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, and 5th/6th grade. This article will focus on the fifth/sixth grade level. This is part 3 of a 3 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!
Fifth And Sixth Grade
1 Amir Newman-Winfrey-of Des Moines: Is a fifth grader, and has won 6 state titles! 4 AAU and 2 at the USA State Tournament. He has also placed 2nd, 7th, and 3rd at the Iowa state tournament. Amir has quality wins over state champions Brennan Kloser, 4x state schampion Beckett Moyer as well as Oregon state champ Yareli Flores, and Missouri state champ Cole Martin. He is also a 9x National Champion, and 13x All-American!
2 Ty Martin-of Fairbank: Ty is one of those kids, that’s always seeking out the toughest competition he can find, from the Brian Keck Memorial Tournament, to Iron Elite Nationals, if the best kids are gathering and there will be wrestling mats, you can most likely find Ty. Ty is a 5x Iowa state champion, winning in both the AAU and the USA state tournaments, but winning state titles is just park of Ty’s story. I first noticed Ty, at the 2020 USA state tournament, when he pulled off a stunning upset over 2x Triple Crown winner Liam Jennett in overtime. Since them I have watched him defeat some of the countries best wrestlers at national tournaments all over the Midwest. He is a 6x all-American and 3x national champion. He has quality wins over 9x Minnesota state champion Owen Parrish, and 5x Iowa state champion Chase Watkinson.
3 Liam Jennett-of Madrid: Catfish, as he likes to be called is one of those kids that has the IT factor around him. When he takes the mat, all eyes in the arena shift his direction. In all honesty the attention is well deserved. Liam is a 9x Iowa state champion, winning titles in both AAU and USA state tournaments. He is also a 23x All-American, and a 13x National Champion. On top of that he is a 2x Iowa triple Crown Champion, as well as a Super 32 Champion, and a Reno World Champion!
4 Abe Heysinger-of Dubuque: Abe is one of those wrestlers, that other wrestlers cut weight to avoid. He is that good. Abe is a 10x Iowa state champion, winning titles at both the AAU and USA state tournaments. He is also a 25x All-American, and 12x National Champion. With credentials like these its easy to imagine the type of competition he has faced along this incredible journey. He has quality wins over 8x Wisconsin State Champion Arcadius Cruz, and 9x Iowa State Champion Liam Jennett!
5 Bo Hake-of Muscatine: Bo is a fifth grader who is a 4x state champion, he has also placed 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 2nd, 6th, and 2nd at the Iowa State Championship, competing at both USA and AAU tournaments. Bo has captured national titles at Corn Cob nationals, Christmas Nationals, and Turkey Nationals! Bo has Quality wins over 4x state champion Gavin McDermott, and 2x Wisconsin state champion Branko Navarrete and 3x Iowa state champion Bo Link!
6 Colton Shaffer-of Montezuma: Colton currently sports an impressive trackwrestling record of 93-25 with 50 pins. He is also a 3x national champion, winning titles at Corn Cob Nationals, Christmas Nationals, and USA Folkstyle Nationals! He is also a 7x state place winner and has won a state title in Greco. Colton has quality wins over state champions Owin Koethe, and Anthony Knott, as well as Kale Stepaniak.
7 Braylon Peters-Merrill: Braylon tore his way through the 2021 state tournament with 4 pins and a 12-0 major decision on his way to his 6th state title! Braylon’s success started at a very young age winning his first four national titles while still in kindergarten. Braylon was one of Iowa’s VERY few 4x super-peewee state champions, Only six wrestlers in Iowa history have accomplished this feat. Braylon has been crowned national champion on 8 different occasions, and has earned All-American status a whopping 10x!
8 Brooxton Lundgren-of West Union: Brooxton is a 5x state champion, and 8x state place winner. Brooxton has quality wins over 2x Minnesota state champ Hunter Peterson, 3x Michigan state champ Jameson Onstott, and 5x national champ Samuel Dagel from South Dakota! Brooxton has also won titles at the prestigious Rumble by the River tournament, and the 2021 Holiday Blitz, he also went undefeated at the Iron Elite duals and the Winter Throne duals.
9 Calvin Rathjen-of Ankeny: Calvin is a 7x state champion, winning titles in both AAU and USA state tournaments. He is also a 5x all-american and even won a USA Folkstyle national title in 2021. Trackwrestling has him sporting an impressive 43-6 record with 31 wins by bonus points. He has quality wins over state champions Jon Gonzalez, Arseni Kikiniou, and 4x Wisconsin state champion Martez Sheard!
10 Cain Crosson-of Indianola: Cain has a trackwrestling record of 54-13 and has scored bonus points in 41 of those matches. He is a 3x state champion, and a 13x state place winner. At the national level Cain has won 4 national titles and has been an 11x all-american. He has quality wins over 3x Colorado state champion Hudson Bragg, and 2x national champion Michael Daleiden of Wisconsin.
So there you have it, here is my list of the 10 best fifth and sixth graders in the state of Iowa. If I missed anyone, please let me know in the comments.
To see our list of the best third and fourth graders in Iowa, click here.