K.J. Pilcher

Lilly Luft won a state title for Charles City at the inaugural Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union sanctioned wrestling championships held at Xtream Arena in February. Now, she’s part of Iowa in its first official season of women’s competition — the first by a Power 5 institution. Luft earned a spot in the 136-pound final of the second annual Soldier Salute.

Patrick Kennedy returned from injury and filled in at 174 pounds in Iowa men’s wrestling duals before the holiday break. He looked strong at 165, reaching the semifinals at the Soldier Salute Friday at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

Kick butt. Take names. Stake a claim in the lineup. Iowa men’s wrestling coach Tom Brands said he wants to see that from the Hawkeyes vying for a starting spot in the second half of the season.

Here is The Gazette’s first 2023-24 installment of area high school boys’ wrestling individual rankings.

The Iowa high school boys’ wrestling is paused until 2024. The season resumes with 6 1/2 weeks of competition until champions are crowned in Des Moines. Here are some notable events for the second half of the season.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s Cael Smithhart has dealt with adversity, battling major hip injuries the last two years. He showed his resolve, yet again, overcoming an excessively bleeding nose to record a fall in the Cougars’ 43-24 loss to North Scott.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association released the first installment of its dual rankings for all classes. The poll is used to determined regional dual qualifiers and are considered in pairings. Eight regional dual champions advance to the State Duals tournament Feb. 3 at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

Cedar Rapids Prairie Coach Derick Ball emphasizes the mental aspect of wrestling. The Hawks have made progress from a slow opening week to the season. They were fifth at the Battle of Waterloo and are ninth in the IHSAA Class 3A dual rankings.

This week’s Pinning Combination ponders “duck or not to duck” competition as ISU goes 3-0 at Collegiate Duals. K.J. Pilcher and Dick Briggs also discuss UNI’s next meets, senior nationals, Upper Iowa’s big weekend at Indianapolis and area high school action. Our last podcast of 2023 includes our top Christmas movies and songs.

Spencer Lee is back to being Spencer Lee with another freestyle title. Upper Iowa with a strong showing at the Midwest Classic. Linn-Mar leads a good local performance at the Battle of Waterloo. Vinton-Shellsburg girls’ and West Branch boys’ win team titles. This is the Wrestling Weekend That Was.

Iowa State and UNI return to the Collegiate Duals. This year they are held in Nashville, Tenn. The Cyclones will face No. 13 Pitt, Arkansas-Little Rock and No. 5 Cornell on Monday. The Panthers have No. 10 Ohio State, No. 2 NC State and Lock Haven on Tuesday.

Cedar Rapids Xavier junior Jack Foster was so unsatisfied with how his first season of varsity went that he devoted more time to clubs and competing in the offseason. He’s reaping the rewards now. Foster won the 126-pound title Saturday at the North Linn Lynx Invitational.

Kurtz has produced a successful wrestling career, earning state medals in each of his first three seasons. He is ranked fourth and delivered a major decision in Class 3A No. 18 City High’s 52-24 victory over host Western Dubuque Thursday night in Mississippi Valley Conference dual.

West Delaware Coach had an interesting analogy to describe his team. They resemble farm dogs chasing passing cars, trying to run down their best performances. The Hawks won the South Winn Invitational and hits a challenging stretch of duals this week.

This week’s Pinning Combination discusses Iowa’s and UNI’s contrasting results against Columbia with K.J. Pilcher and Hall of fame coach Dick Briggs.