MASON CITY, Iowa — Indian Hills edged Iowa Central by four points on Saturday to win the 2026 NJCAA North Central District Championship, claiming its second straight district title and third in program history.

The Warriors finished with 179 points to Iowa Central's 175 in a race that stayed tight through the final weights. Iowa Western placed third with 148, followed by NIACC (103.5), Iowa Lakes (103), Hawkeye (61), Ellsworth (35) and Southeastern (31).

Indian Hills and Iowa Central split the majority of individual titles, with the Tritons winning five championships and the Warriors taking four. Iowa Western claimed the remaining weight class crown. All three nationally ranked contenders — Indian Hills, Iowa Central and Iowa Western — qualified all 10 of their wrestlers for the NJCAA National Championships.

Several returning district champions successfully defended their crowns. Gavyn Whitehead (Indian Hills) repeated at 141, Kaden King (Iowa Central) returned to the top of the podium at 165, and Naasir Edmonds (Indian Hills) defended his district title at heavyweight. Shehab Mohamed (Indian Hills) also repeated as a district champion, moving up a weight after winning at 149 last year and capturing the 157-pound title this season.

Iowa Central's five champions were Muhammad Bilal (125), Tegan Sherk (133), King (165), Damarcus Powe (174) and Jarrel Miller (184). Indian Hills' four champions were Gavyn Whitehead (141), Jahkari Clark (149), Shehab Mohamed (157) and Edmonds (285), while Iowa Western's title came from Tony Palmer at 197.

The 197-pound bracket produced one of the tournament's signature moments, as Tony Palmer (Iowa Western) defeated Andrew Marquez (Indian Hills), last season's 197-pound NJCAA national champion, to secure the lone individual title for the Reivers.

At 285, the tournament champion came down to the final match, as Indian Hills trailed heading into the final match of the day. Edmonds toppled Zaman Anwar of Iowa Central in a 4-2 decision that ultimately decided who got the hardware.

In addition to the champions, multiple returning All-Americans reached the podium throughout the day, including William Penn (Iowa Lakes) at 149, Matthew Roche (Iowa Central) at 149, Mohamed Abdelhady (Indian Hills) at 165, Matteo Nikolov (Iowa Western) at 174, Cinsere Clark (Indian Hills) at 174, and Marquez (Indian Hills) at 197.

Team Score/District Results:

1. Indian Hills - 179
2. Iowa Central -175
3. Iowa Western - 148
4. NIACC – 103.5
5. Iowa Lakes - 103
6. Hawkeye - 61
7. Ellsworth - 35
8. Southeastern - 31

Weight by Weight Results: 

BOLD - National Qualifier
^^ - Returning All-American
** - Wild Card Selection
++ - Extra Qualifier Host Region

125 Weight Class
1. Muhammad Bilal, Iowa Central
2. Charlie Dykes, Indian Hills
3. Noah Jones, Iowa Western
4. Braxton Hutchinson, Southeastern
5. Alejandro Rodriguez, NIACC**
6. Dominic Chimeno, Iowa Lakes++
7. Mariyon Norton, Hawkeye

Final Bracket

133 Weight Class
1. Tegan Sherk, Iowa Central
2. Olli Webb, Indian Hills
3. Isaac Ekdahl, Iowa Western
4. Isaiah Maldonado, NIACC**
5. Blake Eatman, Iowa Lakes++
6. Adam Fish, Hawkeye

Final Bracket

141 Weight Class
1. Gavyn Whitehead, Indian Hills^^
2. Che Jenkins, Iowa Central
3. Hudson Palmer, Iowa Western
4. Macael Bear, Hawkeye
5. Logan McDonald, Iowa Lakes**
6. Chris Williams, NIACC++
7. Gabe Brazzel, Ellsworth

Final Bracket

149 Weight Class
1. Jahkari Clark, Indian Hills
2. Logan Crowther, Iowa Western
3. William Penn, Iowa Lakes^^
4. Matthew Roche, Iowa Central^^
5. Dominik Ridout, Hawkeye++
6. Otto Reese, NIACC

Final Bracket

157 Weight Class
1. Shehab Mohamed, Indian Hills ^^
2. Chancery Deane, Iowa Central
3. Cory Scanlan, NIACC
4. Braxton Peacher, Iowa Western
5. Vincent Costabilo, Iowa Lakes**
6. Nicholas Fischer, Ellsworth++                                                                    
7. Jackson Turner, Hawkeye
8. Kynnick Christofferson, Southeastern

Final Bracket

165 Weight Class
1. Kaden King, Iowa Central^^
2. Mohamed Abdelhady, Indian Hills^^
3. Logan Straub, NIACC
4. Andrew Crowther, Iowa Western
5. Larry Norrington, Iowa Lakes++
6. Lyblie Christofferson, Southeastern                                                              
7. Max Mintle, Hawkeye

Final Bracket

174 Weight Class
1. Damarcus Powe, Iowa Central
2. Matteo Nikolov, Iowa Western^^
3. Cinsere Clark, Indian Hills^^
4. Etheend Deyampert, Iowa Lakes
5. Austin Pfantz, Hawkeye**
6. Josh Berlin, Ellsworth++                                                                            
7. Dylan Mcewen, NIACC

Final Bracket

184 Weight Class
1. Jarrel Miller, Iowa Central
2. Johnathan Clohecy, Indian Hills
3. Nicky Bernard, NIACC
4. Cal Wells, Iowa Western
5. Jacob Range, Iowa Lakes**
6. Gianna Sutherland, Hawkeye**
7. Carter Ball, Southeastern++

Final Bracket