K.J. Pilcher

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.

The Big Ten Conference leads the way with 87 automatic berths to the NCAA Championships March 20-22 in Philadelphia, Pa. The Big 12 is second with 61 allocations. The Big Ten tournament is March 8-9 in Evanston, Ill., while the Big 12 will be in Tulsa, Okla., the same weekend.

Masanosuke Ono edged Spencer Lee, 3-2, in the main event of FloWrestling Night In America on Wednesday night at Xtream Arena in Coralville. Former Iowa State two-time NCAA champion David Carr defeats Japan’s Olympic silver medalist Daichi Takani.

FloWrestling Night In America consists of 13 matches with high schoool, men and women competitors. The main event is Spencer Lee vs. Masanosuke Ono in a freestyle bout. Check in here for live updates from every match.

The Hawkeyes’ 184-pounder defeated Oklahoma State NCAA finalist Dustin Plott, 6-3, in sudden victory, helping Iowa beat the Cowboys, 21-16, Sunday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Pinning Combination with The Gazette's K.J. Pilcher and Dick Briggs breaks down Iowa men's wrestling team's win over Oklahoma State, Iowa women's wrestling team's dominance at the national qualifier and looks ahead at NCAA Division II and III regionals. They close with a recap of last week's IHSAA state tournament.

Two of the world’s top competitors will battle in the main event of FloWrestling Night In America Wednesday night at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

Iowa freshman Angelo Ferrari has contributed in some key spots this season. He defeated NCAA finalist Dustin Plott in sudden victory, creating an instant classic moment in the Hawkeyes dual win over Oklahoma State Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.