On Thursday, Feb. 15, Iowa State’s new batch of in-state commits will look to prove themselves at one of the largest and most competitive state wrestling tournaments in the country held at Wells Fargo Arena. Several wrestlers will be competing for the top spot on the podium come Saturday.

Iowa State’s top in-state recruit Joel Shapiro will be representing West Des Moines Valley and competing in the 3A bracket at 182 pounds. Shapiro is the No. 51 overall recruit according to Intermat and projects to wrestle at 184 or 197 pounds.

Last season, Shapiro went undefeated en route to a state title at 160 pounds.

Current Iowa State 174-pounder, Marcus Coleman, was a three-time state champion at Ames High School and is now redshirting for the Cyclones.

Coleman weighed in on the added pressure of already being a state champion entering his final state tournament.

“Maybe [I felt] a little bit, but I had trust in my training,” Coleman said. “I was a little more confident because I had been there before.”

Joining Shapiro from Valley is teammate Grant Stotts who will project to wrestle at 165 or 174 pounds for the Cyclones. The last three seasons, Stotts had a record of 123-14 while also making it to the finals all three years and earning a championship medal in 2016.

Wrestling at the smallest school of any in-state recruit, Hunter DeJong, who wrestles for 1A Sibley-Ocheyedan, caught fire this summer.

Ryan Leisure, who is currently redshirting for Iowa State and wrestling at 149 pounds, was a three-time state champion for Clear Lake and reflected on what it’s like competing for a smaller town at the state tournament.

“You are really representing the entire town of wherever you are from and just to go out there and represent it in a way that looks good, it’s something special,” Leisure said.

In 2016, DeJong finished fourth at 195 pounds and was a double Fargo All-American, but this summer DeJong had a strong showing at the Cadet Pan-American Games. He finished with a silver medal while participating in Greco-Roman and a gold medal in freestyle at 85 kilograms.

After transferring from Pennsylvania to 3A school Iowa City West, Francis Duggan will be looking to capitalize on his first and last tournament at Wells Fargo while competing at 220 pounds.

At Pennsylvania, Duggan earned a 119-20 record and was a place winner all three years. The projected heavyweight is listed at the nations No. 70 recruit according to Intermat.

At 152 pounds, is Glenwood’s Anthony Sherry. Sherry is a three-time state place winner and finished as runner-up last season to add on being a four-time cadet Fargo All-American. Sherry will be in the 3A bracket.

Being one of not only the largest, but most intense state tournaments in the country has helped prepare Leisure and Coleman for their first season at Iowa State.

“Just getting in the atmosphere that the state tournament brings, prepares you for big time matches,” Leisure said. “When you step on the mat during finals you know it’s go time.”

Not only has Leisure felt the added benefit during matches, but also in the wrestling room. Leisure believes that the competition mindset of the tournament is similar to what he needs to bring to practice everyday.

Coleman also believes that the atmosphere has prepared himself for the atmosphere of Division I matches.

“I know I can wrestle maybe a little bit under pressure and against big crowds because I don’t know if there is a state tournament bigger than that,” Coleman said.

No matter where Iowa State’s five Iowan recruits land on the podium Saturday, they will be among the most seasoned wrestlers in the country as Iowa State hopes to continually improve its roster.