PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREW KNAACK

OGDEN – It was a truly sweet Valentine’s Day for a pair of North Tama grapplers who qualified for the 2026 IHSAA State Wrestling Tournament after finishing top-2 in their respective brackets at the Class 1A District 7 state qualifier hosted by Ogden on Saturday, Feb. 14. Sophomore Chase Morris (pictured, left) was the first Redhawk to qualify, taking down Panorama’s Blake Holman in the 113-pound semifinal before defeating West Central Valley’s Tyler Peugh in the championship bout by 4-3 decision. Senior Max Monat (pictured, right) – ranked No. 5 by IAwrestle – also qualified, notching pinfall wins in both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds at 120 pounds before falling by 4-0 decision to No. 3 Jensen Dyer of Martensdale-St. Marys in the first-place match. In the wrestleback for true second, Monat pinned Janesville’s Gauge Tenborg in one minute, 46 seconds to secure his third trip to the state tournament. The 2026 IHSAA State Wrestling Tournament is scheduled to begin today, Wednesday, Feb. 18, and last through Saturday, Feb. 21, at the newly-rebranded Casey’s Center in Des Moines. Finals for all classes are set for Saturday evening beginning at 5:15 p.m.