron Horse defeated Alex Ward of Dubuque Wrestling, 14-5, in the championship of the 135-pound contest. Securing honors of third was Jake Simon of Grinnell Wrestling with a 5-3 decision against Luke Stortenbecker of East Mills. 

 140-pound 

Chase Shiltz of the Young Bucks won another state title when he defeated Trae Pecinovsky of Cresco Youth Wrestling in 2:46 of the 140-pound championship. For a third place win, Isaiah Vaughan of Union came away with a 4-2 triumph against Zachary Axmear of Eastern Iowa Wrestling. 

 145-pound 

Winning the 145-pound championship was Anthony Sherry of Cobra Wrestling who defeated Bryce Oveson of Wilton, 9-1, in the title match. Sherry won at the Fremont Wrestling Club 2013 Tournament last weekend and went 5-0 in this tournament. Slade Sifuentes of Team Valley secured the consolation match with a 10-0 major over Ryan Loyd of PV Junior Wrestling. 

 152-pound 

Winning the 152-pound contest was Trevor Nelson of DC Elite with a victory by fall in 1:17 over Trent Kruger of Sibley-Ocheyeda in the title match. Justus Burke of Bettendorf Wrestling took out Jordan Weiland of Little Eagles Wrestling, 3-0, to win the consolation match. 

 160-pound 

North Iowa’s Conner Shaw won an exciting overtime match to win his first state championship of the year. Shaw defeated Garrett Kubovec 6-4 to take home the 160-pound top spot. Bryce Pitcher of USA Mat Club outmatched Tucker Morrison of Columbus with a 3-1 overtime win in the third place contest. 

 171-pound 

Max Lyon of Dubuque Wrestling won an AAU State Championship when he pinned Drew Fielder of Webster City in 1:04 in the final match. Lyon finished 5-0 during this weekend’s action. Cole Bennett of the ADM Tigers defeated Kadon Hulett of 14-6 to win the consolation championship. 

 189-pound 

Nick Tarney of HCWC defeated Riley Pfiffner of Benton County Wrestling, 6-0, in the closing round of the 189 bracket. It was West Liberty’s Bryce Esmoil who won the consolation match with a 2-0 win over Gus Arnold of the Humboldt Wildcats. 

 215-pound 

Matt Naig of Sibley-Ocheyeda came away as 215-pound champion with a 3-0 victory against Caleb Meinders of Iron Horse. Naig won the Iowa Wrestling Super State Championship in January. Chickasaw Wrestling’s Noah Hopp won the third place title with a 2-0 win in overtime against Karlton Skubal of Washington. 

 260-pound 

Austin Larkin of Independence Mat Club defeated Treyshawn Plunkett, 4-1, to win the championship match of the 260-pound weight class. Winning consolation honors was Michael Ahrendsen of the Knights Wrestling Club in 3:08 over Dante Johnson-Taylor of the Urbandale J-Hawks.