What is Academic All-State?
These are Iowa’s best and brightest students, the next generation of leaders. Each year, the Des Moines Register asks Iowa school officials to nominate seniors for Academic All-State recognition. Each school selects one graduating senior who stands out among peers for achievements in academics, community involvement and leadership. The students share reflections on their past achievements and thoughts on their futures. The Register chose 10 “outstanding students” from the entire state to feature here; five more students from each of five geographical regions also are highlighted. We also publish the names of all students selected by their school officials.
MORE ACADEMIC ALL-STATE: Top 10 honorees statewide | Northwest region | Northeast region | Southwest region | Southeast region | Central region | All the nominees | A special section was included in the June 29 Register print edition.
WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK: Don’t see your school represented here and want to be included in 2026? Have a question or comment about the selections or the rest of the section? Send an email to lgrundme@dmreg.com.
Adair-Casey Guthrie Center, Grace Lavoy
Adel DeSoto Minburn, Evelyn Horgen
AGWSR, Ella Diemer
AHSTW, Tyson Osbahr
Akron-Westfield, Campbell Anderson
Albia, Markus Graber
Algona, Emerson Waltz
Algona Bishop Garrigan Catholic, Brooke Ludwig
Anamosa, Dean Lambertsen
Ankeny Centennial, Katelyn Thierry
Aplington-Parkersburg, Maleah Wessels
Ar-We-Va, Amber Ragaller
Atlantic, Morgan Botos
Ballard, Rhett Hedrick
Baxter, Cainan Travis
BCLUW, Sarah Garber
Bedford, Jayven Welch
Bellevue, Tate Giesmann
Benton, Brady Gammill
Bettendorf, Finn Boyle
Bettendorf Morning Star Academy, Annabella VonMuenster
Bettendorf Rivermont Collegiate, Eamon Matlock
Bondurant-Farrar, Grace Wignall
Boone, Milo Reinhart
Boyer Valley, Zoey Soma
Calamus-Wheatland, Alexa Jacobi
CAM, Coby Venteicher
Cardinal, Olivia Pluemer
Carroll, Pacey Bogue
Carroll Kuemper Catholic, Logan Rial
Cascade, Nathan Schockemoehl
Cedar Falls, Cedric Liu
Cedar Rapids Isaac Newton Christian Academy, Brynn LeMieux
Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Sylvia Sutton
Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Brian Li
Cedar Rapids Xavier Catholic, Aaron Stadelman
Central City, Jeeah Kouba
Central Decatur, Makenna Perkins
Central Lee, Lauren Sanders
Central Springs, Jordis Waitek
Clarion-Goldfield-Dows, Tate Jackson
Clarke, Cooper Bahls
Clarksville, Emmalee Manwarren
Clear Creek Amana, Kelsey Leathers
Clinton, Emeree Luett
Colfax-Mingo, Ava Van Maaren
Collins-Maxwell, Josef Dvorak
Colo-NESCO, Erryn Dulaney
Coon Rapids-Bayard, Macy Thompson
Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, Ashlin McCollough
Council Bluffs Heartland Christian, Grace Steinmetz
Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson, Makena Kramer
Creston, Ava Adamson
Crestwood, Blaire Cummings
Davenport Assumption Catholic, Sean Moore
Davenport Central, Molly Isaacson
Davis County, Abigail Warning
Decorah, Lily Sandhorst
Denison, Christopher Valle
Denver, Reeve Ristau
Des Moines Christian, Ethan Kratochvil
Des Moines East, Henry Orellana-Rivas
Des Moines Empigo Academy, Armand Tinker
Des Moines Hoover, Hoang Tran
Des Moines Lincoln, Maximillian Roach
Des Moines Roosevelt, Nanees Abakar
Dike-New Hartford, Dominic Rondeau
Dubuque Hempstead, Noel D’Souza
Dubuque Online, Mariah Bradley
Dubuque Senior, Daniel Rothert
Dubuque Wahlert Catholic, Theresa Kircher
Dyersville Beckman Catholic, Kelsie Goedken
Earlham, Blake Petersen
East Buchanan, Grace Long
East Marshall, Mylie Rasmusson
Easton Valley, Blake Reuter
Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, Kaylee Helm
Edgewood-Colesburg, Ellie Kirby
Emmetsburg, Byron Maina
Fairfield Maharishi, Xiaohan Wang
Fort Dodge, Micah Flaherty
Fort Dodge Saint Edmond Catholic, Mariah Myers
Fremont-Mills, Isabella Gute
Garner-Hayfield-Ventura, Patience Katter
Gilbert, Delaney Anderson
Gilbertville Don Bosco Catholic, Jack Steimel
Gladbrook Reinbeck, Vanessa Arvizu-Ersland
Greene County, Kamden Kinne
Grinnell, Josephine Smith
Grundy Center, Kayden Muller
Hampton-Dumont, Isaac Vosburg
Harris-Lake Park, Madeline Greve
Hinton, Avery Welte
Hudson, Blake Farwell
Humboldt, Mason Van Pelt
Independence, Aaron Tanay
Interstate-35, Michael McClelland
Iowa City, Norah Kauper
Iowa City Liberty, Tyler Schepanski
Iowa City Regina Catholic, Will Aitchison
Iowa City West, Junze Sun
Iowa Falls-Alden, Calvin Hutchinson
Jesup, Kendall Earles
Johnston, Alice Trachta
Kalona Hillcrest Academy, Malia Yoder
Kee, Brayden Darling
Keokuk, Hannah Karre
Keota, Ava Greiner
Knoxville, Aubri Murphy
Lake Mills, Claire Levine
Lamoni, Taylor Henson
Le Mars, Luke Hulinsky
Le Mars Gehlen Catholic, Elizabeth Arens
Linn-Mar, Nithin John
Logan-Magnolia, Wes Vana
Lone Tree, Catelynn Sexton
Lynnville Sully, Alaina Roberts
Madrid, Toryn Severson
Maquoketa Valley, McKenna Bush
Marcus Meriden Cleghorn Remsen Union, Caitlin Wetter
Marion, Zoey Morris
Martensdale-St. Marys, Autumn Elbert
Mason City, Joseline Juarez
Mason City Newman Catholic, Samuel Steidl
Mediapolis, Adrian Matteson
Melcher-Dallas, Addison Wadle
Midland, Alyssa Eckhardt
Mid-Prairie, Jacob Flynn
MOC-Floyd Valley, Joyce Zheng
Montezuma, Ellen Cook
Monticello, Ella Sauser
Mormon Trail, Sydney Forkner
Moulton-Udell, Rachel Ogden
Mount Ayr, Tyler Martin
Mount Pleasant, Elias Heaton
Mount Vernon, Graham Vavricek
Murray, Kenzi Mongar
Nashua-Plainfield, Paige Franzen
Nevada, Gracie Dodson
New Hampton, Kinsley Hackman
New London, Morgan Jones
Newell-Fonda, Lindsey Wolf
Newton, Anna DeVries
North Fayette Valley, Mattison Goddard
North Iowa, Ashlyn Bechler
North Iowa Christian, Daltyn Jones
North Linn, Hannah Arnold
North Polk, Claire Nefzger
Northwood-Kensett, Kamryn Backhaus
OABCIG, Hayden Zimmerman
Oelwein, Caleb Schunk
Ogden, Vandon Roosa
Okoboji, Lydia Downing
Osage, Henry Mauser
Oskaloosa, Molly Prendergast
Ottumwa, Talise Plate
PCM, Harlan Shannon
Pella, Alexander Demuth
Pella Christian, Grant Kelderman
Pleasant Valley, Himanshu Jangid
Pocahontas Area, Natalie Point
Postville, Ridar Gunderson
Prairie, Hannah Hughes
Ridge View, Emma Mentzer
Riverside, Paxtyn Meek
Roland-Story, Alana Thorson
Saydel, Paige Rummans
Sheldon, Douglas Nilles
Sidney, Alec Hobbie
Sioux Central, Linnea Bloom
Sioux City East, Laynie Andersen
Sioux City North, Derek Folchert
Sioux City West, Alexander Valadez
Siouxland Christian, Ruby Wing
Solon, Brianna Henning
South Central Calhoun, Matthew Hardy
South Hamilton, Caitlin Bare
South O’Brien, Ashlynn Gunnerson
Southeast Polk, Andrew Dawson
Southeast Valley, Aiden Anderson
Spirit Lake, Teegan Jones
Springville, Talna Bongolan
St. Ansgar, Amelia Porisch
Stanton, Riley Burke
Starmont, Kristen Haynes
Storm Lake St. Mary’s Catholic, Brett Petersen
Treynor, Monica Osborn
Tri-County, Raegan Molyneux
Turkey Valley, Kinsey Reicks
Underwood, Ekaterina Hetfield
Union, Kengo Uchiyama-Hansen
Urbandale, Sean Bowser
Van Meter, Treston Murphy
Vinton-Shellsburg, Tori Richart
Wapello, Kolton Small
Washington, Lauren Horak
Waterloo Columbus Catholic, Abbey Etringer
Waterloo East, Anna Werning
Waterloo West, Perseus Batista-Pedro
Waukee, Lucy Gannon
Waukon, Taylor Kiel
Waverly-Shell Rock, Emily Claire Lorenzen
Wayne, Carter Sinclair
Webster City, Karina Murray
West Bend-Mallard, Alexis Welter
West Branch, Joshua Kroemer
West Burlington, Zachary Wilke
West Delaware, Hannah Cantwell
West Des Moines Dowling Catholic, James (JD) Martin
West Fork, Whitney Schulz
West Hancock, Claire Johnson
West Liberty, Pearson Hall
West Marshall, Genevieve Gavarrete
West Sioux, Allison Mueller
Western Dubuque, Genevieve Orr
Williamsburg, Kaori Imdacha
Wilton, Avery Fitzer
Winterset, Hunter Lyon
Woodbury Central, Aleksander Crow
Woodward-Granger, Alexis Bogardus
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Every nominee for the Des Moines Register’s Academic All-State 2025
Reporting by Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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