Battle of Waterloo Wrestling Tournament 2026

Welcome to Iowa’s premier high school wrestling tournament – the Battle of Waterloo!

In its second decade, the Battle of Waterloo has earned a reputation as an exciting, well-run three-day tournament featuring wrestling teams from every corner of the state. The matches never disappoint as some of the state’s most elite wrestlers square off in a 24-team girls bracket and a 32-team boys bracket.

Battle of Waterloo is the No. 1 dual meet tournament in the state!

How the 32-Team Dual Wrestling Tournament Works

DAY 1

On Thursday, December 17, The 2026 BOW 24-Team Girls Division will compete. The girls teams will compete in 3 8-Team Brackets starting at 10:00AM and then will be placed in 3-Team pools based on the place in the Bracket Competition.  There will be 8 pools consisting of 3 1st place teams, 3 2nd place teams, through 8th place teams. The pool matches will take place Thursday afternoon/evening.

DAY 2

On Friday, December 18, teams will be seeded and placed in one of four standard eight-team brackets. Two of these brackets will compete in a morning session of matches at 9:00 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m. The other two brackets compete at 4 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8 p.m. The three matches will determine each team’s place in the second day’s round-robin championship brackets.

DAY 3

On Saturday, December 19, each of the four qualifying teams will compete in a round-robin Division I group to determine 1-4 tournament positions. The four runner-up teams from the qualification tournament will compete in Division 2 for 5-8 positions and so on. Groups 1-4 will wrestle on Saturday afternoon. Groups 5-8 will compete Saturday morning.

BATTLE OF WATERLOO 2026
December 17-19

YOUNG ARENA

125 Commercial Street, Waterloo, Iowa 50701

Tickets can be purchased online or with a Credit Card or Cash at the Door. Tickets to the Girls Division at $15 for All Sessions on Thursday. Tickets to the Boys Divisions on Friday and Saturday are $15 for ALL Sessions. Online tickets will be available the Monday before the event.

2026 Brackets

Announced Sunday, Dec 13th

Boys Division Bracket

Girls Division Bracket

2026 Battle of Waterloo Boys Teams

Alburnett
Ankeny
Assumption (Davenport)
Bettendorf
Cedar Falls
Charles City
Clarion-Goldfield-Dows
Clear Lake
Columbus Catholic - Waterloo
Cresco - Crestwood
Denver
Don Bosco
Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont
Independence
Indianola
Iowa City High
Lake Mills
Linn-Mar
Nashua-Plainfield
New Hampton-Turkey Valley
North Scott (Eldridge)
Norwalk
Osage
Pleasant Valley
Prairie - Cedar Rapids
Southeast Polk
Union Community - LaPorte City
Valley
Wapsie Valley
Waterloo United
Waverly-Shell Rock
West Delaware

2026 Battle of Waterloo Girls Teams

Aplington-Parkersburg
BCLUW
Bettendorf
Cedar Falls
Charles City
Columbus Catholic - Waterloo
Crestwood
Decorah
Denver
DMPS Girls Wrestling
East Buchanan
Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont
Independence
Lake Mills
Linn-Mar
Mason City
North Scott
Osage
Pleasant Valley
Prairie
Valley
Waterloo United
Waverly - Shell Rock
West Delaware
Battle of Waterloo

2026 Tournament: December 17 – 19

Hall of Fame Reception

Wednesday, December 16

5-7 p.m.

National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Dan Gable Museum
 

303 Jefferson ST. Waterloo, Iowa 50701