3A’s Loyd vs 2A’s Thomsen highlights the 138 pound battle

IAwrestle is happy to announce next match for the 2019 War at West Gym event. This bout will feature two more state champions from Class 2A and 3A. Both wrestlers are members of the 2020 class and with both picking up their first career state title last weekend, we expect their interest from college teams to really take off. We would also be remiss if we didn’t mention that one of the names is a already a familiar one inside the West Gym confines.

Hailing from just down the road is Union standout Jack Thomsen, who captured the 2A state title at 138 pounds. Fans of the host venue are already familiar with Thomsen’s older brother, Max who is an All-American wrestler for Northern Iowa. Jack bring more to this match than a family name. He’s earned multiple state  medals in folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman and he was also a USA Wrestling folkstyle All-American.

On the other side of this match will be Pleasant Valley’s Eli Loyd, the 3A state champion at 138 pounds. He enters this match with similar credentials to that of Thomsen in that he has also made the podium three time at the state tournament, who his first title in 2019, and is a former USA Wrestling folkstyle All-American. To Loyd’s credit, his cumulative finishes at the tournament are better than Thomsen’s (Loyd has finished 4th, 2nd, 1st versus Thomsen’s 7th, 3rd, 1st), but we fully expect him to have his hands full in this match.

About the War at West Gym:

IAwrestle is pleased to announce that our “War at West Gym” event will be returning to Cedar Falls on Saturday, March 16th. The event will once again be held in the University of Northern Iowa’s West Gym and will pit some of the state’s top talent against one another, as well as feature talented wrestlers from across the country.

Fans are able to purchase tickets at the door, but are encouraged to buy tickets in advance. Tickets can be purchased for $10 on Eventbrite.

For those unable to attend the dual a live stream will be available through Trackwrestling. For our Season Pass subscribers the “War at West Gym” event is already included in the $65 initial fee, but fans will also have the option to purchase the stream for a one time $10 fee.

Announced Lineup:

Chloe Clemons (Cedar Rapids Jefferson) vs Sydney Park (Davenport Central)
Ali Gerbacht (AGWSR) vs Tateum Park (Davenport North)
Caleb Rathjen (Ankeny) vs Robert Avila (Lisbon)
Jack Thomsen (Union) vs Eli Loyd (Pleasant Valley)