Iowa City High’s Gabe Arnold and Linn-Mar’s Tate Naaktgeboren plan to ‘put on a show’ in state wrestling finals

DES MOINES — Tate Naaktgeboren raised his arms in triumph, then glanced to his right.

The Linn-Mar star had just pinned his way to his fourth straight championship bout at the Class 3A Iowa high school boys’ state wrestling tournament quickly enough on Friday night to see rival and top-seeded Gabe Arnold of Iowa City High had done the same.

So it’s Naaktgeboren vs. Arnold at 182 pounds, round four, under the bright lights Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena, just as everyone thought it would — and should — be.

“I trust my training,” said the second-seeded Naaktgeboren, whose only three losses this season have come against Arnold. “I trust my coaches at Big Game (Wrestling Club) and Linn-Mar.

“I trust my process and just keep improving. Break the rear-view mirror, right? I always picture it as (if) the dashboard’s bigger than the rear-view mirror for a reason, right? You’ve got to look at those little things in the past to motivate you, but the big picture is moving forward.”

Arnold, who will wrestle for Iowa, and Naaktgeboren, who will wrestle for Iowa State, epitomize the term “mutual respect.” They joke together at weigh-ins and on social media, but once the die is cast on the mat, the friendship is suspended.

“This is what we both wanted,” said Arnold, who moved form Pennsylvania to Iowa City for his senior season. “We don’t shy away from competition, we don’t run away from each other. Granted, yes, I have beat him three times this year, but Tate never thought once about going up a weight. I never once thought about going up to (195), or going down a weight, never. It never crossed my mind. We are ready for that competition, we are ready for each other (Saturday night) and I guarantee we are both going to put on a show.”

Thanks to both Naaktgeborens — Tate, a senior, and Kane, a junior 138-pounder — as well as Brayden Parke (132), and Grant Kress (152), the Lions proved to be scintillating showmen in Friday night’s semifinal round. All four of those wrestlers advanced to the finals, propelling Linn-Mar into second place in the team standings. The Lions trail Waverly-Shell Rock, 152-128, in the team race.

Tate Naaktgeboren is Linn-Mar’s second-ever four-time finalist and could become a three-time state champion. Parke, Kress, and Kane Naaktgeboren all reached the championship round for the first time — and two of them did so in a thrilling, if grueling, manner. Parke won, 4-3, via an escape in the first tiebreaker. Kress did the same to secure a 6-5 triumph.

“I’ve never been there, so it will be fun,” said Parke, who placed third at 126 last season. “It will be really fun.”

Kress, who high-fived Parke about a half hour from his breakthrough win, obviously feels the same way.

“Unbelievable,” said Kress, who placed seventh at 145 at last year’s state meet. “I never thought I’d be here. It’s a dream come true.”

Iowa City High’s top-seeded 120-pounder Cale Seaton expressed similar sentiments. He’s taken third in each of the past two state meets, but won his semifinal bout by major decision to secure a spot in the finals for the first time. Seaton — who’s wrestling through a painful knee injury — lost in overtime in last year’s semifinal round at 120.

“I think it makes this moment of getting there even sweeter, just because it was lengthened further than I wanted it to be,” Seaton said.

Iowa City West freshman Alexander Pierce experienced a different kind of loss that helped prepare him for a stirring state tournament run to the championship round. He won, 11-4, Friday but said being humbled at last year’s Tulsa Nationals provided him with a needed “wake-up call” that deepened his love for the sport.

“I got killed there, I’m not gonna lie,” Pierce said. “(I was) like, ‘If you really want to do this sport, you’ve got to change something out.’ I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that.”

Now, on to the least surprising outcome of Friday night: City High standout Ben Kueter recorded his third pin in three nights to advance to his fourth consecutive championship bout. The Iowa football and wrestling recruit is vying to become the 32nd boys’ high school wrestler in state history to wear the crown four times — and he’ll be a prohibitive favorite to do just that.

But two weight classes before Kueter takes the mat at Wells Fargo Arena one last time, Arnold and Naaktgeboren will almost certainly “put on a show” as promised. The friendly rivals pinned their semifinal foes in 38 and 41 seconds, respectively, and entered the tunnel at the exact same time to both cool down and hype up their fourth meeting of the season.

“My family respects his, he respects mine,” Naaktgeboren said. “I mean, in weigh-ins we're all chatting it up and I can just hear the kids whispering behind us. They're like, 'You know, this is crazy. They'e talking like this, talking like they're boys and then they go out there and beat the living cap out of each other.’ That's what wrestling is about — creating relationships with people, because in the long run, wrestling's a sport and the memories you make, and the person you are, is a lot more important than if you win state, if you win conference. People remember that more than what you accomplish in wrestling."

Comments: nathan.ford@thegazette.com