Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – As Hunter Garvin waited for the start of his 132-pound title match at the state wrestling meet on Saturday he paced the edge of the mat repeating the same words out loud over and over.

It was the same phrase Garvin has repeated out loud or in his head hundreds, even thousands of times since the start of his sophomore season. 

“I was saying what I told myself all year – Hunter Garvin, 2020 Iowa high school state champ at Class 3A, 132 pounds,” Garvin said. “I believed it.”

Garvin said that phrase often throughout the season.

How much?

“I said it a lot,” Garvin said. “I repeated it over and over.”

On Saturday he turned those words into reality with an 8-1 win over third-ranked Aiden Riggins of Waverly-Shell Rock in the Class 3A 132-pound title match at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

The state championship for Garvin capped a 33-3 season and came after a runner-up finish at 120 pounds as a freshman.

It was also the first of three titles for West High which posted its best team finish since 2012 placing fourth in the 3A team standings.

“It’s been a dream since last year,” Garvin said. “I didn’t accomplish it my freshman year and now that I got it, it feels amazing.”

The 8-1 win over Riggins in the title match completed an impressive state meet run for top-ranked Garvin.

Garvin posted a 20-1 tech fall of Linn-Mar’s Samuel Gisaya in the opening round and pinned seventh-ranked Trevon Wells of Dallas Center-Grimes in 3:07 in the quarterfinals.

He reached the finals with a 4-3 win over fourth-ranked Joel Jesuroga of Southeast Polk before recording three takedowns in an 8-1 win over Riggins in a dominating title-match showing.

“He took a loss in the state finals his freshman year and he was a little bit heartbroken but he realized that the sun came up the next day,” West High coach Nate Moore said. “He got back to work and a year later he’s got something to show for it.”

Garvin went 39-4 as a freshman advancing to the 120-pound title match where he dropped a 13-8 decision to Carson Taylor of Fort Dodge.

In his return to the state meet Garvin was prepared.

“When I got to the final last year I was nervous, I was questioning myself,” Garvin said. “This year I told myself I’ve been here before I know what it’s like, I’m more prepared and it drove me to be a champ this year.”

Garvin scored a takedown 40 seconds into the title match with Riggins and never let up.

He made the score 4-0 with a reversal just 13 seconds into the second period and added two more takedowns in the impressive 8-1 win. 

“Last year I let myself have a bad mindset with that and this year I got a takedown and I just kept going,” Garvin said. “I felt good. I knew I was in control.”

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