Meeks could join elite group

With four straight wins, Des Moines Roosevelt's John Meeks will join elite company. If the Roughriders senior captures the 138-pound state title at the Iowa High School Class 3A state wrestling tournament, he will become the sixth wrestler to complete their prep varsity career undefeated and the fifth four-time state champion to do it.

Meeks, who is 164-0 with a 41-0 mark this season, could be the first undefeated four-time state champion since Maquoketa's Eric Juergens did it from 1993-96. The other unbeaten four-time champions include Iowa City High's Jeff McGinness (1990-93), Clinton's Dan Knight (1984-87) and Emmetsburg's Jeff Kerber (1976-79). Legendary Dan Gable was undefeated, but only won three state titles at Waterloo West from 1964-66.

Meeks, an Iowa State University commitment, was one of three wrestlers to start the season attempting to be a four-time unbeaten high school state champion. Southeast Polk's Cory Clark lost to Iowa City West state champion Jack Hathaway and Davenport Assumption's Topher Carton, who won two Illinois state titles before winning an Iowa title as a junior, lost to Bettendorf's Logan Ryan in the span of two days in January.

Clark, a University of Iowa signee, and Meeks will try to become the 20th and 21st four-time Iowa state champions. The last to accomplish that feat was Iowa City West's Nick Moore in 2010.