Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The Your Prep Sports area wrestling team honors the top wrestlers in the area for their performance on the mat this season.

In 2020 the Your Prep Sports area featured some of the best wrestlers in the state, with six area wrestlers winning state titles and six others earning medals at the state meet.

Of the 19 wrestlers in the state to post unbeaten seasons two came from the Your Prep Sports area. One of the four freshman state champions in the state wrestled in the Your Prep Sports area and two of the nine sophomores to win titles are also area competitors.

This year’s edition of the Your Prep Sports area wrestling team features six state champions including a pair of unbeaten wrestlers.

Solon sophomore Hayden Taylor is the Your Prep Sports area wrestler of the year after going 52-0 on his way to the Class 2A 145-pound title.

Taylor became the first two-time state champion in Solon history by completing just the second unbeaten season ever at Solon.

2020 Your Prep Sports Area Wrestling Team

106 – Grant O’Dell (28-9), Soph., West High: Won Mississippi Valley Conference and district titles before ending earning a state medal for the second consecutive season going 3-3 at state on his way to a sixth-place finish.

113 – Ethan Wood-Finley (27-5), Sr., City High: A three-time state qualifier, Wood-Finley capped his career with a third straight state medal placing sixth after back-to-back fifth-place finishes.

120 – Garrett Bormann (29-12), Sr., City High: Won a district title to secure his first trip to the state meet where Bormann went 0-2 with a loss to eventual state runner-up.

126 – Sam Stevens (21-8), Sr., Clear Creek Amana: Returned from an injury that sidelined him for more than a month to win a district title and post a 1-2 mark in his second consecutive 3A state meet appearance.

132 – Hunter Garvin (33-3), Soph., West High: A year after finishing as a runner-up at the Class 3A state meet Garvin finished the job in his second state meet appearance with an impressive 8-1 win over top-seeded Aiden Riggins of Waverly-Shell Rock in the state title match.

145 – Hayden Taylor (52-0), Soph., Solon: Became the first two-time champion at Solon by capping just the second unbeaten season in program history with a 5-2 win over Trestin Sales of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont in the Class 2A championship match.  

145 – Graham Gambrall (36-5), Jr., West High: Completed one of the most impressive state meet runs of any wrestler knocking off the number one, three and four ranked wrestlers in consecutive matches on his way to his first Class 3A state title.

152 – Zeb Gnida (45-8), Sr., Solon: One of the most successful wrestlers in program history, Gnida finished his prep career with more than 150 wins, three state tournament appearances and a pair of state medals.  

160 – Ben Kueter (24-0), Fr., City High: One of only four freshman in the state to win titles Kueter completed one of the best seasons for any wrestler in the state going unbeaten on his way to the Class 3A state title.

170 – Jax Flynn (49-7), Sr., Solon: Among the most exciting wrestlers in the state Flynn knocked off the top two ranked wrestlers in the state in his final two matches on his way to 2A state title. Finished his career with 156 wins.  

182 – Will Hoeft (23-1), Sr., West High: Harvard recruit went unbeaten against in-state competition on his way to the Class 3A state title after undergoing offseason surgery to repair a torn ACL.

195 – Rowan Udell (44-3), Sr., Regina: Finished fifth in his first ever state meet appearance reaching the semifinals with back-to-back 11-2 major decisions. All three losses came in the postseason with two coming against the state runner-up.  

220 – Jason Lemus (30-9), Sr., City High: Saved the best wrestling of his career for the end improving from a fifth-place conference finish to a runner-up finish at districts before going 1-2 in his first appearance at the Class 3A state meet.  

285 – Ben Alden (18-23), Jr., West High: Finished seventh at the Mississippi Valley Conference meet and fourth at the Class 3A, District 6 meet in his first season of varsity action.

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