Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – If you do something enough times it eventually becomes a habit.

It seems as if winning wrestling meets is becoming a habit for Hunter Garvin.

The West High junior has certainly done enough winning over the past three seasons to get used to the routine.

Top-ranked Garvin (17-0) claimed his second consecutive state title on Saturday with a third-period of seventh-ranked Dylan Whitt of Cedar Falls in the 138-pound championship match at Wells Fargo Arena.

“I’m feeling great,” Garvin said. “It was a goal at the end of last year and it feels great. It feels awesome.”

A three-time finalist, Garvin got over the championship hump last season when he won the 132-pound title.

Nothing could slow the dynamic Garvin this season.

Not a pandemic-shortened schedule that limited Garvin to 13 matches before the state tournament, not quarantine time during the season and no wrestler on his 2021 schedule.

“I was doing everything I could do, getting as much practice time as I can whether its with high school team or with club making sure I get my cardio up either at practice or on the treadmill I had to keep my cardio up every day,” Garvin explained. Even when life takes things away, like me only getting 13 matches instead of 40 you have to make the best of what you can.”

Garvin made the best of every opportunity he had to compete all season – though he did so quickly.

Top-ranked Garvin didn’t have a match go all six minutes this season ending every match via tech fall or fall, a first in the storied history of the West High program.

“That’s all he could get and that’s what he got,” West High coach Nate Moore said. “He did what he needed to do.”

Garvin capped an impressive state tournament run with his third-period pin of seventh-ranked Whitt (15-2) on Saturday evening.

Garvin scored the first of his three title match takedowns with 18 seconds left in the opening period for a 2-0 lead.

Then Garvin began to go to work.

A reversal 33 seconds into the second period and three near fall points made it 7-0 and it was 14-1 Garvin when he put Whitt on his back with 50 seconds left in the match.

“I was up 12-0 and my coach told me I just needed one good turn,” Garvin said. “I went option start and after I got another takedown I thought I would catch him in a cow catcher or something or just get more takedowns. Once I caught it I felt it was tight and I had it right there.”

Garvin collected 14 takedowns without allowing one in four state tournament wins, posting a 20-3 tech fall in his opener before pinning his way to the title.

He outscored his four state tournament opponents by a combined total of 54-6.

“He comes to practice every day with a goal to improve one or two percent every day,” Moore said. “That improvement adds up over a long period of time.”

Class 3A State Wrestling Tournament

At Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines

Team scores (Top 10; area teams) – 1. Waverly-Shell Rock 154.5; 2. Waukee 146; 3. Southeast Polk 143; 4. Bettendorf 100.5; 5. Ankeny 96.5; 6. Fort Dodge 90.5; 7. Linn-Mar 87; 8. West High 82; 9. North Scott 72; 10. Johnston 56; 11. City High 50.5

Championship Matches

138 – Hunter Garvin Dylan Whitt (Cedar Falls)

195 – Ben Kueter (City High) Jake Walker (Waverly-Shell Rock)

Consolation Semifinals

113 – Cale Seaton (City High) dec. Kaden Karns (Waterloo West) 8-2

126 – Cael Cox (Ankeny) won by medial forfeit Grant O’Dell (West High)

152 – Graham Gambrall (West High) major dec. Abraham Dirkx (Carroll) 15-7

170 – Ashton Barker (West High) dec. Ivan Thomas (CR Xavier) 11-5

Fifth Place

126 – Jacob Fistler (Dallas Center-Grimes) won by medial forfeit Grant O’Dell (West High)

Seventh-place

106 – Kael Kurtz (City High) major dec. Ben Hansen (Ankeny) 9-1

Third-place

113 – Cale Seaton (City High) dec. Aime Mukiza (Des Moines North-Hoover) 10-4

152 – Carson Martinson (Southeast Polk) dec. Graham Gambrall (West High) 3-0

170 – Ashton Barker (West High) pinned Tim Nimely (Muscatine) 1:23

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