North Iowa remains well-represented as voting narrows to the Final 7 for the Dan Gable Mr. and Ms. Wrestler of the Year awards.
In coordination with Fareway Stores, IAwrestle, and Iowa Corn, the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association (IWCOA) will select a Mr. Wrestler in each of the state’s three high school classes for the men and combined all classes for the women’s award, regardless of their year in school and weight class. A committee initially selected 15 candidates to the IWCOA. After the first round of voting ended January 19th, the list has been narrowed to seven in each category.
Still alive in the Class 1A Mr. Wrestler Final 7 voting are Nashua-Plainfield’s Jayden Rinken, Clarksville-North Butler’s Tanner Arjes, and West Hancock’s Kellen Smith.
Osage wrestlers make up almost half of the seven nominees for the Class 2A Mr. Wrestler honor, with the Green Devils’ Tucker Stangel, Anders Kittleson and Blake Fox still on the voting list.
Among the Ms. Wrestlers Final 7 voting are Decorah’s Naomi Simon and Waverly-Shell Rock’s Kiara Djoumissi.
Fans have the ability to vote once per day at IAwrestle.com for their top wrestler in each category through February 5th. Three finalists in each category will then be selected for the last round of voting, with winners to be announced February 28th.
The fan vote winners will count as ONE vote towards the IWCOA’s committee votes in EACH round. (For example: Wrestler A received enough fan votes to place second in the poll but that does not guarantee them to move on to the next round. IWCOA has selected 12 coaches and officials to serve on the committee. The fan vote is the 13th vote.)
VOTE ONCE EVERY 24 HOURS. PLEASE WAIT A FULL 24 HOURS. (FOR EXAMPLE: YOU CAN’T VOTE MONDAY AT 8PM AND THEN TUESDAY AT 8AM BECAUSE IT IS A NEW DAY. 24 HOURS MEANS 24 HOURS LIMIT APPLIES.)
Charles City’s Lilly Luft was named Ms. Wrestler of the Year in 2023.
