Wrestling fans have fun at the State Tournament
DES MOINES, Iowa — At the State Wrestling Tournament in Wells Fargo Arena, there's lots to see besides wrestling. In one corner of the venue there are rows and rows of high school cheerleaders waiting their turn to get on the mat to cheer their schools' wrestlers.
'It's really cool because you're going to be up close to all the action and see everything up close,' said Junior Cheerleader, Ella Johnson of AHSTW School in Avoca.
'I like everything about it,' said Junior Cheerleader, Kayla Lund. 'Such a great experience. I've met a lot of fun people through this and I get to cheer for my cousin which is super awesome, and he's doing really good so far.'
For many fans, coming to the State Tournament means picking up a cool t-shirt.
'I gotta get the shirt and they have all sorts of designs that you could put on there and get it customized to what you want,' said Kayla Wingert, of Logan. 'You come out here with everybody and it's memorable and you make a lot of memories along the way.'
Highlights from Iowa boys state wrestling tournament semifinals
'Pretty much you can come and get any T-shirt item or sweatshirt item any logo I have here on the table, put anywhere on the T-shirt or sweatshirt,' said Earl McClure, who runs a t-shirt printing company.
McClure said he plans to offer the same type of t-shirts for girls and boys state tournaments.
People also enjoyed the high striker, which you hit with a hammer to see what kind of score you can get. The Iowa Army National Guard brought this item, not to sign up recruits, but to let people know about the Guard.
'This is one of our more popular events, and kids can do it all the way through adults. You know it's fun for like moms and fathers, they come over and see the kids do it and then completely obliterate their score,' said Alex Niehaus, of the Iowa National Guard. 'We want to make people aware of who we are at the National Guard, mainly what we do so like a natural disasters like spring if flooding were to happen, we're the ones that respond to that.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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