K.J. Pilcher

The Pinning Combination with The Gazette's K.J. Pilcher and Dick Briggs

All three state NCAA Division I wrestling programs received at least one at-large berths to the national tournament March 20-22 in Philadelphia. The three schools qualified 27 of 30 starters combined.

Former area standouts Cael Happel and Wyatt Voelker won Big 12 titles and almost lifted University of Northern Iowa to a team title. The Big 12 set an attendance record. Iowa State’s Paniro Johnson gets revenge and a title. Here are five takeaways from the Big 12 Wrestling Championships.

For the second straight year, second-ranked Iowa did not crown a champion at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Sunday at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Hawkeye trio of Drake Ayala, Michael Caliendo and Stephen Buchanan all earned runner-up finishes in their first conference finals and Iowa toted home a third-place finish.

Top-seeded Stephen Buchanan, No. 1 Drake Ayala and No. 2 Michael Caliendo each advanced to the finals, helping Iowa to third place with 98 points after the opening day of the conference tournament. The Hawkeyes also secured eight automatic berths to the NCAA Championships on March 20-22 in Philadelphia, Pa.

Iowa experienced multiple ups and downs during the opening session of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill. Overall, the Hawkeyes advanced into the semifinals. Here are some takeaways from the first session.

Kyle Parco has wrestled at Fresno State, Arizona State and now Unviersity of Iowa. Parco, a four-time All-American, has experienced success at each stop. He enters his final postseason with Iowa, competing in his first Big Ten Wrestling Championships.

Cedar Rapids Xavier senior Jean Ngoma was the state runner-up at 215 pounds in Class 3A, earning his second state medal and posting a 38-1 record. he was voted All-Metro Athlete of the Year for boys’ wrestling.

University of Northern Iowa senior 141-pounder Cael Happel stopped pressuring himself and learned to enjoy competing, which helped him reach the Big 12 tournament finals a year ago. He is looking for his third NCAA tournament berth as the No. 2 seed at the conference tournament this weekend at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

The Big Ten Conference released pre-seeds Wednesday for this weekend’s conference tournament and NCAA qualifier hosted at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill. Drake Ayala (133) and Stephen Buchanan (197) earned No. 1 seeds.

The Pinning Combination with The Gazette's K.J. Pilcher and Dick Briggs

The fifth-ranked Cougars put the clamps and pulled away from Davenport North in the second quarter, rolling to a 62-34 victory for the Class 4A Substate 6 championship Tuesday night at Kennedy. It is the Cougars fourth straight state berth.

Iowa State and University of Northern Iowa boasted two No. 1 pre-seeds apiece for the Big 12 Wrestling Championships on Saturday and Sunday at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

Meet The Gazette’s 2025 all-area high school boys’ wrestling team: Union Community’s three-time state champion and four-time finalist Jace Hedeman is the Wrestler of the Year, while Alburnett’s Clayton Rush repeats as Coach of the Year.

American Rivers Conference teams and Cornell will be part of the 18-team field at the NCAA Division III Region VI men’s wrestling tournament Friday and Saturday at Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids.