Iowa state duals wrestling tournament: Anders Kittelson’s pin seals Osage’s Class 2A title

CORALVILLE — Anders Kittelson assessed the matchups and calculated the math.

The Osage junior realized a championship might rest on his shoulders. He was prepared. He trusted in his ability and work ethic. He was a gem.

“When I knew it was coming down to me, yeah, there might be some pressure but pressure builds diamonds,” Kittelson said. “You’ve got to come up big in those moments.”

With the dual hanging on the last match, Kittelson delivered a pin to lift the top-ranked Green Devils over No. 2 West Delaware, 37-28, and clinch the Class 2A state duals wrestling title Saturday night at Xtream Arena. Osage won its fifth dual championship and first since 2006, while snapping the Hawks’ string of four straight crowns.

“Coming into the day when they told us what the starting weight was I was pretty happy with that because we kind of have that ‘Murderer’s Row’ right through the middle,” Osage Coach Brent Jennings said. “Knowing that (Anders) was going to be the tail end — him and Blake Fox coming through — I knew as long as we had a certain point total we could make sure it got done.

“Hats off to him. He went out and did what he needed to do in workmanlike fashion.”

Fox, ranked second at 120, set up the heroics with a 6-0 decision over No. 10 Jax Miller at 126. The victory provided a smidgen of revenge. Kittelson wrestled for Crestwood when it lost to West Delaware in the 2021 finals. The Hawks denied him a title then and he returned the favor, now.

“That felt awesome,” Kittelson said. “My freshman year at (Crestwood) they were the ones that took it away from me then.

“West Delaware is always good, so we’re obviously going to have bad blood with them but it felt good to get that one.”

Kittelson took charge from the first whistle of the 132 match against Ryan Hilby. He scored five takedowns and built a 10-3 lead before getting the fall in 3:01, igniting the Osage fans.

“I was prepared for that,” Kittelson said. “I was ready. I trusted in my abilities. I knew I’ve been working harder. I was confident. I was ready to go. It’s duals, so go out and have fun. If I have fun, I’m fine.”

The Green Devils (34-4) used an early four-match run for a 17-3 lead, bracketing two 3-2 toss-up wins with bonus point victories. Senior Chase Thomas (152) and junior Max Gast (160) won battles between ranked opponents to sway the dual in Osage’s favor.

Thomas, ranked third, used a second-period escape and takedown to beat No. 5 Brent Yonkovic. Fifth-ranked Gast scored a takedown in the first and escaped in the third to edge No. 11 Logan Peyton.

“West Delaware always brings it, so we knew we had to be on our game,” Jennings said. “Big wins from Chase Thomas and Max Gast early in the dual that turned the tide for us.”

The Hawks (19-5) clawed back within 29-28, winning five of the next seven matches. Garrison Gillihan won by major decision at 170 and Will Ward (195), Brayden Maury at 113 and 120-pounder Carson Less posted pins during the stretch.

“All you can do is your best and I think our kids scrapped real hard,” West Delaware Coach Jeff Voss said. “It’s all we could ask. We thought it would be a good dual and it was.”

Osage is also favored to win the traditional state team title. The championship sweep has been a goal for the wrestlers and coaches.

“We have the first step of the leg done,” Jennings said. “Like I told the kids, we’ll enjoy (Saturday and Sunday) and then Monday we’ll get back to work and get ready to win the second part of that.”

West Delaware’s title run was halted but two others continued. Both Don Bosco (1A) and Waverly-Shell Rock (3A) won their third consecutive championships.

Don Bosco (16-3) won its fourth state duals crown. The Dons won the first five matches and eight of the first nine and coasted to a 36-25 victory over No. 2 Wilton (27-1) in the final.

The third-ranked Go-Hawks faced No. 1 Southeast Polk (18-2) in the final for the fifth straight year. WSR beat the Rams, 36-33. The Go-Hawks (17-3) won seven of the first nine matches and Ryker Graff’s decision with three weights left was enough for the win.

WSR reached the finals with a 36-28 triumph over No. 2 Bettendorf, which was third.

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