Iowa High School Wrestling: Are there Schools in 2021 that Still Don't Have Programs????

 My friend Dennis Doderer asked me the other day how many high schools in Iowa didn't have wrestling programs.  I told him that while I knew of a few that didn't, I had no idea how many in total.  

Truth is, it is anything but an easy question to answer.  For one, we have many schools in Iowa that don't have wrestling programs themselves, but they share a program with a nearby school.  Hell, my high school is one of them.  I went to Sigourney which has a rich wrestling tradition that began in the 1962-1963 school year.  Nearby Keota has never sponsored a wrestling program of their own but began to share with Sigourney in the 2004-2005 school year.   It's far from the only school that does this. 

Rivermont Collegiate sends kids to Bettendorf
Des Moines Christian goes to Urbandale
Melcher-Dallas goes to Southeast Warren
Mormon Trek goes to Central Decatur
Murray goes to East Union
To my knowledge both Notre Dame & Danville go to West Burlington

So, that's not what I'm referring to.  

I'm talking straight up that if you attend "This high school" you aren't wrestling.  No program of their own. They do not share a program with any nearby high school. You go here, wrestling is not an option. 

How many of those schools do we have in Iowa?  That I do not know.  That I do not have an answer for.  

From what I have been able to gather?

Well there are a few I'm up in the air about.

I know that when Hillcrest Academy was Iowa Mennonite School they could wrestle at Mid-Prairie if they wanted to.  I can only remember in the past 30 years one kid ever doing it, but as far as I know the option was always available.  Now that it is Hillcrest Academy, I do not know. 

Meskwaki Settlement School I think has the option of wrestling at South Tama if they choose to.  I'm not 100% positive about that though. 

As to the other schools on my list, I hope not to make anyone mad.  I can just imagine someone getting all up in arms screaming at me, "We have a wrestling program!!!!" Or "We've shared with such and such since 1990'something!!!!!"  

Please, if I'm wrong, I apologize ahead of time.  I'm actually hoping that the answer to how many schools don't have wrestling at all, period, is closer to zero than what I have it. 

Here's what I came up with....


Seymour - I know Seymour never had wrestling when I was in high school.  I know when I was in high school, they didn't have another school to go to, to wrestle.  I believe it is still that way. 

Unity Christian and Trinity Christian -  I know a kid I went to college with that was originally going to go to Unity Christian but transferred to Western Christian for the sole purpose that they had a wrestling program and Unity did not. Believe it is still that way. 

Diagonal HIgh School 

Ankeny Christian - This one I'm still not 100% sure about 

Pella Christian

Maharishi - Know for a fact 

Marquette Catholic

Prince Of Peace Catholic 

Calamus Wheatland

Clayton Ridge 

Newell-Fonda

Dunkerton 

Kee 

And the strangest of all of my research..... 

Every high school in Monona County.   This includes Whiting, West Monona and Maple Valley Anthon Oto.   I wasn't able to find any trace of wrestling at any of these high schools. 


Now, I'm more than happy to be corrected.  I'm hoping that all 17 high schools I have listed above in fact either DO have a wrestling program or have it so that their kids can wrestle at another program or a shared program. 

Help me out.  Thanks. 

UPDATE!!! UPDATE!!! UPDATE!! 

My fellow wrestling enthusiast/historian Britt Malinsky aka TheSetonHallPirate gave me a list of what he is pretty sure is an accurate list of all of the schools in Iowa that do not offer wrestling at any level.  (Meaning the school doesn't have a program, doesn't share with another's program, doesn't have their kids go to nearby school if they want to wrestle)  

The # next to the school is the number of students 9th, 10th, 11th & 12th grades.  Some of these schools such as Ottumwa Christian don't have sports at all.  So keep those kind of facts in mind.  

Ar-We-Va, Westside 50 Calamus-Wheatland 91 Colo-Nesco 97 Diagonal 26 Easton Valley 113 Essex 40 Gehlen Catholic, LeMars 110 Grand View Christian School 111 Heartland Christian 27 Iowa School for the Deaf 23 Maharishi School 34 Marquette Catholic, Bellevue 48 Mormon Trail, Garden Grove 45 Moulton-Udell 38 Newell-Fonda 133 Ottumwa Christian School 10 Pella Christian 183 Promise Academy at Quakerdale 9 Scattergood Friends 21 Seymour 68 Siouxland Christian 51 Stanton 57 Trinity Christian 55 Unity Christian, Orange City 227 West Central, Maynard 66 Woodward Academy 158