The Waterloo High School boys wrestling program is enjoying another successful season thus far and even had the chance to compete this past weekend in the “Wrestling Capital of the World.”

Last Wednesday, the Bulldogs won a meet with Belleville West and Jacksonville at home. That was followed with another victory against Cahokia and Wood River on Thursday. 

On Friday, the WHS wrestlers hopped in the vans and drove north to Iowa City to watch the University of Iowa wrestling team. The Hawkeyes have won 24 national titles in the sport.

“Last year, we took a trip up to Chicago to see some tough competition, and the kids really enjoyed it and wanted to take another trip,” Waterloo head coach Chase Guercio said. “We saw that Iowa had a home match on Friday and sent out a bunch of emails to see if any local teams had an opening for us to compete. The coaches from Linn-Mar High School reached out to us and invited us to their dual tournament on Saturday, and it was great competition for our kids. “

Despite going 1-3 as a team facing tough competition, the WHS wrestlers gained some valuable experience in the sport.

“Wrestling is really a lifestyle up in Iowa, so it was cool for our kids to see how differently it is treated and what is required to continue jumping levels within the sport,” Guercio said. 

Linn-Mar and Clear Creek-Amana are two of the top high school wrestling programs in Iowa, Guercio said. 

“It was definitely an honor to compete against them,” he said.

Individually, Waterloo junior Jaxson Mathenia – last year’s Illinois state runner-up at 215 pounds – went 4-0 with three pins and a technical fall in Iowa. 

“He beat two top-12 ranked kids and pinned a really tough opponent from Linn-Mar in only 32 seconds,” Guercio said. “He looked really good and is hitting his stride at the perfect time with the postseason starting soon.”

Another junior for Waterloo, Matthew Deutch, went 3-1 in Iowa at 113 pounds and beat a top-10 ranked wrestler from Clear Creek-Amana. 

“He has been on fire all year and has as many big-time wins as anyone in his weight class,” Guercio said.

In fact,  Deutch recently became the first WHS junior to reach 100 career wins. He is now 105-26.

“I personally think he will end his career with over 150 total wins, which would be hard for anyone to ever catch,” Guercio said. “He has been so consistent since his freshman season and continues to improve all the time. He will be a terrific catch for whichever college program lands him.”

Waterloo senior Konnor Stephens went 3-1 in Iowa at 132 pounds, defeating a returning state qualifier from Cedar Rapids. 

“He continues to climb our school’s all-time wins list,” Guercio said, adding that Stephens has 116 career victories. 

The all-time wins leader for Waterloo is 2025 graduate Jackson Deutch with 127. 

“With a solid postseason, Konnor has a great chance to exceed that record,” Guercio said. 

Waterloo juniors Hudson Maddox and Joe Newell also fared well in Iowa, both going 3-1. 

“I think that those two are two of the more underrated wrestlers in our area, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they both qualified for the state tournament,” Guercio said.