The 2023 Top of Iowa Conference Boys’ Wrestling Tournament was canceled because of wintry weather conditions. Because the event wasn’t held, TIC coaches voted for all-conference teams this season.
Osage raked in more honors than any other school in the league. The Green Devils had eight wrestlers earn first-team recognition. Cole Jeffries, a 195-pounder, made the all-conference second team.
Osage’s Brent Jennings was named conference coach of the year. He led his team to traditional and dual state titles in February. Three of his athletes won individual state championships this year — 120-pounder Blake Fox, 170-pounder Nick Fox and 145-pounder Tucker Stangel.
Nick Fox was named Top of Iowa Conference Wrestler of the Year. He beat Bishop Heelan’s Ethan DeLeon (44-1) via 3-1 decision in the state finals to finish the year with a 53-2 record.
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Fox is now a two-time state champion. He’ll wrestle for the University of Northern Iowa next year.
Stangel won his first state title this year. He beat Sergeant Bluff-Luton’s Ty Koedam via 7-6 decision in the finals. Stangel was a junior this season, and he’ll be back at Osage next year.
Blake Fox, who is a freshman, is 1-for-1 in state finals matches now. He downed Glenwood’s Vinny Mayberry by 8-2 decision at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines to claim his first title.
Osage’s Anders Kittelson, Chase Thomas, Max Gast, Barrett Muller and Mac Muller also made the TIC first team. All five wrestlers stood on the awards stand at the state tournament.
Kittelson and Thomas finished second and third, respectively. Greene County’s Kale Petersen beat Kittelson, 7-3, in the state finals this year.
Barrett Muller had a shot to make the finals, but he suffered an injury during the semis. He was forced out of the rest of the tournament, forfeiting his way to a fifth-place finish.
Mac Muller and Gast both finished fourth at state. Gast and Mac Muller lost their third-place matches by decision.
State placewinners from Central Springs, Forest City, Lake Mills and West Hancock also earned all-conference first-team honors. Central Springs’ Preston Prazak, Forest City’s Kellen Moore, Lake Mills’ Lucas Oldenkamp, and West Hancock brothers Kellen and Teague Smith were all recognized.
The Smiths both placed second at state. Moore and Oldenkamp each finished third in their respective brackets. Prazak won a fifth-place match in the Class 1A 152-pound bracket.
Preston’s cousin, Rory Prazak, was named to the TIC second team. He won the Class 1A District 5 Tournament at 160 pounds.
Lake Mills’ Hayden Helgeson was a state placewinner at 120 pounds. He finished fourth at this year’s state tournament and was named to the all-conference second team.
First team: Preston Prazak (Central Springs), Kellen Moore (Forest City), Lucas Oldenkamp (Lake Mills), Jayden Rinken (Nashua-Plainfield), Garrett Rinken (Nashua-Plainfield), Tanner Arjes (North Butler/Clarksville), MaKade Bloker (North Butler\Clarksville), Blake Fox (Osage), Anders Kittelson (Osage), Tucker Stangel (Osage), Chase Thomas (Osage), Max Gast (Osage), Nick Fox (Osage), Barrett Muller (Osage), Max Muller (Osage), Kellen Smith (Osage), Teague Smith (Osage)
Second team: Dawson Jacobsen (Central Springs), Rory Prazak (Central Springs), Mack Morgan (Eagle Grove), Alex Beaty (Forest City), Lucas Kral (Garner-Hayfield-Ventura), Hayden Helgeson (Lake Mills), Steve Brandenburg (Lake Mills), Wyatt Hanna (Lake Mills), Nic Brase (Nashua-Plainfield), Kendrick Huck (Nashua-Plainfield), Titus Evans (Nashua-Plainfield), Aiden Sullivan (Nashua-Plainfield), Cole Jeffries (Osage), Christian Michels (Saint Ansgar), Creighton Kelly (West Hancock), Kale Zuehl (West Hancock), David Smith (West Hancock)
Honorable mention: Colton O’Hern (Central Springs), Kaden Pritchard (Eagle Grove), Gavin Grunhovd (Forest City), Parker Moritz (Garner-Hayfield-Ventura), Geraldo Vazquez (Lake Mills), Kaden Wilken (Nashua-Plainfield), Pete Miller (Newman Catholic), Aiden Morrison (North Butler/Clarksville), Landon Price (North Union), Treycen Rollene (Northwood-Kensett), Darren Adams (Osage), Zack Pearce (Rockford), Korben Michels (Saint Ansgar), Rafe Arbegast (West Fork), Jacob Larson (West Hancock)
