Five storylines to watch at the 2024 Iowa high school boys state wrestling tournament

Wells Fargo Arena is going to have a lot of things happen this week at the Iowa high school boys state wrestling tournament.

Wrestlers from across the state will be shedding blood, sweat and tears in their quest to make long-lasting memories. While new faces and storylines will emerge during the week, there are already several keys to watch for before the tournament begins.

Here are the five storylines to keep an eye on when the boys state wrestling tournament begins Wednesday:

Live results: Updates and analysis from Day 1 of Iowa boys state wrestling tournament

Max Magayna, Carter Freeman each seek out fourth state title

Magayna and Freeman will be looking to become the 34th and 35th Iowans to win four state wrestling titles in high school. Decorah's Naomi Simon became the first girl to ever accomplish the feat earlier this month.

Freeman's up to 34-1 on the year and has just six losses across his high school career. He hasn't been challenged often, but his task this year is his toughest yet. His long-time training partner and Fort Dodge 138-pounder Koy Davidson competes hard with Freeman. The two split their two bouts this year, with Freeman winning the most recent match at the Ed Winger Classic. If Freeman can come out on top, that's a storybook ending for the UNI commit.

Magayna is an interesting story as well. In each of the last three years, he's won a state title at a different weight class (152, 160 and 170 pounds) while at Columbus Catholic. This year, he'll be looking to win at 175 pounds at Waterloo East and is off to a pretty darn good start. He's undefeated with all but three of his wins coming by fall. That's earned him a spot on North Dakota State's roster to continue his wrestling career.

Only a select few have done it, but both have a chance to join a special crew.

More: How to watch the 2024 Iowa high school boys state wrestling tournament today

Class 3A 120-pound weight class

Southeast Polk, Bettendorf and Fort Dodge are the top three contenders to win the team race in Class 3A, and it may just come down to which three guys will come out on top at 120 pounds.

Southeast Polk's Carter Pearson, Bettendorf's Jake Knight and Fort Dodge's Dru Ayala are all top wrestlers in the state of Iowa. Between the three, they have made the podium six times, have three finals appearances and one state title, belonging to Knight. At the state dual tournament, Pearson wrestled them both and came out with a 5-0 decision over Ayala and a win by fall in overtime against Knight. Still, Pearson knows he's still got a lot of work to do if he wants to finish in front of them again.

"There were a couple spots where I got in some trouble, so I've got to tune in those things and make sure I'm ready," Pearson said.

Southeast Polk came out on top in fairly convincing fashion at the state dual tournament, but Fort Dodge and Bettendorf have plenty of firepower to overtake them at Wells Fargo. This weight class will go a long way in deciding which team comes out on top.

Enticing Class 2A team race

Class 2A has not had a repeat traditional team state champion since Ballard won titles in 2007 and 2008. After winning the traditional and dual state titles last year, Osage returned two state champions and a finalist. In short, they looked poised to snap that drought.

But some questions were raised after the state dual tournament. Osage was upended by Sergeant Bluff-Luton in the semifinals and Creston won their first state title in wrestling since 2016 (traditional) and first dual state title since 2007.

Behind Tucker Stangel, Blake Fox and Anders Kittelson, Osage has the makings of a really good tournament team and is still likely the favorite.

Creston is also a team to watch, with a crew of experienced seniors to potentially add another trophy if they can contend with Osage.

"I think we're wrestling our best here at the end of the year," Creston coach Cody Downing said.

Don Bosco looks to extend dynasty

In addition to the last three dual state titles, Don Bosco has won the last five traditional state titles dating back to 2019. If the Dons win the traditional title once again, their seniors will end with eight team titles in eight tries.

Senior 175-pounder Kaiden Knaack is one of those who has helped Don Bosco achieve that, sitting at 279-4 on the year. Alongside his brother Kyler (24-0 at 157 pounds) and freshman Hayden Schwab (34-0 at 106 pounds) and Dawson Youngblut (34-1 at 132 pounds), this Dons team is loaded to repeat.

Alburnett is going to have something to say about that though. Senior Emmitt Fleshman, brother of Hawkeye wrestler Easton Fleshman, leads this team at 215 pounds (47-8 on the year). Junior 120-pounder Rowdy Neighbor made the finals last year and will be looking to win his first state title as well. If anyone can upend this stellar run from Don Bosco, it's Neighbor, Fleshman and Alburnett.

Which star football players will thrive on the mat?

Four-time state champion and current Iowa Hawkeye Ben Kueter set the standard for multi-sport athletes in this state, but there still will be several guys from the gridiron that will be making waves in Wells Fargo Arena once again.

Class 3A in particular has some stellar football talent. That starts with Fort Dodge's Dreshaun Ross, the returning freshman state champion, 16U freestyle national champion and he won gold in the freestyle and greco at the 15U Pan-American Championships. He's got several power-five football offers, but his prowess on the wrestling mat equals or exceeds his abilities on the football field.

The Class 3A heavyweight crop is particularly stellar, with Cedar Falls' Drew Campbell and Southeast Polk's Cooper Martinson both capable of winning state titles. Campbell is a four-star recruit heading to Iowa after this season, while Martinson was a key cog on the defensive line in the Rams' state title in football this year. His backup quarterback, Holden Hansen, is also someone to watch at 215 pounds against Ross.

Columbus Catholic's Mason Knipp is also a stellar football talent, recording 78 tackles on the defensive line for a team that made some noise in the state playoffs. A wrestling state title winner last year, he'll be looking to add one more to his trophy case as the returning favorite in the 1A heavyweight class.

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 5 things to watch at Iowa high school boys state wrestling tournament