Iowa has a rich history, of producing some of the nations best wrestlers. Year after year this tiny state of just over 3 million, produces some of the best college wrestlers in the country. Have you ever stopped and wondered where all this top tier talent comes from? Well it all starts in Iowa’s super peewee and peewee programs found all over the state. Just about every elementary school in the state has some sort of youth program, and in more recent years elite kids clubs have been popping up all over the state. If that isn’t enough of an explanation, just check out the number of youth tournaments going on all year round within the Hawkeye state. Iowa has a HUGE number of tournaments to choose from, everything from beginner tournaments, to local tournaments, to regional tournaments, and more recently there has been numerous national tournaments popping up all over the state. If that wasn’t enough, there are dual tournaments and regular dual meets as well. If your a rasslin fan, Iowa is a great place to be.
In this article we will take a look at some of Iowa’s most elite kids, anyone between first grade, and sixth grade will be considered. I have done my best to review as many tournaments and results as possible, however I’m sure there will be numerous kids that slip thru the cracks on this list. If you can think of anyone who deserves to be included, just leave me a message and I will be sure to check out your suggestion. I’m breaking this list up into groups based on grade, instead of age. Grouping will be done by 1st/2nd grade, 3rd/4th grade, 5th/6th grade and 7th/8th grade. This article will focus on the seventh/eighth grade level. This is part 4 of a 4 part series. These will be listed in no particular order in a top 10 list. In some cases I may be adding an honorable mention section as well. Thanks for reading and enjoy!
1 Chase Watkinson-of Cedar Rapids: Chase is a 5x state champion, winning titles in both AAU and the USA state tournament series. Chase has impressive victories over 8x Minnesota state champ Garrett Bjerga, as well as 5x Iowa state champion Ty Martin, and 12x Idaho state champion Greysen Packer. As part of Team Iowa, Chase has faced and defeated some of the best wrestlers from around the country. Chase has competed in more than a dozen national tournaments and is a 6x national champion!
2 Israel Garcia of Garner: Israel Is a 5x state champion, claiming titles in both the AAu and the USA state tournaments. He has also placed 7th 2nd 2nd 3rd 2nd 2nd and 4th, making him a 12x state place winner! He is also a 18x all-american and has claimed 8 national titles. Israel has quality wins over Ty Martin, Chase Watkinson, and 4x Nebraska state champion Cruzer Dominguez.
3 Coy Mehlert-of Laporte City: Coy is a 10x Iowa state cahmpion winning titles in both AAU and the USA state tournament series. He has also placed in the top eight on 9 other occasions. His current record on Track is 69-13 and he has scored bonus points in 50 of those matches. He has quality wins over state champions Calvin Rathjen, Zahn Beal, Cain Crosson, and Jon Gonzalez. Coy recently represented team Iowa in the National Duals in Kentucky and finished a remarkable 11-2, while competing against some of the best wrestlers in the region.
4 Dreshaun Ross-of Fort Dodge: Dreshaun is one of the most exciting up and coming wrestlers in Iowa. I have followed his career for a few years now, and let me tell you, this kid is the real deal! Dre, comes from the same storied Fort Dodge program that has produced Drake Ayala, and Brody Teske. Dreshaun has won a whopping 28 Iowa state titles! Claiming championships in freestyle, greco, and folkstyle. He has also won titles in 37 different national championships. Even more impressively, he is a 3x Super 32 champion. Which is considered one of the top 3 toughest tournaments in America. To top it off he is also a 4x Flowrestling Reno World Champion!
5 Adrian Phetxoumphone-of Webster City: Adrian is a 4x Iowa state champion, winning titles in both the AAU and USA state tournaments. He has also placed in the top five on 6 different occasions. Adrian is also a 6x all-american, and has quality wins over Missouri state champion Ross Davis, and 7x Iowa state champion Calvin Rathjen!
6 Dawson Youngblut-of Jesup: Dawson boasts an impressive track record of 101-17, with 66 of those wins coming by way of bonus point. Dawson is a 14x National Champion, and 21x All-American. Dawson is also a 14x Iowa state champion, winning titles in both the AAU and USA state tournament. He has impressive wins over Hendrix Schwab, Gavin Landers, and Joey Cahill.
7 Gavin Landers-of Denver: Gavin has an impressive track wrestler of 103-22, with 75 of those being bonus point victories! Gavin is a 12x Iowa state champion, and 18x national champion. He has quality wins over Iowa state champion Hendrix Schwab, Arizona state champion Costanzo Cardinal, and Missouri state champion Colin Rutlin.
8 Hendrix Schwab- Cedar Falls: Hendrix has a track record of 64-13, with an impressive 28 wins coming by way of pinfall. He is also a 5x Iowa state champion, and 3x national champion. Hendrix has wins over state champions from Utah, Tennessee, South Dakota, Washington, Iowa and Kentucky.
9 Brayden Koester-Bettendorf: Brayden has an impressive 8 state titles to his credit and has a Track record of 38-9 with 26 pins! Brayden recently claimed a championship at the very prestigeous USA Wrestling Brian Keck Memorial Preseason Nationals. He is also a 9x all-american, and has quality wins over, Missouri state champ Isaac Ward, Iowa state champion Austin Scranton, and Wyoming state champion Kooper Burk.
10 Broedy Hendricks-Thor: Broedy has a Track record of 81-12 with 59 wins by pinfall. He is a 9x state place winner and 1x state champion! He is also a 22x all-american, and is a 7x National Champion! Broedy recently represented Team Iowa at the National Duals in Kentucky and was a perfect 6-0, scoring 3 pins and leading Iowa to the National Title!
11 Jaxon Miller-of Des Moines: Jaxon has an incredible Track record of 77-2, with 68 wins coming by way of bonus points! Jaxon is a 3x Iowa state champion, and a 4 time state place winner. At the 2020 state tournament he scored 3 pins and won 12-0 in the finals. He is also a 10x National Champion. He has quality wins over state champions form Texas, Iowa, Utah, Ohio, and Minnesota.
So there you have it, here is my list of the 10 best seventh and eighth graders in the state of Iowa. If I missed anyone, please let me know in the comments.
To see our list of the best fifth and sixth graders in Iowa, click here.