Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

BETTENDORF – Saturday was another in an increasingly long list of steady, business-like efforts for City High senior Gabe Arnold.

Arnold may be all business on the mat but he wants to make something clear – wrestling isn’t business for the top-ranked 182-pound in the state, it’s pleasure.

“This isn’t a job, I don’t have to do it, I do it because I love it,” Arnold explained. “I am having fun every day and loving what I do.”

What Arnold has done mostly since arriving at City High from Wyoming Seminary prep school in Pennsylvania, is win.

Arnold continued to win and have fun doing so on Saturday cruising to at title at the Class 3A, District 1 meet at Bettendorf High School.

“This sport is nothing without fun,” Arnold said. “The second I’m not having fun is the day I take my shoes off and I call it quits. For me the way I wrestle, my style the way I train yes these things are serious and I’m serious about my goals and serious about accomplishing the next feat but at the end of the day this is fun to me and that’s why I do it.”

An Iowa signee, Arnold arrived at City High for his final prep season a highly decorated at the national level.

His arrival brought another elite competitor to a strong City High lineup that already featured three-time state champion and fellow Iowa recruit Ben Kueter and multi-year place winning juniors Kael Kurtz and Cale Seaton.

The addition of Arnold has brought something else to City High this season – fun.

“Our team has been a lot more loose, they’ve had a lot more fun and it’s just been a lot more joking which I like, I like when they kids are having fun and he’s brought a lot of that,” City High coach Cory Connell said. “He’s such a great kid, a great leader, a great person and works hard.”

Arnold was his usually self on Saturday, having fun off the mat and dominating on it.

The senior posted a pair of second-period pins on his way to the 182-pound title, improving to 37-0 on the season.

Arnold racked up 19 takedowns in his two matches, including 10 in a pin of Bettendorf junior Cooper Agosta in the championship match.

“It was fun,” Arnold said. “My goal in the two matches I had was to get myself really tired and just to keep attacking and to find opportunities and look for scores and I think I did just that so goal accomplished for me today and overall it was a good day.”

The title by Arnold was one of two for City High on Saturday as the Little Hawks qualified nine wrestlers for the Class 3A state meet scheduled for February 15-18 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

“I thought it was a pretty good day,” Connell said. “The guys that should get through, I feel like got through for the most part, there was a guy or two more that we wish we could have got, I always wish we had more but I thought it was a good day.”

Kueter added a title at 220-pounds to improve to 35-0.

Top-ranked Kueter pinned Zander Glazebrook of Bettendorf in 2:39 in the semifinals and won the final by medical forfeit over Daniel Sokolik of Fort Madison.

“Gabe and Ben are two of the best in world so to have those kids in the room it’s so exciting and so fun to coach,” Connell said. “It’s fun to watch them go at it and wrestle and they are two great kids.”

Chris Davis, Kurtz and Jake Mitchell all advanced with runner-up finishes while Seaton, Kendall Kurtz, Zach Fern and Ryan Ott qualified with third-place finishes on Saturday.

Fourth-ranked Kurtz (34-5) dropped a 3-2 decision to second-ranked Jayce Luna in the 132-pound championship match.

Top-ranked Seaton (33-4) returned to the mat for the first time since sustaining an injury on January 21.

Seaton posted a second-period pin of Blaze Dochterman of Burlington in the quarterfinals and 23-8 tech fall against Jeffery West of Davenport North to reach the final and secure a spot at state before forfeiting his final two matches.

Mitchell (25-6) was runner-up at 138 and Davis was runner-up at 113 pounds.

“Our team is doing really well,” Arnold said. “I think we are sending nine to state and I don’t the history of City High but I know that’s one of the higher numbers we’ve had in a while and for us that’s huge.”

Class 3A, District 1

At Bettendorf High School

Team scores – 1. Bettendorf 284.5; 2. City High 164; 3. Fort Madison 159; 4. Liberty High 74.5; 4. Dubuque Senior 74.5; 6. Burlington 60; 7. Davenport North 52; 8. Davenport West 35.5

Championship matches; state qualifiers

106 – 1. Jayden Luna (BET) dec. Braxton Hutchinson (BUR) 7-4; 3. Kendall Kurtz (ICH)

113 – 1. Jake Knight (BET) pinned Asthon Sneath (DN) :46; 2. Chris Davis (ICH); 3. Sneath (DN)

120 – 1. Timothy Koester (BET) pinned Mason Besler (DS) 3:39; 3. Noah Swigart (FM)

126 – 1. Cody Trevino (BET) medical forfeit Cale Seaton (ICH); 2. Logan Pennock (FM); 3. Seaton (ICH)

132 – 1. Jayce Luna (BET) dec. Kael Kurtz (ICH) 3-2; 3. Tien Pham (ICL)

138 – 1. Lincoln Jipp (BET) pinned Jake Mitchell (ICH) 4:38; 3. Tucker Avis (DW)

145 – 1. Tycho Carmichael (BET) pinned Nolan Riddle (FM) 2:43; 3. Zach Fern (ICH)

152 – 1. Elijah Mendoza (BET) pinned Aidan Pennock (FM); 3. Landon Bell (ICL)

160 – 1. Jorden Roberts (BET) dec. Ryan Ott (ICH); 2. Beau Healey (DS); 3. Ott (ICH)

170 – 1. Teague Smith (FM) dec. Armon Williams (BET) 6-5; 3. Gavin Benton (ICL)

182 – 1. Gabe Arnold (ICH) pinned Cooper Agosta (BET) 4:27; 3. Salomon Cordero (BUR)

195 – 1. Isaac Thacher (FM) pinned Ronan Numkena (BET) 1:08; 3. Vincenzo Lima (ICL)

220 – 1. Ben Kueter (ICH) medical forfeit Daniel Sokolik (FM); 3. Zander Glazebrook (BET)

285 – 1. Cohen Pfohl (DS) pinned Aiden Lee (BET) 3:18; 3. Jeremiah Henderson (DN)

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