5 interesting Iowa high school wrestling results from IAWrestle’s Night of Conflict

SIOUX CITY — The 2022-23 high school wrestling season is still more than a month out — we’re 36 days from the start of the girls season, 50 for the boys — but in-state fans were treated to small preseason appetizer on Saturday night.

Long Lines Family Rec Center hosted Night of Conflict, IAWrestle's annual dual-style exhibition. The 24-match card featured intriguing matches, pitting wrestlers from all over the state across all three classes against each other.

In all, 14 boys matches and another 10 girls bouts were contested, including many compelling matches that yielded interesting results which will help formulate worthwhile subplots for the upcoming season.

Here’s one: debates rage each year about which of Iowa’s three classes is the best. Class 3A regularly reigns with top-of-the-line talent and overall depth, but 2A led all classes Saturday with five individual wins, and 1A wrestlers went 4-3 overall with two head-to-head wins over 3A opponents.

Here’s another: the 10 girls matches featured 11 medalists from past Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association state tournaments, including five champs. All that firepower led to eight pins, including four in matches between two returning medalists.

In all, Saturday was a great showcase for Iowa high school wrestling. Here are five match results that stood out:

Greene County's Kale Petersen beat Bondurant-Farrar's Max Riggins, 7-1, at IAWrestle's Night of Conflict on Saturday in Sioux City.
Greene County's Kale Petersen beat Bondurant-Farrar's Max Riggins, 7-1, at IAWrestle's Night of Conflict on Saturday in Sioux City.

Greene County’s Kale Petersen downs up-and-coming Max Riggins

The match between Greene County’s Kale Petersen and Bondurant-Farrar’s Max Riggins was arguably the most intriguing entering the night, but Petersen showed there’s a gap between them with a dominant 7-1 victory.

The intrigue stemmed from both of their results this past spring and summer.

Petersen is a two-time state champ and a top-100 prospect in the 2023 senior class. He reached the semifinals and took fourth at the Under-17 men’s freestyle world team trials in April. One year ago, he notched a win over Alan Koehler, a Junior All-American from Minnesota, at this same exhibition in this same gym last year.

Riggins, a sophomore, is another top-100 prospect, a returning state medalist, and earned double All-American honors at the 16U national championships this summer: fifth in freestyle, sixth in Greco-Roman.

So this was very much the established vet against the up-and-comer — and the vet won handily.

Petersen scored three total takedowns: one late in the first off a slide-by, then two more in the final 30 seconds of the third period to ice it. He employed his usual combination of heavy hands and quick feet to set up a variety of attacks all six minutes. Riggins truly only threatened once, maybe twice, all match.

Riggins will continue on an upward trajectory and may soon be a force in Iowa high school wrestling circles, but Saturday night belonged to Petersen.

► MORE: Iowa's top high school wrestlers reveal what schools are recruiting them

Bishop Heelan’s Ethan DeLeon finally beats Logan-Magnolia’s Wyatt Reisz

The match result between Bishop Heelan’s Ethan DeLeon and Logan-Magnolia’s Wyatt Reisz was perhaps the most notable. DeLeon turned shot-defense into a re-attack for a takedown in the third period for a 3-1 victory.

Stack their résumés up against each other and Reisz is clearly the more-credentialed wrestler: a two-time 1A state champ, the No. 108 prospect in the 2023 senior class, a recent commit to Division II’s Colorado School of Mines. On top of that, Reisz has two past wins over DeLeon: 5-2 in 2020 as freshmen, 13-7 in 2021 as sophomores.

DeLeon, a returning 2A state finalist, finally got him back on Saturday night. He picked his spots offensively and held position when Reisz attacked. In the third, Reisz shot from space, and DeLeon used head-and-hands defense to circle and set up a re-shot, picked Reisz’s left leg up and brought it back down for the match-winning finish.

Bishop Heelan's Ethan DeLeon beat Logan-Magnolia's Wyatt Reisz, 3-1, at IAWrestle's Night of Conflict on Saturday in Sioux City.
Bishop Heelan's Ethan DeLeon beat Logan-Magnolia's Wyatt Reisz, 3-1, at IAWrestle's Night of Conflict on Saturday in Sioux City.

► MORE: Iowa City High's Ben Kueter wins Junior freestyle world championship

Fort Dodge’s Dru Ayala registers another big out-of-state victory

Dru Ayala is a regular at Night of Conflict — and he’s also routinely beating tough opponents each time he competes here.

On Saturday, the junior from Fort Dodge won another big one, a 3-2 decision over Blake Beissel, a talented lightweight and 2022 Minnesota state champ. Ayala used a quick first-period takedown and savvy defense to prevail.

These two have a small history. Ayala beat Beissel 8-6 at the 2021 Junior national duals. A month later, Beissel finished ahead of Ayala at the 16U freestyle national championships, taking sixth while Ayala took seventh at 100 pounds.

On Saturday, Ayala used an elbow-pass for an early takedown on Beissel just 13 seconds into the match. Beissel escaped quickly, and they both peppered each other with shots the rest of the match. Ayala was in on at least six more shots, and Beissel got in on at least four. Both of them were crafty enough defensively to evade danger.

Ayala has been on a steady ascent throughout his high school career. He is a two-time state medalist, a returning 3A state finalist, a two-time All-American, and is currently ranked No. 8 in the country at 106 pounds by MatScouts.

Add Saturday night’s victory to his growing list of hard-fought wins.

Fort Dodge's Dru Ayala beat Minnesota's Blake Beissel, 3-2, at IAWrestle's Night of Conflict on Saturday in Sioux City.
Fort Dodge's Dru Ayala beat Minnesota's Blake Beissel, 3-2, at IAWrestle's Night of Conflict on Saturday in Sioux City.

► RELATED: Team Iowa wins Junior men's freestyle national team championship

Bas Diaz over Tycho Carmichael in a battle of talented sophomores

Like Riggins, Waverly-Shell Rock’s Bas Diaz and Bettendorf’s Tycho Carmichael are two more talented sophomores.

At last year’s 3A state tournament, Diaz took third at 145 pounds and Carmichael took fourth at 132. Diaz is a past Florida state champ and 15U national champ. Carmichael earned 16U All-American honors this past summer.

On this night, Diaz beat Carmichael 5-1, scoring takedowns in the first and third periods in a match that could very well be a preview of the state semifinals or even state finals, depending on what weight they end up going.

This was an interesting clash of styles. Diaz wins a lot of his matches because he stays in good position and bullies his opponents with physicality. Carmichael wrestles a little more open and applies pressure with an array of attacks.

Diaz’s style won this time around. In the first period, Carmichael attempted a slide-by but Diaz dropped into a body-lock and outside-tripped Carmichael for a takedown. In the third, Carmichael tried a late duck-under to create any kind of action and Diaz just held position and covered for another two points to ice the win.

Waverly-Shell Rock's Bas Diaz, in red, beat Bettendorf's Tycho Carmichael 5-1 at IAWrestle's Night of Conflict event on Saturday in Sioux City.
Waverly-Shell Rock's Bas Diaz, in red, beat Bettendorf's Tycho Carmichael 5-1 at IAWrestle's Night of Conflict event on Saturday in Sioux City.

Iowa native Shawn Kenney has become one of wrestling's top TV broadcasters

In high-profile women’s bout, Wilton's Hannah Rogers pins Adyson Lundquist

The 10 women’s matches had more out-of-state flavor than the men’s, with six women from Nebraska competing (they went 4-2, by the way), but a handful of Iowa’s top women’s high-schoolers competed at Night of Conflict and produced lopsided victories.

Perhaps the most star-studded women’s bout of the night featured Wilton junior Hannah Rogers, a returning state champ, and Southwest Valley senior Adyson Lundquist, a three-time state medalist.

Rogers pinned Lundquist midway through the second period. She scored a quick takedown in the first period, but Lundquist countered with a reversal on the edge to make it 2-2 entering the second.

There, Rogers scored another takedown to regain the lead, and kept hold of Lundquist’s elbow on the finish that she used for the fall.

Wilton's Hannah Rogers, a returning state champion, pinned Southwest Valley's Ady Lundquist in the second period at IAWrestle's Night of Conflict on Saturday in Sioux City.
Wilton's Hannah Rogers, a returning state champion, pinned Southwest Valley's Ady Lundquist in the second period at IAWrestle's Night of Conflict on Saturday in Sioux City.

► RELATED: Team Iowa wins 16U women's freestyle national team championship

Other quick hits from Night of Conflict:

Lisbon senior Wyatt Smith won an entertaining heavyweight match against Hempstead's Joe Lewis, 10-9. Lewis scored a pair of takedowns in the second period and led 8-5 in the third, then Smith, who had about 30-40 pounds of size advantage, took Lewis feet-to-back in the final 30 seconds to rally and win.

Ogden junior Kolton Munson, a returning state finalist, nearly gave Class 1A the edge in total individual wins on Saturday. He scored a quick takedown and led Roland-Story's Kade Blume 3-2 after the first period, but Blume, a junior and two-time 2A state champ, went escape-takedown in the second and muscled out a 5-3 win.

– Hempstead's Josiah Schaetzle won perhaps the most intense match of the night, a 4-3 ultimate-tiebreaker victory over Waverly-Shell Rock's Danny Diaz. Diaz scored a reversal in the third for a 2-1 lead, but Schaetzle escaped to force sudden victory, then they traded escapes in the initial tiebreakers, then Schaetzle escaped again to win.

Greene County's McKinley Robbins and Webster City's Carson Doolittle both lit up the scoreboard en route to 16-point matches. Robbins beat Assumption's Cadyn Wild 16-5 behind six takedowns. Doolittle rolled up five takedowns and two turns on his way to a 16-2 win over Nebraska's Juan Reyes, who was a last-minute fill-in.

Iowa Valley's Emma Peach, an Iowa state champ and 16U All-American, rallied from a 6-2 deficit and actually recorded a second-period pin over Reagen Gallaway, a Nebraska state champ and previous All-American.

Spencer's Olivia Huckfelt recorded a 38-second pin over Creston's Savannah Sistad in a battle of returning girl state champs.

The other notable girls results: East Buchanan's Destiny Krum rallied from down 4-1 to pin Chariton's Leah Chandler in the third period. Center Point-Urbana's Moorea Brown rallied from a 2-0 deficit to pin Waverly-Shell Rock's Kiara Djoumessi in the second period. All four girls are past state medalists.

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

IAWrestle's Night of Conflict

Boys Matches

  • Wyatt Smith (Lisbon) dec. Joseph Lewis (Hempstead), 10-9

  • Trey Beissel (Hastings, MN) pinned Tyler Harper (Norwalk) in 1:36

  • Josiah Schaetzle (Hempstead) dec. Danny Diaz (Waverly-SR), 4-3 (UTB)

  • Blake Allen (Underwood) dec. Bo Koedam (SB-L), 3-1

  • Corbin Reisz (Logan-Magnolia) dec. Ty Solverson (Boone), 5-0

  • Jace Anderson (Ankeny) dec. Ty Koedam (SB-L), 3-2

  • Kellen Smith (West Hancock) pinned Kale Munson (Ogden) in 3:10

  • Carson Doolittle (Webster City) maj. dec. Juan Reyes (South Sioux City, NE), 16-2

  • Ethan DeLeon (Bishop Heelan) dec. Wyatt Reisz (Logan-Magnolia), 3-1

  • Kade Blume (Roland-Story) dec. Kolton Munson (Ogden), 5-3

  • McKinley Robbins (Greene County) maj. dec. Cadyn Wild (Assumption), 16-5

  • Bas Diaz (Waverly-SR) dec. Tycho Carmichael (Bettendorf), 5-1

  • Kale Peterson (Greene County) dec. Max Riggins (Bondurant-Farrar), 7-1

  • Dru Ayala (Fort Dodge) dec. Blake Beissel (Hastings, MN), 3-2

Girls Matches

  • Maycee Peacher (Bennington, NE) pinned Kendra Berglund (SB-L) in 1:16

  • Sophie Schultz (Raymond Central, NE) pinned Kailee Spencer (Spencer) in 1:25

  • Moorea Brown (CPU) pinned Kiara Djoumessi (Waverly-SR) in 3:18

  • Destiny Krum (East Buchanan) pinned Leah Chandler (Chariton) in 4:58

  • Olivia Huckfelt (Spencer) pinned Savanah Sistad (Creston) in 0:38

  • Regan Rosseter (Omaha Westside, NE) maj. dec. Tatum Shepherd (Ridge View), 16-5

  • Skylar Slade (SEP) pinned Yohaly Quinones (South Sioux City, NE) in 1:54

  • Hannah Rogers (Wilton) pinned Adyson Lundquist (Southwest Valley) in 3:08

  • Emma Peach (Iowa Valley) pinned Reagen Gallaway (Amherst, NE) in 3:59

  • Kaylyn Harrill (St. Patrick’s, NE) dec. Reanah Utterback (Sigourney), 6-2

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 5 interesting high school results from IAWrestle’s Night of Conflict