Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

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

This season the Your Prep Sports area was once again home to some of the top talent in the state of Iowa.

The 2025 edition of the Your Prep Sports all area team features a state champion, three state finalists 11 state medalists and 14 state qualifiers from seven different schools.

West High senior Justin Avila is the captain of the 2025 Your Prep Sports all area team after winning the Class 3A 150-pound state title last month.

Avila went 49-3 this season on his way to the first state title of his career and finished his prep career with 155 wins.

Your Prep Sports Area Wrestling Team

106 – Ethan Humphrey (23-3) Soph., West Branch: Humphrey followed up an impressive debut season that included a state medal by climbing to third on the Class 1A medal stand in a breakthrough sophomore campaign that also included River Valley Conference and district titles. Humphrey went 5-1 at the state meet on his way to a third-place finish with his lone loss coming to the state runner-up.

113 – Alexander Pierce (47-3) Jr., West High: A three-time state finalist Pierce capped another stellar season with a second consecutive runner-up finish at the Class 3A state tournament. A Virginia commit, Pierce won Mississippi Valley Conference and district titles before his runner-up state finish and owns a career 124-7 record.

120 – Kendall Kurtz (40-6) Sr., City High: Kurtz did the best wrestling of his career down the stretch winning 23 of his final 24 matches on his way to the highest state meet finish of his career. A Coe College recruit, Kurtz won Mississippi Valley Conference and Class 3A, District 3 titles during his late-season surge that was capped with a third-place state tournament finish.

126 – Matthew Tran (43-15) Soph., West High: Tran spent a majority of his breakthrough sophomore season at 126 pounds before dropping to 120 pounds for the postseason and picking up his first state medal with a sixth-place finish at the 3A state meet. During his breakthrough season Tran finished runner-up at the Mississippi Valley Conference meet and won the District 8 title before going to 3-3 at the state meet.

132 – Cale Nash (37-8) Sr., Clear Creek Amana: Among the most decorated wrestlers in program history Nash capped a brilliant career with a strong senior season in which he became the Clippers’ first four-time state qualifier. Nash won WAMAC Conference and Class 3A, District 3 titles before going 1-2 at the 3A state meet with losses to the eventual state champ and fourth place finishers.

138 – Ben Krutzfeldt (44-6) Sr., West High: In his first season in the West High lineup Krutzfeldt made a major impact winning Mississippi Valley Conference and District titles before placing fifth in his debut performance at the state meet. Krutzfeldt went 4-2 at the state meet and three of his five four losses to in-state competition this season came to the third-place finisher at state.

144 – Nolan Howel (46-10) Sr., Clear Creek Amana: Howell capped an impressive senior season with the second state medal of his career placing fifth at the Class 3A state meet. A seventh-place finisher at state last season, Howell won WAMAC Conference and district titles before going 5-2 at the state meet for the second consecutive season.

150 – Justin Avila (49-3) Sr., West High: A four-time state qualifier Avila capped a brilliant career with a bang winning his final 39 matches on his way to his first state title. Avila went unbeaten against in-state competition this season, winning Mississippi Valley Conference and District titles before going 4-0 with a pair of pins on his way to the 3A state title.

157 – Will Aitchison (33-6) Sr., Regina: A three-time state qualifier, Aitchison secured the first state medal of his career with a seventh-place finish at the Class 1A state meet. Aitchison did his best wrestling at the right time, winning a district title and going 5-2 at the state meet.

165 – Cooper Gates (38-6) Jr., West Branch: In his third consecutive state meet appearance Gates earned the second state medal of his career finishing seventh at the 1A state meet. The medal capped an impressive season for Gates who won RVC and District titles and improved his career record to 105-17.

175 – Landon Bell (25-6) Jr., Liberty High: Bell posted one of the best individual seasons in Liberty High history capped by a fifth-place finish at the Class 3A state tournament. Bell won a MVC title and finished runner-up at the 3A District 1 meet before a 4-2 performance at the state meet that included loss to a three-time state champion and the eventual third-place finisher.

190 – Tate Frantz (37-10) Sr., West Branch: Frantz was a key part of the best season in recent West Branch history finishing runner-up at the RVC and District meets before going 2-2 in his second consecutive appearance at the Class 1A state meet.

215 – Lucas Feuerbach (46-4) Soph., Solon: After reaching the state tournament last season as a freshman Feuerbach emerged as one of the top young wrestlers in Class 2A with a breakthrough sophomore season capped by a runner-up finish at the state meet. Feuerbach won 22 of his final 23 matches picking up WAMAC Conference and District 12 titles before his runner-up state finish

285 – Kane Willey (25-7) Jr., City High: Willey made the bump to heavyweight this season and produced winning Mississippi Valley Conference and District 3 titles to advance to the 3A state tournament for the first time.

*- Denotes Captain

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