Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Hunter Garvin has the ability to do a lot of things on a wrestling mat.

A rare and impressive combination of strength and speed paired with impeccable technique and high-level fitness have made Garvin one of the top wrestlers in the state and among the most successful in West High history.

That list of attributes allows Garvin to make what he has accomplished on the wrestling mat look easy.

In reality, putting together a career like the one Garvin capped last Saturday at the Class 3A state tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines is anything but easy.

“It takes everything you’ve got,” Garvin said. “You have to push through everything. You have to push through adversity, injuries we had to push through Covid. It’s all gas no brakes.”

Garvin pushed through all of those things during his four-year prep career to become one of the most decorated in the storied history of West High wrestling.

In his fourth consecutive appearance in the state finals, Garvin claimed a third straight state title on Saturday with a second-period pin of second-ranked Carter Martinson of Southeast Polk in the 152-pound title match.

“I just pushed, pulled and went for a double and got it and I’m am really comfortable there so I just held it and then I don’t hear a two but I hear my coach yell he’s pinned,” Garvin said. “I hear the whistle and the mat slap and that was it.”

The pin capped an impressive run for Garvin (48-0) and capped a second consecutive unbeaten season.

Garvin won the final 78 matches of his prep career and finished with a sparkling 136-7 career record and 100 career pins.

He became the third three-time state champion in West High history joining Nick Moore and West High head coach Nate Moore as the only four-time state finalists in program history.

“It just takes a lifetime of doing the right things and going to practice and working hard,” Moore said. “It’s so cliched but the way he lives his life that’s what happens.”

Garvin was his usual dominant self last weekend in Des Moines posting three pins and a 13-4 major decision on his way to the 152-pound title.

The senior had 14 takedowns and didn’t allow a takedown on his way to the title.

“I felt I wrestled great,” Garvin said. “After I got the first-period jitters out in my matches I felt good all week.”

A top-10 recruit nationally, Garvin committed to first-year head coach Rob Koll and Stanford in November.

“Koll got there and he was recruiting me at Cornell,” Garvin said. “I took a visit out there and I thought I would just take a visit for fun and it was the best thing I’ve ever seen. The weather, the wrestling, the academics and everything in between.”

Not surprisingly, shortly after capping a brilliant prep career Garvin was already thinking about the future.

“I’m going to take a few days off, maybe a week and then get right back on the grind,” Garvin said. “There isn’t really time to put it in park or ease of the gas I have to keep going 100 percent.”

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