DES MOINES — Jordan Schmidt made it onto the podium at the 2023 State Wrestling Championships this past weekend with a seventh-place finish at 132 pounds. Schmidt, a sophomore, recorded his first state tournament win Wednesday (Feb. 15) when he pinned Southwest Iowa’s Gabe Johnson (36-13) in 2:32 in the first round. A second-round loss to North Fayette Valley’s Nick Koch (36-5) sent him to the consolation brackets on Thursday (Feb. 16) where he pounded out three wins. Hampton-Dumont-CAL’s Charlie Showalter (33-15) fell to Schmidt in 3:20, Schmidt took an 8-6 decision from West Marshall’s JD Downs (32-13) and a 5-2 decision from Clear Lake’s Max Currier (33-5) for the second, third, and fourth consolation rounds.
In the fifth consolation round Sergeant Bluff-Luton’s Bo Koedam (47-8) pinned Schmidt in the first tiebreaker (overtime) period in 7:58. Schmidt rallied back in the seventh-place match with a 3-1 decision against Central DeWitt’s Royce Butt (34-8). Schmidt finished the season at 35-11.
Hunter Campion competed at 106 pounds and finished the season at 16-22 after losing by technical fall (TF-1.5 2:47 (17-2)) in the first round to Sergeant Bluff-Luton’s Jayce Curry (42-12), receiving a first consolation round bye, and falling to Albia’s Wyatt Stewart (35-7) in 44 seconds in the second consolation round.
Kyler Jessup ended the season at 23-24 after falling in 1:17 to West Marshall’s Shane Hanford (25-3) in the first round at 120 pounds. Jessup received a bye for the consolation first round and fell in 2:48 to Washington’s Aaron Boone (45-6) in the consolation second round.
Braydon Hoffman competed at 195 pounds and finished the season with a 39-20 record after taking a 6-3 decision from Mid-Prairie’s Terry Bordenave (26-8) in the first round and falling to South Tama’s Gavin Bridgewater (39-2) in 5:31 in the second round. Hoffman battled back in the consolation brackets with a pair of wins as he took a 4-2 decision from Eagle Grove’s Jack Mendoza (27-7) and won in sudden victory over Vinton-Shellsburg’s Curtis Erickson in 6:39. Hoffman’s hopes for a medal were dashed in the fourth consolation round however as Harlan’s Zane Bendorf (45-6) won by fall in 1:18.
“Overall, we were pretty pleased with how state turned out,” said Head Coach Aaron Hadenfeldt. “Jordan Schmidt getting on the podium was big in the fact that he proved to himself that he’s right there with the best in the state. I know he will continue to put time into wrestling and can use this year as a springboard into the offseason — we’ll be looking for big things from him next year.
Braydon Hoffman just kept winning, which is what he’s done all season long. He keeps his head down, doesn’t say much, but works his tail off. On one hand, it was great to see him win a few matches, but at the same time, it was tough because he was so close to getting on the podium too. We couldn’t be more proud of his efforts and he has learned so much from wrestling that he will be able to take with him for the rest of his life.
“The way we finished this season as a team has shown these guys what we’re capable of. We have a chance to be a good team next year, but it’s not going to happen without work in the offseason. We need a few leaders to step up and make it a priority for everyone to get some work in during the offseason — that’s when progress is made and I’m excited to see who steps up and wants to make it happen.”
Jordan Schmidt prepares to strike against Hampton-Dumont-CAL’s Charlie Showalter in the first of three-consolation bracket wins at the 2023 State Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Schmidt pinned Showalter in 3:20 and went on to earn a seventh-place medal at 132 pounds.