Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The annual Your Prep Sports area wrestling team honors some of the top wrestlers in the area for their performances on the mat this season.

Once again some of the best wrestlers in the entire state competed in the Your Prep Sports area.

Two area wrestlers completed unbeaten seasons, four area wrestlers won title and eight area wrestlers left Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines last month with a state medal.

City High seniors Gabe Arnold (41-0) and Ben Kueter (39-0) completed unbeaten seasons with state titles while City High junior Cale Seaton (37-4) and West High freshman Alexander Pierce (42-2) also won state titles.

Kueter is the captain of the 2023 Your Prep Sports area wrestling team after completing a career that ranks among the best in state history.

An Iowa recruit, Kueter became the 32^nd four-time state champion in state history and the seventh wrestler to complete an undefeated career with his title at 220-pounds.

Kueter finished his career 111-0, scoring bonus points in 105 of those wins while posting 105 career falls.

This season Kueter was untouchable.

He had 34 pins, including 28 first-period falls, to go with three tech falls and two forfeits in his unbeaten season.

Kueter posted three consecutive first-period pins to reach the 3A state title match where he won a 19-4 tech fall over second-ranked Joseph Lewis of Dubuque Hempstead in the title match.

2023 Your Prep Sports Area Wrestling Team

106 – Alexander Pierce (42-2) Fr., West High: Capped an impressive debut season by outscoring opponents 53-26 in four state tournament wins on his way to becoming the third freshman state champion in West High history.

113 – Cale Nash (39-8) Soph., Clear Creek Amana: In his second consecutive state tournament appearance Nash went 3-2 at the 3A state meet dropping matches to the eventual runner-up and seventh-place finishers.

120 – Lincoln Edwards (40-8), Jr., West Branch: A two-time state qualifier, Edwards finished third at the River Valley Conference meet and runner-up at the 1A district meet before going 1-2 at the 1A state meet.

126 – Cale Seaton (37-4) Jr., City High: After back-to-back third-place finishes in his first team varsity season Seaton won his first state title, outscoring state meet opponents 36-11 despite sustaining a serious knee injury in late January.

132 – Kael Kurtz (37-7) Jr., City High: A three-time state qualifier, Kurtz finished fourth at the 3A state meet to cap an impressive season that also included a Mississippi Valley Conference title and a district runner-up finish.

138 – Jake Mitchell (28-8) Jr., City High: In his second state tournament appearance Mitchell won his first match at state, going 3-2 at the 3A state meet to finish one win short of a state medal.

145 – Beck Arant (33-13) Sr., Clear Creek Amana: Arant closed a strong career with his best season finishing runner-up at both the WAMAC Conference meet and district meet before going 1-2 at the Class 3A state meet.

152 – Cooper Gates (36-7) Fr., West Branch: Gates enjoyed one of the best freshman seasons in program history, racking up 36 wins, claiming a district title and placing eighth at the 1A state meet.

160 – Justin Avila (39-9) Soph., West High: Avila followed up a stellar state-medal earning freshman season with a solid sophomore campaign finishing third at the Mississippi Valley Conference meet, winning a district title at 145 pounds before going 1-2 at 145 pounds at the 3A state meet.

170 – Kyler Scranton (36-14) Jr., West High: Scranton wrestled his best at the end of the season winning a district title at 152 pounds before picking up his first career state medal with an eighth-place finish at the 3A state meet at 152 pounds.

182 – Gabe Arnold (41-0) Sr., City High: In his first season at City High the Iowa recruit proved his status as one of the best in the state completing an unbeaten season with his fourth win of the season over second-ranked Tate Naaktgeboren of Linn-Mar in the state title match.

195 – Vincenzo Lima (36-8), Jr., Liberty High: Lima continued to build a resume as one of the best in Liberty High history winning a Mississippi Valley Conference title and finishing third at the 3A district meet before going 3-2 in his second state meet appearance.

220 – *Ben Kueter (39-0) Sr., City High: One of the best in state history Kueter capped an unbeaten career with a fourth consecutive state title posting three pins and a tech fall on his way to the 3A 220-pound crown.

285 – Quintyn Rocha (25-6) Jr., West Branch: In his first season at West Branch Rocha won 25 matches and finished third at the 1A district meet.

*-Denotes captain

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