West Fork gains first state wrestling champ

DES MOINES — The moment wasn’t too big for all 106 pounds of West Fork sophomore Kale Petersen.

The top-ranked Warhawk wrestler outscored his opponents in the state tournament 61-20 with two falls on his way to the school’s first-ever state wrestling title.

“It feels great, but it’s not only one (I will get),” Petersen said. “I feel like I’ve got two more in me. Hopefully, I’m West Fork’s first three-time state champ.”

Petersen dominated second-ranked and previously unbeaten Eli Becerra of Missouri Valley on the way to a 16-9 decision in the title match, setting off a wild celebration in which he first jumped into the arms of assistant coach Jarel Arbegast, the last and previously only other wrestler for the Warhawks to reach the state championship match. 

“It just means a lot,” Jarel Arbegast said. “Me and Kale have become really close over the last two years. When he first moved (to the community), he obviously didn’t know a lot of people and he’s good friends with my little brother, Rafe, who is also on the team.

“I’ve been on this stage before and he kind of took onto that a little bit. I came back and put in a lot of time with him. He deserves everything he’s got. Last year was tough on him, we didn’t even know if he was going to wrestle and the way he wrestled tonight, it just shows the kind of kid he is. He just keeps going, he works hard. I’m really proud.”

Following the hug to Jarel Arbegast, Petersen sought out his family and climbed into the stands for hugs.

“My mom and dad and my uncle Spencer, biggest supporters I could possibly have,” Petersen said. “My school, they support me good, but family is what matters, so I’ve got to congratulate them for coming all the way along this journey.”

Right before his freshman season, Petersen and his older brother moved from Rockford to Rockwell and the rest is history.

“His dad is originally from Rockwell, and they came back to their roots and we’re just glad we get to work with him,” Jarel Arbegast said. “He was damn good before he came to us.”

Indeed, Petersen has been wrestling a long time. When asked how many matches wrestled before he was in high school, Petersen said, “I can’t tell you, probably over 5,000.”

It was quite the step up from a sixth-place finish as a freshman when he was coming off of a knee injury.

“Honestly, I didn’t care about my knee at this point,” Petersen said. “I just thought, let things fly and if something happens, it happens. My main goal was to keep pushing the pace and not let anything get in my mind. That’s what I did.”

West Fork, a relatively new program among Iowa high school wrestling history, Petersen is halfway to becoming the second Warhawk to become a four-time state qualifier, joining four-time state place winner Jake Hansen.

 “It’s exciting, obviously, as you know,” head coach Jared Arbegast said. “We’ve been here once and didn’t quite get it done, but it’s a relief to have one come through and get it done. It was a good match, he scored a lot of points and that’s what he likes to do. It’s fun to watch.”

Petersen improved to 55-9 for his high school career with his only loss this season to Garrett Rinken of Nashua-Plainfield, who won the 113-pound state title also on Saturday night.

“I expect to win, I expect to come out on top,” Petersen said. “Last year, same thing, came up short. Things happen, you just have to grow off them and keep pushing forward, that’s what I did.”

A wrestling academy student of four-time state champion T.J. Sebolt, who wrestled for Centerville in high school, he was wearing shoes from the former Iowa State University standout.

“I got them a while back from my coach, T.J. Sebolt, in seventh or eighth grade,” Petersen said. “I told him I’m going to win a state title in these shoes, and that’s what I did. Thanks to T.J.”

He said he’d take about three days to celebrate this win and get back to work. Ready, once again, for the big stage.

“He’s really comfortable out there,” Jared Arbegast said. “He starts hitting and nothing slows him and starts opening up and exploding and that’s what he does. He’s been wrestling a long time. A lot of big, big stages, as well. He rises to the occasion, he thrives on that tough competition and he wants to beat the good guys, that was awesome.”

Behind Petersen alone, West Fork scored 27 team points, good for 20th out of 55 schools competing in Class 1A.

Class 1A State Wrestling meet

Team Scoring

1. Don Bosco 179.5, 2. Lisbon 148.5, 3. Logan-Magnolia 94, 4. West Sioux 84.5, 5. West Hancock 57, 6. New London 53, 7. Underwood 50.5, 8. Lake Mills 49, 9. Waterloo Columbus 47, 10. Nashua-Plainfield 44.5, 11. (Tie) Hudson 39, 11. (Tie) North Butler-Clarksville 39, 11. (Tie) Wilton 39. 20. West Fork 27.

West Fork result– Championship match, Kale Petersen dec. Eli Becerra (Missouri Valley) 16-9.