HIGH SCHOOL

Iowa City West wrestler Hunter Garvin proves again he’s one of the nation’s best

Cody Goodwin
Des Moines Register

It is time to start talking about Hunter Garvin, the wildly talented junior from Iowa City West, as perhaps one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the country.

Maybe that sentence is a year or two too late, and if it is, we apologize to the fine folks at West and Big Game Wrestling Club, where Garvin trains. But there’s no excuse now, especially after this weekend.

Garvin was one of many Iowa high-schoolers that competed at USA Wrestling’s Junior and 16U folkstyle national championships at the UNI-Dome over the weekend. He went 6-0 and rolled to a Junior title at 145 pounds.

The action in Cedar Falls, understandably, took a backseat to the U.S. Olympic Trials, but Garvin was one of four Iowa-high schoolers to win a championship and one of nine to make the finals across both the Junior and 16U divisions. In all, 20 total Iowa preps earned All-American honors across both divisions.

Iowa City West's Hunter Garvin pins Cedar Falls' Dylan Whitt during the Iowa high school state wrestling tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on Feb. 20 in Des Moines.

None were more impressive than Garvin, who collected his third straight folkstyle national title over the weekend. He went 6-0 and outscored his opponents by a combined 77-34. He scored 25 total takedowns and allowed just five. He knocked off a pair of nationally ranked competitors along the way.

In the third round, Garvin defeated Ohio prep Alek Martin. Martin is ranked fourth nationally at 145 by MatScouts and is a South Dakota State signee. Garvin rolled up three first-period takedowns and six total in an 18-7 major decision.

In the finals, Garvin beat Oklahoma standout Jordan Williams, who is ranked 11th nationally at 152 pounds and considered the No. 16 overall recruit on MatScouts’ 2022 big board. Garvin scored five total takedowns — two in the first, two more in the third — on his way to a 14-9 decision.

This shouldn't be a huge surprise, because Garvin has been a well-known commodity in wrestling circles for quite some time now.

He’s won two state titles for West, is now a three-time folkstyle national champion, twice earned All-American honors in Greco and finished third at the Cadet greco-roman world team trials in 2019. He’s ranked seventh nationally at 138, where he won state this past season, and is considered the No. 52 overall 2022 recruit by MatScouts.

But this weekend’s should boost his stock. A strong spring and summer from Garvin could help solidify his spot not only as one of Iowa’s best, but as one of the nation’s best pound-for-pound wrestlers as well.

It is time to open that conversation, even if we are a year or two too behind.

How did the other Iowa wrestlers do in Cedar Falls?

Garvin was one of four total champs, nine total finalists and 20 total All-Americans from Iowa at USAW’s Junior and 16U folkstyle national championships. Here some performances that stuck out:

There were a couple of All-Iowa finals in the Junior tournament.

At 195 pounds, Iowa City High’s Ben Kueter beat West Delaware’s Wyatt Voelker, 3-2. Kueter scored two nearfall off a mat return in the second period, which held up as the difference. Voelker was in on five different shots in the third period alone, and nearly converted one on the edge but Kueter got dinged for fleeing the mat.

At 113, Webster City’s Cam Phetxoumphone defeated Nashua-Plainfield’s Garret Rinken, 4-2, in sudden victory. Phetxoumphone scored a reversal in the second period. Rinken tied it on two escapes, then Phetxoumphone scored off a go-behind on the edge in sudden victory to win.

At 182, Jared Simma, a Northern Iowa signee from Kansas, beat Des Moines Lincoln’s Mickey Griffith, 16-4, in the finals. Simma won his five matches by a combined 62-12, and both he and Griffith finished ahead of Oregon standout Asher Ruchti, who is ranked ninth at 182 nationally by MatScouts.

Iowa City High's Ben Kueter celebrates after beating Waverly-Shell Rock's Jake Walker in the Iowa high school state wrestling tournament on Feb. 20 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Linn-Mar’s Naaktgeborens go 1-2

Heck of a weekend for Linn-Mar duo Tate and Kane Naaktgeboren. Tate won a Junior title at 170 pounds, defeating a trio of nationally-ranked wrestlers along the way: 11-8 over No. 19 Brayden Thompson, from Illinois; 5-4 over No. 23 Gunner Filipowicz, from Georgia; and 6-1 in the finals over No. 5 Joey Martin, from California.

Kane finished second at 120 in the 16U tournament. He won three-straight one-point matches to reach the semifinals — 12-11, 4-3, then 6-5 in overtime — then won 7-5 over Oklahoma prep Cory Velasquez in the semifinals before losing to California prep Collin Guffey, 2-0, in overtime in the finals.

Linn-Mar's Tate Naaktgeboren defeats Valley's Caleb Corbin during the Iowa high school state wrestling tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on Feb. 20 in Des Moines.

Bradley Hill reaches finals

Bettendorf state champ Bradley Hill also reached the Junior finals at 220 pounds, rolling through his first three opponents before falling to Cornell recruit Jack Darrah, 3-1 in sudden victory, in the finals.

That’s his first loss since last July, at Legends of Gold’s Midwest Ironman Duals. What a tremendous run he’s been on. He’s another one to watch this spring and summer during freestyle and greco seasons.

Bettendorf's Bradley Hill defeats Waverly-Shell Rock's Luke Walker during the Iowa high school state wrestling tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on Feb. 20 in Des Moines.

Other Iowa wrestlers results

Junior: West Burlington-Notre Dame’s Blaine Frazier, seventh at 126; Linn-Mar’s Bryce Parke, fourth at 132; Iowa City West’s Graham Gambrall, eighth at 152; North Scott’s AJ Petersen, eighth at 195; Southeast Polk’s Kalob Runyon, fifth at 220.

16U: Webster City’s Carson Doolittle, fourth at 106; Osage’s Tucker Stangel, sixth at 120; Ankeny’s Jace Anderson, fifth at 145; Osage’s Barrett Muller, fourth at 220; Lisbon’s Wyatt Smith, fourth at 285; West Delaware’s Cam Geuther, fifth at 285.

Ayala, Rathjen compete at Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic

The Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic is a postseason exhibition dual that pits some of Pennsylvania’s best high-school wrestlers against many of the nation’s best at the same weight. This year, two Iowa seniors got the call to compete last week.

Fort Dodge’s Drake Ayala and Ankeny’s Caleb Rathjen were both the latest Iowa representatives at the PWC. They join a list that includes Kyle Biscoglia, Cory Clark, John Meeks, Max Thomsen, and Fredy Stroker, among others.

Ayala notched a 7-3 win over Joey Fischer, a Pennsylvania state champ and Clarion recruit. Tied 1-1 in the third period, Ayala finally connected on a takedown and took Fischer to his back on a cradle, a sequence held up and led to victory.

Rathjen lost to a future teammate, 3-2 to Wyatt Henson, another Iowa signee. Henson converted a single-leg shot in the second period of a wildly entertaining matchup. Rathjen created plenty of scoring opportunities, but Henson was just elusive enough.

Iowa girls earn All-American honors

A handful of Iowa girls also made waves at USA Wrestling’s girls’ folkstyle national championships a week ago in Coralville.

Glenwood’s Abby McIntyre, a two-time IWCOA state champ, added a Junior national title to her résumé. She took first at 144 pounds. She recorded three pins to reach the finals, then beat Missouri’s Maddie Kubicki, 5-4, to win gold. Osage’s Emma Grimm took fifth at 127, winning three-straight consolation matches to reach the top six.

In the 16U tournament, Clayton Ridge’s Samantha Spielbauer followed her state title last winter with a national title at 152 pounds. She went 3-0 with three first-period pins in a four-girl, round-robin competition. Charles City’s Lilly Lufty (132) and Ridge View’s Izzy Deeds (144) both reached the finals, too.

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.