Crossing paths numerous times along the way, the Indianola and Norwalk wrestling teams both enjoyed a high level of success throughout the 2022-2023 campaign.
The season culminated with the State Wrestling Tournament in Des Moines as both schools sent nine qualifiers to the Wells Fargo Arena mats.
The Indianola wrestling team had their season come to a close at Wells Fargo Arena at the state meet in February, seeing several competitors face off against the best in the state and watching Bowen Downey earn a runner-up finish in class 3A. Head coach Clint Manny said without the support from the parents and community, the success for the team would be much harder to come by.
While the Indianola wrestling season has come to a close, many wrestlers will begin preparing for the offseason work on the mats including clubs and individual wrestling. One way the program is successful according to head coach Clint Manny, is seeing Indianola wrestlers competing in other sports.
The Indianola boys wrestling team had another stellar year, winning the Little Hawkeye Conference regular and tournament title, competing against some of the best in the state, and saw Bowen Downey get a runner-up finish in the class 3A state tournament.
From the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association:
BOYS ALL-STATE:
Indianola – Academic All-State Team
Indianola Bowen Downey, wrestling at 120, finished his high school wrestling career with a second-place finish at the IHSAA State tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday, wrestling to a 1-2 finish against No. 1-seed Koufax Christensen from Waukee NW.
Area high school wrestlers will be aiming for medals today at Wells Fargo Arena.
Thirty-five Warren County wrestlers headed for Wells Fargo this week. But Saturday, just three remained in championship contention.
Bowen Downey of Indianola at 120 and Norwalk’s Maddux Borcherding-Johnson at 285 and Tyler Harper at 106 will wrestle Saturday night for titles.
Entering the third day of the state Indianola was down to four wrestlers still in the competition.
Day two of the IHSAA State Wrestling Meet was held on Thursday with nine Indianola grapplers still in the mix. Four remained at the end of the day.
The Iowa State High School Wrestling Tournament started Wednesday with Indianola’s nine qualifiers taking the mat in the evening session.
Isaiah Picard won his second straight state title in the Para 100 Freestyle Saturday, and collected another trophy in the 50 Freestyle to win a pair of championships at the University of Iowa Aquatics Center. Picard swam a 1:45.78 in the 100 Freestyle, and a 43.48 in the 50 Freestyle to earn the victory.
Indianola is sending nine wrestlers to the state meet at Wells Fargo next week based on a third-place or better finish in Saturday’s District tournament in Norwalk. All of Indianola grapplers advanced in the first round and none finished less than fourth place in the competition, including Gabby King who stepped up to varsity in a big way to replace the injured Logan Turner.
The Norwalk wrestlers will compete for state today with a home mat advantage, while the Indianola wrestling squad won’t have far to travel today as both teams compete for a state tournament spot in districts today.
Regional wrestling duals between Norwalk, West Des Moines Valley and Indianola were held at Valley High on Tuesday to determine who would advance to the State Dual Meet. To advance, Indianola would need to defeat Norwalk then Valley.
Just five days following their regular season clash, the Indianola and Norwalk wrestling teams will square off again tonight in the first round of Class 3A Regional Duals at West Des Moines Valley High School.
The Indianola boys wrestling team took home the regular season Little Hawkeye Conference tournament championship on Thursday with a win over Norwalk, then completed the season sweep on Saturday with a LHC Tournament win scoring 234 team points. Norwalk scored 198 points to finish in third, while Pella scored 165 points to place fourth.
The Norwalk, Indianola, and Pella wrestling teams make the road trip to Norwalk High School today for the Little Hawkeye Conference meet, joined by the six other participating schools.
The Indianola wrestling team came out on top of the Warren County rivalry Thursday night over Norwalk, the Indians defeating the Warriors 38-25, as Indianola remained undefeated in the Little Hawkeye Conference dual season.
The Warren County rivalry is renewed tonight on the mats and is not only a crucial conference matchup that can decide the Little Hawkeye Conference regular season champion, but is a regional dual preview as well.