Iowa City West’s Robert Avila Jr. calls his shot with semifinal pin to return to state wrestling finals

DES MOINES — Iowa City West’s Robert Avila Jr. called his shot.

He said he knew exactly what move would help him return to the state finals. Whether it was wrestling clairvoyance or comprehension, Avila nailed the means and move at the right time against Bettendorf’s Dustin Bohren.

“I watched his match with (Ankeny’s Jace) Anderson earlier back at the hotel and I was telling kids I’m going to foot sweep him,” Avila said. “He steps way too hard with that foot. I put him in a front headlock and waited for him to step. Sure enough, he did.”

Avila connected on the explosive maneuver, putting Bohren straight to his back and securing the 44-second fall Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena to advance to the 145-pound championship match of the Class 3A state wrestling tournament.

Avila will be one of three wrestlers attempting to join the state’s 29 four-time state champions.

“It feels good but one more match,” Avila said. “That’s what I’m looking forward to right now, staying focused. I’ve got one more to do.”

Little time was wasted to make the prediction come true. They were near the edge of the mat when he executed the winning plan.

“I didn’t know how long it was going to take, but I knew it was going to be there,” Avila said. “Right away it was there.”

The 145-pound bracket was stacked with talent. In addition to second-ranked Avila, Southeast Polk’s Joel Jesuroga and Bohren were returning state champions. Waverly-Shell Rock’s Bas Diaz won a title out of state before transferring to the Go-Hawks. Indianola’s Ryder Downey was a state finalist in 2020.

The last two left standing are Avila and Downey, who beat Jesuroga, 4-3, in the other semifinal.

Avila said he had something to prove in the talented field.

“A little bit and a little bit to myself, honestly,” said Avila, who won 1A titles at 126, 132 and 145 for Lisbon before transferring to West for his senior year. “This whole last calendar year has been rough for me, mentally, physically. It’s really been a tough year. I have something to prove to myself, for sure.”

West boasts two four-time finalists. Hunter Garvin returned to the finals with a pin in 4:39 over North Scott’s Peyton Westlin at 152. The two-time state champion dominated the semifinal, building an 18-4 lead before getting the fall. Garvin joins West Coach Nate Moore and Nick Moore as the only four-time finalists for the school.

Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Blake Gioimo earned another crack at state gold. The top-ranked 113-pounder used takedowns in each period and a leech-like ride for most of the match to control Bondurant-Farrar’s Connor Fiser for a 7-2 victory.

“I’ve been working since last year to go do this,” Gioimo said. “It’s go time.”

Gioimo was a state runner-up at 106. He devoted himself to get better and take that last step to the top of the podium. Gioimo is prepared for the finals atmosphere.

“I think last year I let it get to me,” Gioimo said. “I looked around. I saw packed seats. I was one of the only people wrestling. It got to me. This year that’s not going to happen.”

Linn-Mar’s Tate Naaktgeboren and Iowa City High’s Ben Kueter have taken similar paths that intersected in the finals won by Kueter their freshman season. Both will compete for titles again.

Naaktgeboren will attempt to capture his second title, looking to add a 170 crown to last year’s 160 title. Naaktgeboren throttled Waukee’s third-ranked Colin Driscoll, 20-5, as time expired in the first period of the semifinal.

“I was born to wrestle Saturday night,” Naaktgeboren said. “I love being back, but the job’s not done.”

Naaktgeboren tallied four takedowns in the opening period. He added eight nearfall on three turns, adding two more takedowns.

“Mindset all year is no one is touching me,” Naaktgeboren said. “I get to my offense, no one is keeping up with my pace. I felt like I showed it out there today. I’m going to show it again tomorrow night.”

Kueter remained unbeaten in his varsity career. He stuck Norwalk’s No. 6 Hunter Blomgren in 1:06 of the 220-pound semifinal. Kueter then calmly gestured and simply walked to the tunnel off the arena floor.

“I just wanted to get out and finish it,” Kueter said. “Some of my club coaches were talking to me. Why waste a lot of time? Just go finish it. It’s the state tournament. You don’t want anything stupid to happen.”

Kueter will look to win his third title, winning at 195 and 160 the last two seasons. Each time is special, but there is nothing like the present.

“This one is definitely the best one,” Kueter said. “It’s in the now. All that stuff happened in the past. I’m not really thinking about that. I’m just excited to be there.”

Western Dubuque senior Greyson Gardner continued his dominant ways. He notched his third fall of the tournament, pinning Southeast Polk’s Harrison Gibson in 2:41. Gardner will wrestle Waukee Northwest’s Griffin Gammell in the 182 final.

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