Photo Courtesy of Sigourney CSD Social Media
The Sigourney-Keota boys wrestling team had a hammer at heavyweight the last four years. Senior Owen Menke made a habit of getting his hand raised and hit the 100 win milestone this season.
Menke’s first career victory came December 1st of 2022 where as a freshman he opened the season with a pair of pins, beating Max Wilhelm of Baxter and Curtis Brown of Cardinal in a quad against the Bolts, Comets and Montezuma. Menke finished his debut year with a 24-20 overall record. After an 18-14 sophomore season, he hit the 50 win milestone December 17th 2024 with a 2-0 night in a triangular against English Valleys and Colfax-Mingo where he pinned the Tigerhawks Konner Bennett and recorded a forfeit. Menke would end his junior year with a 35-8 overall record, setting a career high for wins in a season and qualifying for the State Tournament as a district runner-up, recording a victory by tech fall in Des Moines over Antoni Solovi of Postville.
Menke’s senior season saw him pile up another 35 wins, this time against just three losses, setting a career high winning percentage at .921. His 100th victory came at the Ottumwa Tournament January 10th when he pinned Brody Minster of Mediapolis. Menke advanced to State for the second-straight season, this time as a District Champion in his home gym. He finished his career on the podium in Des Moines going 4-2 at State with a fifth place medal. Menke talked with KCII Sports about State Tournament and his career.
Menke said, “I’m glad that I ended my high school career with a win. That means a lot. It really felt good to win that last match and know that I placed at State. The community, your team, your coaches, your family all expect big things out of you, so when you’re standing on that podium, it’s very relieving. I hope that people at SK try to do better than I did. I’m the most recent heavyweight to place at State but, hopefully that shows the next heavyweight coming through that they can go win that State championship. Keep working hard. I still plan to keep coming in and help those kids that I wrestled with and the younger kids coming up. I want to be able to pass on what I’ve learned.”
Menke ended his time at Sigourney-Keota with a 112-45 overall record.