The 2023 Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament was history making for the Greene County Rams. Coach Zach Beekman’s team crowned two State Champions in seniors Kale Petersen at 132 lbs. and McKinley Robbins at 138 Feb. 15-18 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Not only is it the first time two Greene County wrestlers won titles in the same State Tournament, it’s the only time it’s happened in the history of Jefferson-based high school wrestling, which goes back to the 1960’s. Both went undefeated, with Petersen at 42-0 and Robbins 48-0, the first time in program history two Rams accomplished that feat, and both were instrumental in a top 10 team finish in class 2A. The Rams placed eighth with 73 points, the best for Greene County, and tying for the highest finish in program history.
Sophomore Brent Dennhardt finished in eighth place at 145 lbs., meaning the Rams had three place winners for just the second time in program history, and the first as Greene County. Junior Gavin Scheuermann at 160 lbs. also contributed points to the team total as he went 3-2 in matches and he just missed a top eight finish.
All three Raccoon Valley Radio stations had extensive State Tournament play-by-play of more than 60 area State qualifiers and the action was streamed on www.raccoonvalleyradio.com.