The Iowa state high school tournament is at the midway point with two days in the books and two more to go. The action picks up Friday with championship bids on the line throughout the day at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. 

Here are 10 of the top bouts to watch: 

Class 1A 

113 pounds — Eli Becerra (Missouri Valley) vs. Rowdy Neighbor (Alburnett) — Becerra is bidding for his third straight trip to the finals after winning a title as a sophomore. He ran his career record to 128-5 with a tech in Thursday’s quarterfinal. Neighbor is a returning medalist whose two losses this season came against returning 2A champ Jace Hedeman and 3A hammer Dru Ayala. 

120 pounds — Teague Smith (West Hancock) vs. Tegan Slaybaugh (AC/GC) 

Smith has been terrific in his freshman season, winning 47 of his first 48 matches. His lone loss came on the second weekend of the season at 126. At 120, he’s been a wrecking ball. Slaybaugh placed fourth last year as a sophomore at 113. He’s 46-2 this season. 

Class 2A 

106 — Carter West (Burlington Notre Dame) vs. Emmitt Newton (Davis County) — Points were scarce last weekend when these two went at it in the district finals, where West prevailed 1-0. West is a returning state finalist who’s 101-4 during the past two seasons. Newton is 42-2 this season after placing fourth a year ago. 

120 — Carson Doolittle (Webster City) vs. Blake Fox (Osage) — Doolittle placed third each of the past two seasons. The junior entered this year’s tournament as the #1 seed. He’s 38-1 and undefeated against 2A competition. So, too, is Fox, who’s 49-2 as a freshman. His two bonus-point wins this week helped vault Osage to the front of the 2A pack. 

132 — Anders Kittelson (Osage) vs. Matt Beem (Glenwood) — Two past state finalists tangle Friday for another Saturday night opportunity. Kittelson was a runner-up in 2021 as a freshman at 113. He placed fourth last year at 132. Beem made a run to the finals last year at 126. He survived a scare Thursday, winning in overtime against Davenport Assumption’s Cadyn Wild to get back to the semis. 

195 — C.J. Carter (Glenwood) vs. C.J. Hisler (Webster City) — Carter and Hisler placed second and third, respectively, last year in a bracket dominated by current Northern Iowa freshman Wyatt Voelker. Carter got past West Delaware's Will Ward 5-3 in the semis, while Hisler notched his second fall of the tournament to secure a spot in the semis. 

Class 3A 

120 — Koufax Christensen (Waukee Northwest) vs. Blake Giomo (Cedar Rapids Prairie) — A rematch of last year’s 113-pound title bout that Christensen won 1-0. He’s 40-1 with a pair of dominant wins in the tournament. Giomo hasn’t been threatened yet this week, either. An 11-4 quarterfinal win ran his record to 44-5. 

120 — Timothy Koester (Bettendorf) vs. Bowen Downey (Indianola) — Koester rallied back in last year’s finals to claim the 106-pound title and his persistent style presents problems for opponents. He’s 41-4 this year at 120. To get back to the finals, he’ll have to get through Downey, who placed third last year at 113 and enters Friday with a 41-1 record. 

160 — Danny Diaz (Waverly-Shell Rock) vs. Josiah Schaetzle (Dubuque Hempstead) — Two newcomers to the Iowa high school title mix. Diaz placed fifth last year in Florida. He’s 22-0 this season. Schaetzle went 27-7 and fell a win short of the podium. He outscored his first two tournament opponents by a combined 29-1 count to run his record to 41-2. 

195 — McCrae Hagarty (Waverly-Shell Rock) vs. Danarii Mickel (Ames) — One of the most accomplished wrestlers in the field against one of the top rising stars. Hagarty is a two-time champ who battled through injuries to get back to the semis. Mickel is a heralded freshman who’s 30-7.