On Saturday, 35 wrestlers from the Iowa City-area punched their tickets to the Iowa boys state wrestling tournament.

With three classes, 14 weights per class and 24 qualifiers per weight, 1,008 wrestlers enter the tournament with championship aspirations.

Who will stand atop the podium on Saturday in Des Moines?

The brackets have been released and here are the first-round pairings for Gazette area wrestlers in all three classes. The Class 3A state tournament begins Wednesday, while 1A and 2A start Thursday at Casey's Center in Des Moines.

The path to greatness for 42 state champions has been plotted out with the release of the brackets for the 2026 Iowa high school state boys wrestling tournament.

The Iowa Girls State Dual Team Wrestling Tournament will compete in familiar surroundings when the event debuts in 2027. The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) announced that Xtream Arena in Coralville will serve as the host venue for the inaugural Iowa Girls State Dual Team Wrestling Tournament in January

The Iowa High School Athletic Association state wrestling tournament is Wednesday through Saturday at Casey's Center in Des Moines. Action starts with Class 3A Wednesday afternoon and 1A and 2A will begin Thursday.

Iowa wrestling finished a road-trip doubleheader strong on Sunday afternoon against Michigan State. The Hawkeyes won nine of 10 bouts, with their only loss coming by forfeit at 197 pounds. Aside from that, Iowa won seven matches in bonus-point fashion, six of which by technical fall.