The 2022-23 high school wrestling season played out almost perfectly for area wrestlers.
While no team advanced to the State Dual Team Championships this year, area wrestlers made a strong showing at the state tournament.
Eleven area wrestlers brought home medals from Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Six of them wrestled in state championship matches and two came home with state titles.
Notre Dame-West Burlington, which crowned champions Isaiah Fenton and CJ Walrath, finished second in the Class 2A team race.
That strength is on full display on the 2023 All-Hawk Eye wrestling team.
106 — Carter West, jr., Notre Dame-West Burlington
For the second straight year, West advanced to the Class 2A state championship match. And for the second straight year, he came up just short in a match against a wrestler from Union. West finished his junior season with a 50-2 record. He won conference and district championships.
113 — Gage Samo, so., WACO
Samo missed nearly two months of the season with an injury, but he came back with a vengeance. He won a district championship, then advanced to the state quarterfinals before coming back to finish sixth in Class 1A with an 18-4 record.
120 — CJ Davis, jr., Notre Dame-West Burlington
Davis, after qualifying for state a year ago, won a conference title, then placed second at districts to advance to state. Davis lost his first match and fell one win short of reaching the podium. He finished with a 49-4 record.
126 — Kaiden Dietzenbach, so., Notre Dame-West Burlington
Dietzenbach won conference and district titles and was the top-ranked wrestler at his weight in 2A heading into state. After losing his first match at state, Dietzenbach came all the way back to finish third with a 48-2 record.
132 — Garret Dickey, sr., Wapello
Dickey fell just short in his quest to wrestle at state.
He placed second behind Dietzenbach at conference and took fourth at 126 in a Class 1A district. Dickey finished his final season with a 36-10 record.
138 — Tate O’Shea, sr., Keokuk
O’Shea, after battling injuries the last four years, finally got a chance to wrestle for a state championship. Although he came up short against three-time state champion McKinley Robbins of Greene County, O’Shea posted a 25-2 record in his final season for the Chiefs.
145 — Nolan Riddle, jr., Fort Madison
Riddle put together a solid season from start to finish. He won the Southern Iowa Classic and took second at districts to the eventual fifth-place state finisher. He went 1-2 at state and closed out the season with a 29-12 record.
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152 — Isaiah Fenton, sr., Notre Dame-West Burlington
After finishing a disappointing seventh in his first trip to state, Fenton simply would not be denied this season. Fenton won conference and district titles and went into the state tournament as the top seed. He lived up to it, winning a state championship to complete his 39-0 senior season.
160 — Dominic Lopez, sr., New London
After finishing fourth once and third twice in his previous trips to state, Lopez placed second as a senior with a 57-1 record. He became the winningest wrestler in state history, finishing with a 221-9 career record. He had 89 career tech falls, 558 career takedowns and gave up only four offensive points all year — the two takedowns in the final.
170 — Teague Smith, jr., Fort Madison
Smith overcame a torn ACL to punch his ticket to state, finishing first in the Southern Iowa Classic and first at districts. Despite going 0-2 at state — both 2-1 decisions, Smith finished the season with a 34-5 record. Two of his losses were to eventual state champions.
182 — CJ Walrath, sr., Notre Dame-West Burlington
Walrath ended his brilliant high school career by winning his final 114 matches — including a pair of state championships. He rolled to a 56-0 record this season and allowed just one takedown in the last three seasons, that coming in the state final.
195 — Josh Glendening, sr., Mediapolis
After wrestling the last three seasons at New London, Glendening returned to Mediapolis and earned a spot in the Class 1A state championship match. Glendening finished his senior campaign with a sparkling 48-2 record, his only other loss coming to Walrath. His two losses were by a combined five points.
220 — Spencer Kessel, sr., Louisa-Muscatine
Kessel finished a great career for the Falcons by winning conference and district and district titles.
He advanced to the semifinals in Class 1A before finishing fourth with a 41-6 record.
285 — Russell Coil, jr., Columbus/Winfield-Mount Union
Coil continues to improve for the Wildcats under head coach Andy Milder.
He advanced to the Class 2A semifinals before losing a pair of 3-2 matches and finishing sixth with a 43-8 record.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Bill Plein, Notre Dame-West Burlington
Already one of the best coaches in state history, Plein added to his resume by crowning a pair of state champions, having four state placewinners and leading the Nikes to a second-place finish in Class 2A.