Iowa is one of the best amateur wrestling states in the entire country. While it may not produce the number of standout wrestlers that Ohio or Pennsylvania does, it is almost always in the top five, if not consistently in contention for third place.
Out of all of the many phenomenal wrestlers that have come out of the state of Iowa, a majority of them have stayed home to wrestle. This is most likely do to the fact that Iowa has an extremely strong collegiate wrestling presence. There are 24 programs in the state of Iowa for its high school wrestlers to choose from. Most notably are three well known and competitive Division I schools. Two of the most decorated programs in collegiate wrestling history, Iowa and Iowa State, along with the University of Northern Iowa. All three schools produce All Americans year in and year out, and Iowa itself is nearly always fighting for the national title.
If that isn't enough, Iowa has arguably the toughest conference in Division III wrestling. With 9 teams, including the most decorated DIII wrestling program in history, Wartburg, Iowa provides great opportunity for wrestlers in this area as well.
It doesn't stop there either. Iowa's presence in the NAIA and the NJCAA is rather apparent as well. Six NAIA programs, including multiple time champions Grand View give Iowa a great NAIA wrestling presence. Iowa Central Community College, gives Iowa a name in the NJCAA.
If you want to wrestle Division II, then there might be a problem. Upper Iowa in Fayette is the only DII program in the state. Other than that though, regardless of what division you want to wrestle, the opportunity is more than there in the Hawkeye State.
Even with all of the vast opportunity though, some of our talent does escape.
I thought researching throughout the entire history of collegiate wrestling all of the wrestlers from Iowa that wrestled out of state, but I wanted to stick to wrestlers that I had the privilege of watching compete on the mat. Secondly, I thought about including wrestlers from all Divisions, but for the sake of keeping this a novel and not making it an epic, I have decided to focus solely on Division I wrestlers.
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Justin Kerber
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Justin Kerber was a four time Iowa State finalist while wrestling for Emmetsburg-Armstrong high school with big hopes and expectations when he entered the University of Cornell. If it had not been for a career full of injuries he most likely would have had at least one All American award to his collection of accolades. Nevertheless he still had a more than decent career finishing 5th-2nd-3rd during his first three years with the Big Red. Unfortunately injury kept him from wrestling his senior season.
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| James Nicholson |
After winning a state title for Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, Nicholson made an immediate impact in the Division I wrestling scene by making All American status with an 8th place finish at the 2008 NCAA tournament. He unfortunately would slip a bit in the next two seasons finishing shy of All American status, but came back strong as a senior to capture his second All American award by once again placing 8th at the 2012 NCAA tournament. He became only the second wrestler from Old Dominion to make All American status more than once and he became the first wrestler in the history of the Colonial Athletic Conference to win four conference titles. Considering that the CAA is no longer in existence he is not only the first, he is the only.
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| Dominick Moyer |
Moyer enjoyed a standout career in high school wrestling for the Oskaloosa Indians, where he finished 1st-1st-5th-2nd at the Iowa State tournament. Upon graduation, Moyer would go on to wrestle for the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln where he enjoyed a successful career with many quality wins and three trips to the NCAA's. During his time at Nebraska, Moyer wrestled in the BIG XII, which many argue during that time was the toughest conference in the nation. Moyer finished 2nd-3rd-2nd at the BIG XII's his last three years.
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| Nick Hayes |
After winning a state title for Lewis Central in Council Bluffs, Hayes headed to the windy city to step on the mat for the Northwestern Wildcats. While at Northwestern, Hayes had a difficult time getting himself started. He qualified for the NCAA championships as a freshman with a 7th place finish at the BIG 10 tournament, but would miss qualifying for the championships as a sophomore. As a junior he rebounded with another 7th place finish at the BIG 10's. As a senior he began making headway with a series of wins over top ranked opponents and an impressive 4th place finish at the BIG 10 tournament. Although he never made All American status, he did upset the #8 seed at the NCAA's as a junior and earn himself the #12 seed as a senior.
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| Mack Reiter |
Reiter is one of the best wrestlers that the state of Iowa has ever produced. A four time state champion out of Don Bosco that the Hawkeyes, Cyclones and Panthers were all sad to lose, but the Golden Gophers were very happy to get. Reiter had a very successful career while at Minnesota, that most likely would have ended with an NCAA title had it not been for a series of injuries. Never the less Reiter finished 1st-2nd-3rd-4th in the BIG 10 and 4th-4th-R12-5th at the NCAA's.
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| Terry Parham |
Terry Parham is a name that you don't often hear said in the wrestling community that maybe ought to be mentioned more often than what it is, especially when talking about greats to come out of the state of Iowa. Wrestling for Glenwood High School, Parham finished out his high school career with a second place finish as a junior and a state title as a senior. He then went on to the Air Force Academy where all but seemed to disappear. He didn't do a whole lot in his first three year's wrestling for the falcons but completely turned it on during his senior year. Not only did Parham win a conference title, he went into the NCAA tournament and finished in 7th place with wins over seeded wrestlers Jake Volkman of Minnesota and Tyler Nixt of Iowa.
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| Tolly Thompson |
I don't know the whole story behind it, but I have heard more than once that after Thompson finished 2nd two years in a row for Janesville High, at the Iowa State tournament that the University of Iowa informed him that they already had a HWT. If true, not a wise choice for the Hawkeye as Thompson went on to have an outstanding career at the University of Nebraska. Winning three BIG XII titles, Thompson finished out his last three years with NCAA finishes of 1st-3rd-3rd. He also won the Gorriaran award for the most falls in the least amount of time at the NCAA's as a senior.
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| Brandon Mason |
Another standout wrestler from Lewis Central in Council Bluffs, Mason had a high school career of 1st-3rd-1st-1st at the state tournament. Where did Mason choose to continue his wrestling career? Why Oklahoma State of course. While wrestling as a cowboy Mason enjoyed a rather successful career which included four trips to the NCAA tournament, which included a 5th place finish as a sophomore and R12 finishes as a freshman and a junior.
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| David Kjelgaaard |
There must be something about Lewis Central High School wrestlers wrestling out of state, because Kjelgaard is yet another wrestler added to the list. It's hard to talk about Kjelgaard because when mentioning his name we are talking about a guy who could have gone done as one of the best wrestlers in collegiate history, had it not been for a series of injuries that ruined his career. Kjelgaard won three state titles and finished 4th-3rd-2nd in his first three years wrestling in the BIG XII tournament for the University of Oklahoma. To give you an idea of just how good Kjelgaard was in high school look at the picture above. Kjelgaard has someone on his back and not just anyone. That guy he is pinning is four time, undefeated NCAA champion Cael Sanderson.
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| Steve Blackford |
I saved Blackford for last because he was the first wrestler that didn't wrestle for an Iowa School that I began to follow and essentially the reason why I began to follow NCAA Division I wrestling as a whole, rather than just follow the Hawkeyes and the Cyclones. During a dual meet in Iowa City, my dad pointed down at the mat when Blackford was getting ready to wrestle and said, "That kid there is from Iowa." It was the first time I ever saw a wrestler from Iowa wrestling for a non-Iowa school.
After winning two high school state titles for Dowling High School in West Des Moines, Blackford went on to finish 2nd-2nd-1st-1st at the PAC 10 championships and then 4th-3rd-5th at the NCAA tournament for the Arizona State Sun Devils.
