Lynnville-Sully wrestlers Jett Kramer, Kimball Elliott, and Matthew Mintle punched their tickets to the 2025 IHSAA State Wrestling Tournament. Standing behind the state qualifiers is assistant wrestling coach Steve Kramer, junior high wrestling coach Luke Jansen, and head wrestling coach Cayden Johnson.
Lynnville-Sully will send a trio of wrestlers – junior Matthew Mintle, sophomore Kimball Elliott, and freshman Jett Kramer – to the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s 2025 State Wrestling Championships Feb. 19-22. The three Hawks punched their tickets to State after placing in the top two at the District Tournament held on Saturday, Feb. 15, at Colfax-Mingo.
The trip to State is a dream years in the making. Mintle, Elliott, and Kramer have all been grinding it out on the wrestling mats since they were young grapplers climbing the ranks at the youth and junior high levels. On Saturday, all of the hard work and commitment paid off. Mintle at 132 pounds and Kramer at 113 pounds were crowned District Champs. Elliott, wrestling at 126 pounds, worked his way through the consolation bracket and earned runner-up honors. The Hawks are coached by head coach Cayden Johnson, assistant coach Steve Kramer, and junior high coach Luke Jansen.
State Wrestling gets underway Wednesday, Feb. 19, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. All sessions for Class 1A start at 1:30 p.m. Visit iahsaa.org/wrestling/state-tournament-central/ to learn more.
After an intense day of wrestling at the District Tournament held at Colfax-Mingo on Saturday, Feb. 15, three tickets to the 2025 IHSAA State Wrestling Tournament were punched for Lynnville-Sully freshman Jett Kramer, sophomore Kimball Elliott, and junior Matthew Mintle. It was a wildly successful day for the Hawks who as a team placed fourth with 91 points behind Lisbon (202.5), Jesup (202), and Belle Plaine (113).
Weighing 113 pounds, Kramer started his bracket with a quarterfinal bye. In his semifinal match against Wesley Ross of Montezuma, Kramer earned a pin in 1:49. He stepped toe to toe with Cael Stricker of Lisbon whom he defeated in 2:46. This victory sent the freshman to the top of the podium, earning a trip to the State Tournament in his first varsity season. Kramer, 41-6 on the year and an eight-seed in the 113-pound bracket, received a bye in the first round at State. He will face the winner of the Cael Stricker (Lisbon)/Ty Tallmon (East Union) match.
Elliott’s battle at 126 pounds was truly a fight as he had to overcome an early loss that sent him to the consolation bracket. The sophomore began his day with a pin over Wylie Walters of Montezuma in 1:08. He then fell in a close loss to Cade Happel of Lisbon with a 12-11 decision. In the consolation semifinals, Elliott earned a tech fall win, 18-0, in 2:48 over Jackson Weeda of Belle Plaine. To advance to the Well, Elliott notched two match wins over Cason Fitch of Belle Plaine in a 9-3 decision and a 12-6 decision over Gavin Bell of Jesup, earning runner-up honors in his bracket. Elliott, now 39-6, will face Sam Egan of Sumner-Fredericksburg in the first round of State.
Mintle swept the 132-pound weight class. In the quarterfinals, Mintle defeated Kaden Baetsle of HLV, who bowed out after an injury mid-match. Next, the junior faced Ethan Desrochers of Montezuma whom he dominated in a tech fall, 17-1, in 3:46. In his winning first- place match, Mintle earned gold after defeating Keyton Jackson of Jesup in a close 4-3 decision. Mintle, a seventh seed at 132 pounds, has a first-round bye at State. He will take his 45-6 record against Highland’s Tyler Pierson or Lawton-Bronson’s Breighton Carlson.
The 138-pound division was a tough one as junior Burt Johnson finished just off the podium. He started with a bye. In his first match on the mat, Johnson was overcome by Treven Delagardelle of Jesup in 3:39. This sent him to the consolation bracket where the junior pinned Zachary Doud of Pekin. Johnson finished fourth at Districts after falling to Jackson Knapp at 2:40, concluding his junior season with a 27-26 record.
Junior Wyatt Mathis also had a difficult time getting to the podium at 165 pounds. He started with momentum in the quarterfinals after defeating Mason Messamaker of Moravia in 3:22, but fell to Maxx Solie from Jesup in 1:37. In the consolation bracket, Mathis earned points by pinning Willie Fitzgerald in only 54 seconds. His pin was followed by a loss to Henry Adam of Pekin. Mathis finished the season with a 25-30 record.
Freshman Chase Deal was back on the mat after battling an injury but fell short of advancing. At 190 pounds, he received a bye in the first round but then fell to Alex Hartson of Colfax-Mingo. In the consolation bracket, he received another bye but was defeated by Gavin Carmer of Lisbon, ending his first year of high school wrestling with a 7-19 record.
Junior Ben Squires, a 285 pounder, was just short of a ticket to the State Tournament but landed a third-place spot on the podium. He was triumphant over Brantyn Sieren of Pekin in the quarterfinals in 1:29, then fell to JD Sadler of Jesup in the semifinals. In the consolation round, Squires pinned Hudson Herboldscheimer of Lisbon in only 51 seconds. Squires saw Sieren of Pekin again and pinned him in 1:26 for the third-place match. Squires racked up a 28-11 record his junior season.
Kramer, Elliott, and Mintle were all ranked in IAWrestle’s Class 1A individual final rankings – Elliott at 10th in his weight class and Kramer and Mintle were both ranked 12th. The three will now focus their efforts to making it on the podium at State. The 2025 IHSAA State Wrestling Tournament runs Feb. 19-22 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. L-S will hold a pep rally in the high school gym for the three State qualifiers at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19. Each daily session for Class 1A starts at 1:30 p.m., except for Saturday’s finals. Tickets must be purchased at https://hyveetix.evenue.net/events/WR. Hawk fans who cannot make it to Wells Fargo can follow the L-S wrestlers at trackwrestling.com.
