A Look Back at the Biggest Stories From 2023 in The Your Prep Sports Area
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
2023 was a year to remember in the Your Prep Sports area.
State champions were crowned, records were broken and goals were achieved.
An incredible 12-months in the Your Prep Sports area was filled with impressive individual efforts, memorable victories, improbable upsets, exciting wins and team titles.
Before welcoming in the new year we take a look back at 23 of the biggest stories from the Your Prep Sports area in 2022.
Ben Kueter Caps One of State’s All-time Best Wrestling Careers
Ben Kueter will go down as one of the best high school wrestlers in state history.
The City High senior put the finishing touches on his brilliant prep career with a dominating four days at the state tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
Kueter won a 19-4, third-period tech fall over Joseph Lewis of Dubuque Hempstead to secure the 3A, 220-pound title and become the seventh unbeaten, four-time state champion in state history.
Kueter became the 32nd four-time champion in state history and joined Dan Gable, Jeff Kerber, Dan Knight, Jeff McGinness, Eric Juergens and Jon Meeks as Iowa prep wrestlers to end their careers unbeaten.
“You start the GOAT talk and you really understand what kind of history we have here,” Kueter said. “You’ve got Dan Knight, TJ Sebolt, McGinness who went to City High. We have a lot of really good wrestlers so even to be mentioned with them is pretty unreal.”
Regina Softball Goes Back-to-back
Regina exploded for six runs in the third inning and captured its second straight softball title with a 6-2 win over second-ranked Van Meter in the Class 2A state title game at Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge.
All-tournament team captain Ashley Webb struck out six in a complete game six-hitter as Regina completed a 30-8 season with the first back-to-back titles in program history.
Regina outscored opponents 23-6 in three state tournament wins while claiming the fifth title in program history.
“It feels amazing,” Regina senior center fielder Dani Laughlin said. “It’s an unreal feeling. It feels like we were just doing this last year and we are here doing it again. It’s so exciting.”
Liberty High Wins State Soccer Title
In its first ever trip to the state soccer tournament Liberty High made history.
The Lightning outscored opponents 11-2 in three state tournament wins claiming the first state title in program history with a 5-0 win over Norwalk in the Class 2A title match.
The title for Liberty High came in the fifth season of competition for the Lightning and was the first title for any boys program in school history.
After starting the season 2-7 Liberty High won 10 of its final 11 matches to claim the title and posted shutouts in six of its final seven matches while outscoring opponents 39-2 in that span.
The 5-0 win in the title match was the largest margin of victory in any state championship match in history.
“It means a lot to finally bring home a state champ,” Liberty sophomore goalkeeper Conley Sundblad said. “Words cannot even explain how happy I am right now.”
Solon Wins Second Straight State Track Title
Solon used a strong final day that included four top-three finishes to win a second consecutive Class 3A state title at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
One year after winning the first outright title in program history the Spartans pulled away from the 4A field to win its third state title.
Grace Federspiel won a title in the 800 and Sophia Stahle won the 400 hurdles as Solon finished with 79 points, 17 more than runner-up ADM.
Solon scored in 13 events, had nine top-three performances and won three titles on its way to the team crown.
“This is the best feeling in the world,” Federspiel said. “I can’t explain to you the amount of work that we have put in together and for us to be able to come here and do this is amazing.”
State Girls Wrestling Meet Caps First Season as Sanctioned Sport
The first season for girls wrestling as a sanctioned sport in the state of Iowa was capped by an incredible two days at the first IGHSAU state wrestling meet at Xtream Arena in Coralville.
The opening session of the two-day state meet was sold out as wrestling fans filled the arena for the first sanctioned state meet.
Four Your Prep Sports area wrestlers left with medals from the inaugural meet led by West High senior Janell Avila who was runner-up at 155 pounds.
Solon freshman McKenna Rogers finished fifth at 105 pounds, West Branch’s Emmersen Thomas finished seventh at 110 pounds and City High senior Claire Brown finished eighth at 130 pounds.
West Branch Football Coach Butch Pedersen Dies
Iowa high school football lost a legend in March with the death of long-time West Branch coach Butch Pedersen who died following a battle with cancer.
One of the winningest coaches in state history Pedersen spent 40 years as the head coach at West Branch taking the Bears to the playoffs 30 times and winning three state championships.
Pedersen led West Branch to titles in 1989, 1991 and 1992 and amassed a 338-84 career record.
The 338 wins are the 10th most in state history and his career win percentage of .801 is ninth in state history among coaches with at least 150 wins.
Weigel Leads City High to Top-10 Finish at State Swimming
City High senior John Weigel set a school record while winning the 100-yard freestyle to help lift City High to an eighth-place finish at the state swimming meet at the University of Iowa Recreation and Wellness Center.
Weigel edged defending state champion AJ Abram of Waukee to win the 100 freestyle in a school-record time of 45.19.
Joe Polyak added a title in the 200 IM in a time of 1:48.94 as City High finished eighth with 136 points.
Alexander Pierce Wins State Title
West High freshman Alexander Pierce completed one of the best debut seasons ever for a West High wrestler.
Pierce became the third freshman state champion in program history when he won the Class 3A 106-pound title with a 10-7 decision over Tyler Harper of Norwalk.
The state title completed an impressive debut season for Pierce who went 42-2 and scored at least 10 points in all four of his state-meet wins and outscored opponents 53-26 on his way to the title.
Seaton Comes Back From Injury to Claim State Title
After placing third in each of his first two state tournament appearances Cale Seaton got his long-awaited state title.
The first ever state championship for the City High junior was as memorable as it was improbable.
Four weeks after sustaining a serious knee injury, a dislocated knee cap that also included tears of his ACL and MCL, Seaton won a 4-3 decision over Ames sophomore Jabari Hinson to win the Class 3A 126-pound title.
Seaton outscored four state-tournament opponents by a combined score of 36-11 and finished the season 37-4.
Hoeper Shines at State Swimming
Solon junior and City High swimming standout Grace Hoeper added to her state title count with an impressive showing at the state swimming meet at the Marshalltown YMCA.
A year after winning the 50 freestyle Hoeper won titles in the 50 and 100 freestyle to help City High to a 14th-place team finish.
Hoeper won her second consecutive title in the 50 freestyle in a time of 23.44 and added a title in the 100 freestyle in a time of 50.27.
West High Qualifies For State Golf For First Time Since 2009
An incredible turnaround in a span of a week sent West High back to the state golf tournament for the first time since 2009.
A week after shooting a 324 and finishing fifth at the eight-team Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Divisional meet West High shot a 293 to secure a spot at the 4A state meet with a runner-up finish at the 15-team state qualifying meet at Brown Deer Golf Course in Coralville.
Dillon Croco fired a five-under-par 66 to win the individual title and Cole Collier was eighth with an even-par 71.
Wedemeyer/Decker Earn Medals at State Cross Country
Liberty High senior Aidan Decker and City High junior Ani Wedemeyer each earned individual medals at the Class 4A state cross country meet at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.
Decker became the second individual medalist for Liberty High when he posted the best state meet performance in program history placing ninth in a time of 15:44.
Wedemeyer earned her first state medal when she placed 12th in a time of 18:21.6
Clear Creek Amana Reaches State Semifinal in Remarkable Season
Clear Creek Amana completed the best season in program history ending with a three-set loss to North Scott in the Class 4A state semifinals.
The memorable season for the Clippers included 46 consecutive wins and the first back-to-back state tournament appearances in program history.
Clear Creek Amana dropped just four sets all season before the semifinal loss to North Scott, won the first WAMAC Tournament title in program history and finished 46-1.
Solon Reaches UNI-Dome
For the second time in three seasons and third time in five years Solon reached the Class 3A state semifinals at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.
Solon erased an eight-point deficit to edge West Delaware 36-35 in a thrilling 3A quarterfinal at Spartan Stadium.
West Delaware led 35-27 with 4:40 remaining in the third quarter before Solon scored the final nine points, the go-ahead touchdown coming on a 1-yard touchdown run by Conlan Poynton with 6:45 to play.
City High Third at State Track Meet
City High posted a second consecutive top-three finish at the state track and field meet following up a runner-up finish in 2022 with a third-place finish in 2023.
The Little Hawks were third with 79 points trailing team champion Johnston which won with 84 and runner-up Ankeny.
A strong weekend for the Little Hawks at Drake Stadium in Des Moines was highlighted by a title in the 4×800 relay as the foursome oof Ammon Smith, Truman Thompson, Ford Washburn and Ayman Noreldaim won in an all-time Iowa best time of 7:37.66.
West High Wins Second Straight State Tennis Title
One of the most impressive dynasties in Iowa high school sports history added another chapter to its legacy as West High won its second consecutive Class 2A state tennis title with a 5-2 victory over top-ranked Waukee Northwest at Genesis Health Club in Des Moines.
The title was the 11th all-time for West High, the most in state history, and came in the 12th consecutive state title match appearance for the Trojans.
West High defeated Cedar Falls and Pleasant Valley 5-0 to reach the title match and finished the season 19-1.
Takacs Wins State Title
Regina senior Mikey Takacs was impressive during the regular season.
Takacs was dominant during the postseason on his way to becoming the first state champion in Regina history.
Takacs defeated Hamburg freshman Keith Thompson in a playoff to win the Class 1A individual title at Ames Golf and Country Club.
Takacs followed an opening-round 77 with an even-par 71 in the second round to finish with a 36-hole total of 148.
Solon Reaches State Basketball
After a couple of close calls the previous two seasons Solon snapped a long state tournament drought with its first trip to the state basketball tournament since 2009.
Kobi Lietz scored a career-high 22 points to lift Solon to a 58-44 win over rival Mount Vernon in a Class 3A regional final in Solon.
Solon (23-3) advanced to the 3A state semifinals, defeating Dubuque Wahlert 54-46 in the quarterfinals before falling to Sioux Center 46-44 in the semifinals.
Regina Returns to State Basketball For Second Straight Season
Regina rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to force overtime and scored the final four points of the extra session earning a second consecutive state tournament appearance with a 55-54 win over Mediapolis in a Class 2A regional final in Muscatine.
Alli Clark gave Regina (21-5) the lead with 69 seconds remaining in overtime and the Regals survived when a last-second shot by Mediapolis’ Liz Lane rolled off the rim as time expired.
City High Shines at Drake Relays
It was an impressive two days for City High senior Ammon Smith at the Drake Relays at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.
Smith claimed his first ever Drake Relays individual title winning the 800 in a time of 1:53.42.
The following day Smith teamed with Truman Thompson, Ayman Noreldaim and Ford Washburn to win the 4×800 relay in a time of 7:48.83.
Janis Goes 4×4 at State Meet
In his final high school track meet West High senior Christian Janis wasn’t just good he was perfect.
Janis won gold medals in all four relays he competed in helping West High place fifth with 62 points.
Janis ran on the Trojans’ winning 4×200, distance medley, shuttle hurdle and 4×100 relays.
“This is an amazing feeling,” Janis said. “Running these relays….A lot of teams say they are family but I feel like we really take that to the next level.”
West High Finishes Runner-up at 4A State Soccer Tournament
West High came just a few seconds away from adding to its long list of state soccer titles.
West High (17-3) was 97 seconds away from a state-best 10th state title when Johnston junior Carlos Martinez scored his second goal in the final 20 minutes as Johnston erased a 2-0 deficit to force overtime.
Johnston ended up with a 3-2 double overtime win over the Trojans in the 4A title match.
City High and Liberty High Return to State Baseball
Liberty High and City High each returned to the state baseball tournament for the second year in a row.
City High defeated Pleasant Valley 5-1 in a substate title game to return to the state tournament for the second year in a row.
Liberty High (23-17) upset second-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie 6-2 in a 4A substate title game to secure its second straight trip to the 4A state tournament.
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