Every year the best wrestling teams in the state of Iowa compete at the Battle of Waterloo, one of the biggest annual tournaments in Iowa, to see who has the best dual team in the state. 

But due to COVID-19, this event was cancelled.

Last year the West Delaware Hawks took third in the Battle of Waterloo after losing to Don Bosco and Lisbon in a close dual. 

Head Coach Jeff doesn’t care about winning or losing though. Voss said the dual is “a good measuring stick” to see how West Delaware compares to some of the best teams in the state and to see how other high level teams operate.

To replace the Battle of Waterloo the Hawks wrestled against 13 schools in the DeWitt Saber Invitational on Saturday. 

While there, seven Hawk wrestlers made it to the finals and four took first place. 

This tournament was not a landslide victory like others though, as it was a tight race between the Hawks and the North Scott Lancers.

Carson Petlon sealed the deal with a first-period fall over the Lancers’ heavyweight in the last finals match, making the Hawks’ final team score 255.6 to the Lancers’ 247.

Voss said, “We are grateful the Iowa wrestling community is being flexible and allowing teams to join their tournaments to help fill schedules when tournaments are cancelled.”