Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Manson Northwest Webster's Mason Anderson works his way toward a win on Thursday at the state meet in Des Moines. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

DES MOINES — Josh Anderson’s children continue to one-up him on the wrestling mat.

Anderson, the head wrestling coach at Manson Northwest Webster, was a state qualifier in high school. Three of his four children have achieved the same feat.

But Brodie, Ellisa and Mason all did something dad didn’t do on the big stage — win a match.

Josh, a 1997 Humboldt graduate, qualified as a junior at 189 pounds for the Wildcats, but went 0-2 at state.

Brodie was a bronze medalist in 2022. Ellisa was a qualifier in 2025 and won a match.

It’s been a banner season for youngest son Mason, who competes with his dad in his corner, as he punched his ticket in his final campaign and picked his 100th victory this career.

In Thursday’s opening round of Class 1A action, Mason prevailed twice.

“It’s such a great experience to get to go through this with Mason — not only as his coach, but as his father as well,” Josh said. “As a parent, when you kids go beyond any of your (previous) benchmarks… it’s pretty great.”

Brodie had a banner senior year, reaching the state semifinals in his only appearance. For the first three years of his career, his weight was stacked at districts.

He finished his trip to Wells Fargo Arena by going 4-1 overall, ending theatyear with a record of 41-4.

“It’s been awesome to see all of Mason’s hard work this season turn into an opportunity to represent (MNW) at the state tournament,” Brodie said. “Hunter (Newman) and Keaton (Wittrock) have had great seasons as well.

“Wrestling in Iowa was my favorite experience in sports, and it brings me a lot of pride that I’ve been able to see both my sister, Ellisa, and now my brother, Mason, qualify. It’s been great seeing Coach Anderson’s impact on the room. His guidance and experience helped me get to the tournament as my dad, so it’s been really cool to see him in the corner this season as coach.”

Ellisa, who was fairly new to the sport, reached the state tournament a year after suffering a serious knee injury.

“Seeing Mason qualify for state was an awesome feeling,” Ellisa said said. “You see all this hard work happen all season, year after year, and you hope that it can pay off in the best way.

“Mason has worked extremely hard, and I can tell you that seeing him qualify as the youngest Anderson — the last of us to be a Cougar — was just an amazing moment.”

Ellisa had three years of experience when she qualified.

“When Brodie made it there, he blew past my attempt by hitting the podium at number three,” Josh said. “When Ellisa went to state, she had only three years of experience and came back from an ACL tear her sophomore year. She won a match down at state. When I went to state, I went 0-2. My oldest daughter didn’t wrestle.

“It’s still really cool to have this to cherish as a family tradition. Mason qualifying is special for a variety of reasons, but one of coolest is that he is so busy and active. He’s in football, track, baseball, choir, show choir, concert band, pep band, jazz band, individual speech, and large group speech. In fact, he qualified for All-State Large Group Speech with MNW in the Choral Reading Category and is scheduled to perform this Saturday in Ames.”

Mason is the last Anderson on a state mat.

“Having both of my brothers, myself, and my dad be at state feels so full circle,” Ellisa said. “Dad, Brodie, Mason, and I have now all been able to get on a state mat and wrestle our hardest.

“Wrestling is truly a family sport, and I see no better example to prove that then of how much my brothers and dad have worked for it…it’s just awesome.”