Matthew Mintle and Jett Kramer will represent Lynnville-Sully at the 2026 IHSAA State Wrestling Championships held Feb. 19-21 at Casey’s Center.
There was not a lot of love shown on Valentine’s Day to the opponents of two of Lynnville-Sully’s most experienced and decorated wrestlers at the District Wrestling Meet held at Colfax-Mingo. Instead of love, senior Matthew Mintle and sophomore Jett Kramer were fierce and made light work of their competition on Saturday, Feb. 14, enroute to punching return tickets to the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s State Wrestling Championships. No love was shown on the mats but there was plenty of love to go around in the post-qualification celebrations.
Mintle and Kramer both placed first in their respective weight classes to earn the top spot on the podium at Districts. Years of hard work, passion for the sport, and incredible support from family and Hawk fans fueled the duo to continued success. The State Qualification marks the second consecutive year Mintle and Kramer have represented L-S on the largest high school stage. Last year, Mintle at 132 pounds finished on the podium in fifth place, becoming the first L-S wrestler with a State podium finish in over 10 years. Kramer wrestled at 113 pounds last year. At State, the then-freshman fell just short of the podium in the blood rounds.
Mintle and Kramer will compete in the IHSAA State Championships Feb. 18-21 at Casey’s Center in Des Moines. Mintle enters the tournament as a three seed in the 132-pound bracket. Kramer, wrestling at 138 pounds, is seeded fifth. Both L-S wrestlers received a bye in Class 1A’s first round on Thursday, Feb. 19. They will start their quest for a podium finish in the second round to be held later in the day on Thursday.
