Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – After more than two days of wrestling that began with more than 600 wrestlers chasing state titles the championship matches are set.

On Saturday night 84 of the best wrestlers in the state will battle for the top spot with one ending the night alone atop the podium in each of the 14 weights across three classes.

State title matches begin in all three Class at 6 p.m. on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena and once again the Your Prep Sports area will be well represented.

Four Your Prep Sports area wrestlers will compete for titles on Saturday night.

Here is a quick look at the four area title matches.

Class 2A

285 – Gage Marty (Solon) vs. Easton Fleshman (West Lyon)

One of nine number one versus number two meetings in the Class 2A finals the 285-pound title match pits Marty and Fleshman against one another for the fourth time in the past two seasons.

Top-ranked Marty (48-2) is 2-1 in those matches against Fleshman (46-1) handing the Iowa recruit his only loss this season with a 3-1 decision last month.

Marty was seventh at 195-pounds as a sophomore and sixth last season at 220 pounds, pinning Fleshman in a consolation match along the way.

The Solon senior makes his first state finals appearance on Saturday seeking to give the Spartans a state champion for the fourth consecutive season.

Second-ranked Fleshman was seventh at 220 pounds last season and has been impressive this year posting 21 pins.

Fleshman advanced to the finals with a 4-1 win over third-ranked Iowa football signee Aaron Graves of Southeast Valley in the semifinals.

Class 3A

145 – Robert Avila (West High) vs. Ryder Downey (Indianola)

Avila will be seeking to cap an incredible prep career by placing his name in elite company as a four-time state champion.

A three-time Class 1A champion at Lisbon, Avila (14-1) has impressed in his only season at West High despite an injury that sidelined him for a majority of the regular season.

Since returning at the district meet second-ranked Avila has been dominant with three pins in six matches including a 44 second fall over defending state champion Dustin Bohren of Bettendorf in the 145-pound semifinals on Friday.

Already a three-time medalist Downey (40-2) is seeking his first state title in his second finals appearance following a 4-3 win over top-ranked Joel Jesuroga of Southeast Polk in the semifinals.

Downey was runner-up as a sophomore at 113 pounds and went 43-4 while placing fourth at 132 pounds a year ago.

152 – Hunter Garvin (West High) vs. Carter Martinson (Southeast Polk)

One of the most impressive wrestlers in the state, Garvin will look to put an exclamation point on a stellar career with a third consecutive 3A title.

A four-time finalist, Garvin (47-0) is seeking a second straight unbeaten season after going 16-0 en rout to the 138-pound title a year ago.

Top-ranked Garvin has been the class of the 152-pound division all season with 36 wins coming via fall including a second-period pin of fifth-ranked Peyton Westlin of North Scott in the semifinals.

A Stanford recruit, Garvin owns a 135-7 career record.

Second-ranked Martinson (34-2) is making his first finals appearance after posting top-four finishes at 138 pounds each of the past two seasons.

Martinson was third at 138 pounds as a sophomore and fourth last season.

Both losses for Martinson this season came to out-of-state opponents and he advanced to the finals with a 3-1 win over fourth-ranked Dylan Whitt of Cedar Falls.

220 – Ben Kueter (City High) vs. Ralston Rumley (West Des Moines Dowling)

Among the most dominant performers in the state Kueter has bullied his way through the Class 3A 220-pound bracket to return to the state finals for the third straight season.

Kueter has pushed his career record to a spotless 70-0 with a pair of tech falls and a first-period pin of sixth-ranked Hunter Blomgren of Norwalk over the last two days.

An Iowa recruit in both football and wrestling, Kueter (36-0) is seeking a third straight title after winning crowns at 160 and 195 pounds the past two seasons.

Kueter has won 29 matches by fall or tech fall this season and has had just two matches go the distance.

Rumley has been the surprise of the 220-pound bracket reaching the semifinals with a quarterfinal pin of second-ranked Trystin Irvin of West Des Moines Valley and a 5-3 win over eighth-ranked Logan Huckfelt of Spencer in the semifinals.

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