3A state wrestling finals: Hunter Garvin, Ben Kueter become 3-time champions

DES MOINES — Push. Pull. Pop. Pin.

Oh, and party.

Add in brief confusion about the final call and you have what Iowa City West’s Hunter Garvin experienced to claim the 152-pound title in the Class 3A state wrestling tournament Saturday night at Wells Fargo. Garvin and Iowa City High junior Ben Kueter won their third championships, while Linn-Mar’s Tate Naaktgeboren captured his second.

Garvin became West’s second wrestler to win at least three titles, joining four-timer Nick Moore.

“Man,” Garvin said. “Holy smokes. I’m pumped up.”

The adrenaline was pumping thanks to an explosive finish that led to an unusual fall against Southeast Polk’s Carter Martinson. One he didn’t know he recorded at first, until he heard West Coach Nate Moore’s reaction.

Garvin described it as a push-pull setup, popping the arms for a double-leg and then drove through Martinson, putting him on his back and expecting him to bail from the hold for two points.

“I get into that position a lot of times in practice (and) in a match,” Garvin said. “I felt very comfortable there. I had no idea about a pin. I was just looking for a takedown. I was confused why I didn’t get a takedown and I just hear Nate yelling he’s pinned.

“I hear a pin. I was surprised when I got up. Then, I realized what happened. I got jacked up.”

» Photos: 2022 Iowa high school boys’ state wrestling finals

Garvin is the Trojans’ third four-time finalist, joining the Moore brothers. He also earned titles at 138 and 132, finishing second at 120 as a freshman. He has devoted countless hours to training and it paid dividends, overcoming adversity, injury and even a pandemic.

“It takes everything you’ve got,” said Garvin, who credited his faith for his success. “You’ve got to push through everything.

“It’s all gas. No brakes.”

Indianola’s Ryder Downey put a damper on the rest of West’s celebration. The fifth-ranked 145-pounder played the spoiler role, denying the Trojans’ Robert Avila Jr. a chance for his fourth title.

Avila, who won three 1A titles for Lisbon, jumped to a 5-0 lead, putting Downey on his back at the edge of the mat and adding a second-period ride out. Avila chose down to start the third. Downey capitalized with two tilts for two and three points to tie it and force overtime. Downey escaped in the first tiebreaker period and rode Avila for the next 30-second frame for a 6-5 win.

Garvin watched the match until overtime and realized what occurred by the crowd reaction. He put it behind him and focused on the task at hand.

“That really stinks,” Garvin said. “If anything, I used that as motivation to go out there and do what I do on the mat.”

Kueter wasn’t tested in his attempt at a third crown. He opened the tournament with two technical falls and finished with two pins, decking West Des Moines Dowling’s Ralston Rumley in 1:13 in the 220 final. His dominance in competition is a product of his effort outside of it.

“That’s what I do Monday through Friday,” Kueter said. “I know I out-work everybody and that’s when I come out on Saturday night, it looks that easy.”

Kueter improved to 37-0 this season, giving him a 72-0 career mark. He is in line to become the Little Hawks’ second unbeaten four-timer and first since Jeff McGinness completed the feat in 1993. The City High junior has his sights set on more immediate goals.

“It feels good,” Kueter said. “I’m excited and ready to go make a (Junior) world team.

“I have bigger stuff to win than this. This is a great tournament. I really enjoy it. It’s a great atmosphere. I’m really grateful to be a part of it.”

Naaktgeboren produced one of the most dominant finishes, beating his last two opponents by a combined 37-6. He only needed 3:21 for a 17-1 technical fall over Pleasant Valley’s Caden McDermott in the 170 final.

“Moves just flow together when I’m moving, getting my motion going, my shots, fakes, setups, and ties and not letting him slow me down,” Naaktgeboren said about his dynamic offensive output. “It was pretty easy this week, getting there.”

Naaktgeboren became just the third Linn-Mar wrestler to win multiple state titles, joining four-timer Jay Borschel and three-time titlist Matt McDonough. It is the school’s 15th overall state gold. He said he wanted to put on a show and delivered.

“I went out there (and) had fun with it,” Naaktgeboren said. “I know my crowd enjoyed it. I heard the roars, so I think I did a pretty good job.”

Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Blake Gioimo reached the finals for the second straight year and was forced to settle for silver again.

Top-ranked Gioimo surrendered a third-period escape to Waukee Northwest’s No. 2 Koufax Christensen, who earned his school’s first state title with a 1-0 decision at 113.

Prairie Coach Derick Ball expects Gioimo will be watching video and studying ways to make gains by the conclusion of the weekend.

“This sport doesn’t give you a choice,” Ball said. “You have to be resilient. It creates the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. You have to have to know how to handle both of them. Blake is a tough kid. He’s resilient. He’s a hard worker.”

“He understands how this works and how life works. Sometimes you have setbacks and they are tough on the heart and you have to put yourself back together.

Western Dubuque’s Greyson Gardner (182) advanced to the finals for the first time. He placed second, losing by fall to Waukee Northwest’s Griffin Gammell.

West led the way for area teams, placing fourth with 93 points. In addition to the two finalists, the Trojans placed three more wrestlers on the awards stand. Grant O’Dell and Justin Avila were fourth at 138 and 170, respectively. Senior Kael Scranton finished seventh in his fourth appearance.

“I think we competed hard,” Moore said. “They came in and were ready to go. A lot of our guys are above our seeds, right now.”

One of those was Justin Avila. He was seeded in the bottom half and won four straight consolation matches after losing the opener. Avila weighed in Saturday almost two weight classes below where he competed just to contribute to the lineup. He still reached the podium.

“It’s big when you have Justin Avila, who comes in and launches a couple kids and ends up going for third,” Moore said. “It’s huge.

“That’s what makes it more fun when he’s putting guys on their noggins and he’s 20 pounds lighter than the field.”

O’Dell earned his best finish and fourth career medal, competing with a torn labrum most of the season. He posted two sixth-place finishes and got eighth as an undersized freshman at 106.

“He is a tough kid,” Moore said.

Linn-Mar closed strong Saturday morning and was unbeaten Saturday, getting seventh as a team with 82 points.

“We were 7-0 in probably the toughest rounds of the tournament,” Linn-Mar Coach Doug Streicher said of the consolation results. “Some of the guys didn’t get what they wanted yesterday, coming back to make weight, physically beat up from the duals and the last three days. That’s a hell of a performance.”

Lightweight duo Brayden Parke (126) and Kane Naaktgeboren (132) led the way. After heartbreaking semifinal losses, they battled back to place third. Kane Naaktgeboren, ranked No. 3, recorded two pins Saturday, decking No. 4 Tycho Carmichael in 3:42 of his last match. Fourth-ranked Parke opened with a pin and then gutted a 2-1 decision in tiebreaker-1 over Iowa City High’s No. 7 Kael Kurtz in the placing bout.

Malik DeBow (106), Grant Kress at 145 and heavyweight Luke Gaffney were seventh.

“They were gritty and hard-nosed,” Streicher said. “They’re running back to the center. Their pace was high, even though you know they’re hurting emotionally and physically, but they’re blocking it out. It was an epic round for us.”

Cedar Rapids Xavier’s Christian Stanek bounced back from a disappointing semifinal loss to get the next best thing. Stanek gutted out two consolation victories for his second straight third-place finish.

“After last night, I was not in a good spot,” Stanek said. “I just had to rebound and did what I did.”

He beat Urbandale’s Gabe Carver, 2-1, in tiebreaker-1. Stanek needed some late heroics to end his high school career with a victory. He was called for stalling with eight seconds left to tie the match with Ankeny Centennial’s Jackson Helmkamp. Stanek exploded for a reversal with four seconds to go for a 6-4 win.

“I knew I needed to score late and prevent overtime,” Stanek said. “I was just looking to score and get ahead.”

Stanek is the only Xavier wrestler to earn four state medals. As he walked toward the tunnel, he was greeted by an ovation from the Saints crowd and then shared a hug over the railing with his father, Rick, before leaving the arena floor.

“All those supports, I can’t thank them enough,” Stanek said. “They’re always there for me, especially my parents. I was so glad I was able to celebrate with them afterward. It means a lot.”

City High finished with three medalists and was ninth in the team standings. Cale Seaton finished third at 120, joining Kueter and Kurtz, who was fourth.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior duo Alex Koch and Colin Flannagan reached the awards stand. Koch finished fourth at 182, while Flannagan was eighth at 195.

Cedar Rapids Washington heavyweight Tate Sykora-Matthess earned his first medal. The Warriors’ senior finished eighth, becoming the program’s first state placewinner since Will Foreman in 2017.

Class 3A team scores

Final

1. Southeast Polk 160

2. Waukee Northwest 157

3. Waverly-Shell Rock 147

4. Iowa City West 93

5. Bettendorf 90

6. West Des Moines Dowling 86

7. Linn-Mar 82

8. Fort Dodge 74.5

9. Iowa City High 64.5

10. Indianola 61.5

Class 3A finals

106: Timothy Koester (Bettendorf) dec. Dru Ayala (Fort Dodge), 7-4

113: Koufax Christensen (Waukee Northwest) dec. Blake Gioimo (Cedar Rapids Prairie), 1-0

120: Carter Freeman (Waukee Northwest) won in SV-1 over. Trever Anderson (Ankeny), 3-1

126: Nathanael Jesuroga (Southeast Polk) pinned Koy Davidson (Fort Dodge), 4:59

132: Evan Frost (West Des Moines Dowling) dec. Jace Rhodes (Mason City), 6-0

138: Ryder Block (Waverly-Shell Rock) dec. Jacob Frost (West Des Moines Dowling), 2-0

145: Ryder Downey (Indianola) won in TB-1 over Robert Avila (Iowa City West), 6-5

152: Hunter Garvin (Iowa City West) pinned Carter Martinson (Southeast Polk), 3:36

160: Aiden Riggins (Waverly-Shell Rock) dec. Carson Martinson (Southeast Polk), 8-3

170: Tate Naaktgeboren (Linn-Mar) tech. Caden McDermott (Pleasant Valley), 3:21 (17-1)

182: Griffin Gammell (Waukee Northwest) pinned Greyson Gardner (Western Dubuque), 2:46

195: McCrae Hagarty (Waverly-Shell Rock) dec. Bradley Hill (Bettendorf), 5-2

220: Ben Kueter (Iowa City High) pinned Ralston Rumley (West Des Moines Dowling), 1:13

Hwt. Ben Reiland (Waukee Northwest) pinned Jake Walker (Waverly-Shell Rock), 5:59

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com