And now, the 3A wrestlers…Same premise.  These are the grades they will be in next year.  ICS is looking forward to the Div. III Championships this weekend in Cedar Rapids and all of the Div. I qualifier tourneys leading up to the big show in Omaha the 18th-20th.  When we get our fill of wrestling and any March Madness, we will eventually get back to our “The Decade That Was” in high school football.  We still have most of 1A, and all of A and 8-Player left to go.

 

2010-2011 RETURNING PLACE-WINNERS 3A

 

SENIORS

Juan Coulter –Muscatine (5^th@103 38-4)

Matt Birnbaum –Fort Dodge (6^th@103 33-6)

Brandon Thomas –WDM Valley (4^th@112 38-7)

Tanner Werner –Waverly-Shell Rock (5^th@112 36-6)

Jake Agnitsch –Ames (7^th@112 37-9)

Tyler Feller –Lewis Central (5^th@119 34-6)

Taylor Wickett –Bettendorf (7^th@119 16-5)(6^th@119-2009 28-10)

Adam Perrin –North Scott (2^nd@125 32-5)(3^rd@112-2009 36-4)(1^st@103-2008 32-0)

Chad Ryan –Sioux City North (1^st@130 45-2)(4^th@125-2009 43-4)(2^nd@103-2008 39-5)

Jordan Rinken –Waverly-Shell Rock (2^nd@130 39-2)(2^nd@119-2009 43-4)(4^th@103-2008 37-6)

Jay Hildreth –Lewis Central (3^rd@130 43-3)(7^th@119-2009 46-7)

Braxton Chicchelly –Cedar Rapids Xavier (7^th@130 32-9)

Bo Schlosser –Bettendorf (1^st@135 21-0)

Val Flores –Mason City (6^th@135 31-12)(8^th@130-2009 28-19)

Elijah Sullivan –Lewis Central (2^nd@140 36-3)(3^rd@135-2009 47-4)

Dominic Chase –Bettendorf (5^th@140 28-11)(2^nd@125-2009 23-3 w/Clinton)(5^th@112-2008 17-5 w/Clinton)

Luke Swalla –Ames (7^th@140 42-7)

Brad Schwenke –Atlantic (8^th@140 41-9)

Cody Caldwell –Waverly-Shell Rock (1^st@145 25-0)(1^st@125-2009 36-1)(4^th@112-2008 25-8)

Ben Swalla –Ames (5^th@152 39-6)(4^th@145-2009 32-9)

Ryan Sheldon –Cedar Rapids Kennedy (8^th@152 33-13)

Travis Mallo –Mason City (4^th@171 39-6)(8^th@152-2009 33-10)

Evan Rethmeier –Newton (7^th@171 34-9)

A.J. McBroom –Southeast Polk (8^th@171 22-5)(7^th@160-2009 32-17)

Brandon Abernathy –Indianola (4^th@189 37-6)(3^rd@189-2009 42-3)(8^th@171-2008 31-7)

Bryce Sellers –North Scott (6^th@189 27-4)

Cody Krumweide –Waverly-Shell Rock (1^st@215 41-0)(1^st@215-2009 48-0)(6^th@215-2008 32-8)

Jesse South –Urbandale (5^th@215 37-10)

Zach Salisbury –DSM Lincoln (7^th@215 33-12)

Brody Berrie –Bettendorf (1^st@285 21-2)(5^th@285-2009 30-7)

Conner Herman –Cedar Rapids Jefferson (6^th@285 29-4)

Jordan Jones –DSM North/Hoover (4^th@112-2009 38-3)(6^th@103-2008 36-5)

Bryce Lynn –Dubuque Senior (6^th@112-2009 22-8)(8^th@103-2008 28-6)

Josh Perkins –Atlantic (8^th@119-2009 43-7 in 2A)

Vinny Gomez –Indianola (5^th@119-2009 30-12)(8^th@112-2008 22-13)

Josh Greiner –Ottumwa (5^th@112-2008 40-3 w/Centerville in 2A)

Trevor Hardin –Cedar Rapids Prairie (7^th@125-2009 32-9)

 

JUNIORS

Tyler Willers –Pleasant Valley (1^st@103 40-1)(6^th@103-2009 36-8)

Drake Swarm –Bettendorf (7^th@103 32-9)

Cory Clark –Southeast Polk (1^st@112 41-0)(1^st@103-2009 43-0)

Connor Ryan –North Scott (2^nd@112 34-3)(2^nd@103-2009 36-2)

Jack Hathaway –Iowa City West (3^rd@112 45-3)(3^rd@103-2009 41-5)

Eric DeVos –Waverly-Shell Rock (1^st@119 37-5)(2^nd@112-2009 45-2)

Tyler McWilliams –Sioux City East (8^th@119 37-16)

John Meeks –DSM Roosevelt (1^st@125 39-0)(1^st@119-2009 39-0)

Kyle Larson –WDM Valley (5^th@125 37-7)

Luke Kremer –Cedar Rapids Kennedy (6^th@125 38-7)

Peter Stewart –Sioux City North (7^th@125 46-3)

Derek Rose –Keokuk (8^th@130 23-13)

Gradey Gambrall –Iowa City West (2^nd@135 43-6)

Brian Warren –DSM North/Hoover (5^th@135 12-4)

Gabe Moreno –Urbandale (3^rd@140 41-1)(4^th@130-2009 36-5)

Justin Koethe –Iowa City West (3^rd@152 31-2)(4^th@135-2009 42-8)

Alex Meyer –Southeast Polk (6^th@152 33-10)

Peyton Wagner –Cedar Rapids Prairie (7^th@152 28-8)

Bryan Levsen –Bettendorf (7^th@160 25-6)

Nate Shaw –Bettendorf (6^th@171 28-8)

Jared Bartel –Mason City (5^th@189 37-8)

Joe Scanlan –Johnston (4^th@285 43-5)

Johnny Jaeger –WDM Dowling (8^th@103-2009 36-11)

Drake Chase –Bettendorf (5^th@112-2009 15-3 w/Clinton)

Zach Witte –Cedar Rapids Prairie (2^nd@135-2009 35-9)

 

SOPHOMORES

Colby Knight –Urbandale (2^nd@103 40-1)

Joel Northrup Linn-Mar (3^rd@103 38-4)

Andrew Steiert –Waverly-Shell Rock (4^th@103 35-9)

Evan Reynolds –Norwalk (8^th@103 29-8)

Nick Sulentic –Lewis Central (8^th@112 37-9)

Bubba Hernandez –Bettendorf (4^th@125 26-5)

Dylan Blackford –Southeast Polk (4^th@130 36-5)

Tanner Schaefer –Spencer (6^th@130 39-11)

Today, we have the 2A list of next year’s returning place-winners from the state wrestling tournament.  Once again, the grades listed here are the grade they will be in next season… 

 

2010-2011 RETURNING PLACE-WINNERS 2A

 

SENIORS

Pryce Creighton –Dallas Center-Grimes (3^rd@103 41-7)

Mitch Funk –MFL (4^th@103 41-5)

Chase Flack –JSPCEG (3^rd@112 42-3)

Matt Paulus –New Hampton (4^th@112 37-4)(4^th@103-2009 33-8)

Jobe Goodale –Osage (5^th@112 35-10)

Jacob Colon –Clear Lake (3^rd@119 26-3)(2^nd@112-2009 42-3)

Cole Anderson –Forest City (5^th@119 39-5)

Tyler Patton –Webster City (2^nd@125 25-3)(3^rd@112-2009 33-6)(3^rd@103-2008 31-6)

Tre Rutz –Humboldt (5^th@125 35-3)(6^th@103-2008 35-9)

Dakota Simmons –Fairfield (7^th@125 31-5)

Matt White –West Branch (5^th@130 43-5)(6^th@130-2009 35-5)

Nick Becker –Wilton (6^th@130 29-10)

Dustin Harberts –Chariton (8^th@130 31-10)

Kyler Risher –Centerville (2^nd@135 42-11)(5^th@130-2009 29-8)(8^th@119-2008 30-8 in 3A w/Oskaloosa)

Skyler Rice –Emmetsburg/AR/RA (3^rd@135 36-6)(3^rd@130-2009 50-2 w/Manson NW Webster in 1A)(4^th@125-2008 49-3 w/Manson NW Webster in 1A)

Josh Schaefer –OABCIG (5^th@135 12-3)(4^th@125-2009 45-3)

Wil Stetzel –Perry (6^th@135 37-7)

Tyler Lashbrook –BCLUW (8^th@135 38-10)

Tanner Hiatt –Ballard (3^rd @140 45-1)(1^st@140-2009 47-0)(2^nd@130-2008 39-5)

Nick Winter –MFL (5^th@140 38-6)(8^th@125-2009 44-6 w/Central Elkader in 1A)

Aaron Sorenson –Forest City (1^st@145 37-2)(3^rd@140-2009 37-4)

Brody Grothus –Davenport Assumption (3^rd@145 42-2)(3^rd@135-2009 40-3)

Tanner Weatherman –Ballard (1^st@152 45-0)(1^st@135-2009 45-2)(2^nd@125-2008 39-6)

Taylor Berger –Carroll (2^nd@152 41-4)(7^th@145 38-5)

Cody Solari –Sgt Bluff-Luton (4^th@152 48-5)

Ryan Valline –East Marshall (5^th@152 45-6)(6^th@160-2009 40-8)

Dakota Poe –Albia (7^th@152 42-7)

Taimon Wehr –Harlan (8^th@152 39-12)

Kyle Lux –South Tama (8^th@160 40-5)(3^rd@152-2009 35-4)

Drew Cox –Clear Creek-Amana (6^th@171 32-8)

Jack Manning –Woodward-Granger (8^th@189 33-6)

Austin Blythe –Williamsburg (1^st@285 52-3)(1^st@285-2009 46-1)(2^nd@285-2008 38-6)

Tyler Swope –Davenport Assumption (3^rd@285 43-2)

Bret Johnson –Roland Story (4^th@285 37-2)

Alex Brown –Hampton-Dumont (5^th@103-2009 32-5)

Alex Rust –Central Lyon/GLR (7^th@103-2008 39-4 in 1A)

Ben King –BCLUW (8^th@103-2008 40-7 w/Centerville)

 

Jerad Hoefer -West Delaware (8^th@112-2009 30-12)

Bo Cosens –Ballard (6^th@125-2009 42-5 w/Woodward-Granger)

Tim Brock –Forest City (7^th@135-2009 31-10)

Blaize Cabell –Independence (6^th@171-2009 40-4)

 

JUNIORS

Dylan Peters –Denver-Tripoli (1^st@103 51-0)(2^nd@103-2009 40-1)

Jimmy Scieszinski –Van Meter (5^th@103 42-3)

Gunnar Wolfensperger –Denver-Tripoli (1^st@112 36-3)

J.C. Vercande –Williamsburg (6^th@112 41-9)(8^th@103-2009 40-11)

Zach Henning –Decorah (6^th@119 21-10)

Hunter Langley –Sgt Bluff-Luton (8^th@119 42-8)

Brandon Silbaugh –JSPCEG (6^th@125 41-5)

Jason Bowers –Anamosa (8^th@125 35-19)

Dakota Bauer –Ballard (7^th@130 36-3)(1^st@112-2009 44-2)

Tyler Walz –South Tama (7^th@135 35-10)

Blake Meling –East Marshall (2^nd@140 41-6)(6^th@135-2009 45-11)

J.J. Hanus –Solon (7^th@140 39-6)

Gayge Samuelson –Decorah (8^th@140 30-15)

Willie Miklus –Ballard (2^nd@145 39-2)(2^nd@119-2009 41-6)

Kane Seeley –Perry (4^th@171 36-6)

Noah Pickard –North Polk (5^th@171 42-6)

Seth Esaias –Red Oak (7^th@171 40-5)

Collin Bevins –Creston/OM (6^th@215 30-10)

Dalton Kingery –PCM (3^rd@103-2009 40-3)

Isaac Lundgren –Emmetsburg/AR/RA (7^th@103-2009 35-9)

Keegan Mumma –ADM, Adel (8^th@125-2009 35-9)

 

SOPHOMORES

Colton McCrystal –Sgt Bluff-Luton (2^nd@103 51-5)

Doug Miner –Spirit Lake Park (7^th@103 31-6)

Patrick Rooney –Bondurant-Farrar (8^th@103 26-6)

Kyle Blocker –East Marshall (7^th@112 39-3)

Landon Felton –Monticello (8^th@112 34-9)

Brandon Sorenson –Denver-Tripoli (1^st@119 51-0)

Logan Thomsen –Union, LaPorte City (2^nd@119 36-7)

Jesse Etherington –Charles City (4^th@125 33-8)

Jake Marlin –Creston/OM (1^st@130 43-3)

Nick Georgean –Davenport Assumption (4^th@140 41-5)

As promised, here is a list of returning place-winners for next season.  They are listed by the grade they will be in next year.  This is just 1A, I will also post 2A and then 3A later…  *Had a great time at Vets this weekend taking in the NJCAA National Tournament.  Iowa Central pulled a “Don Bosco” and brought home their fifth-consecutive team title, a record.  Coach Luke Moffitt has done an outstanding job at the helm, and he did it this year with two national champions, Bradley Banks and Joe Colon.  Colon, from Clear Lake, was brilliant all year.  he only had two losses on the season, but neither was to a junior college competitor.  Coach Weber of Clear Lake and younger brother Jacob must be quite proud of the Triton freshman.  Look for him to make some noise in Division I if he chooses to pursue it.  Having Vets hold a national championship tournament was really cool.  I love that building… 

 

2010-2011 RETURNING PLACE-WINNERS 1A

 

SENIORS

Trevor Reiste –Panorama (6^th@112 40-10)

Christopher Halblom –Alburnett (1^st@119 46-0)(1^st@112-2009 39-0)(2^nd@103-2008 34-4 w/Center Point-Urbana in 2A

Brennan McNitt –CB St Albert (3^rd@119 45-4)(6^th@103-2009 41-4)

Matt Bertsch –Mason City Newman (8^th@119 25-12)

Jake Kadel –New London (2^nd@125 49-1)(3^rd@112-2009 47-4)(3^rd@103-2008 41-6)

Brandon Welter –Don Bosco (3^rd@125 42-4)(2^nd@112-2009 32-10)(2^nd@103-2008 41-5)

Jordan Johnson –I-35 (4^th@125 36-5)

Dillon Lorentzen –Logan-Magnolia (6^th@125 42-8)

Kyler Deutsch –Nashua-Plainfield (8^th@125 37-11)

Nolan Oviatt –Logan-Magnolia (3^rd@130 49-1)(2^nd@125-2009 48-3)(6^th@119-2008 41-7)

Drew Proctor –Tipton (4^th@130 41-5)(7^th@112-2008 41-12)

Nathan Van Zante –Eddyville-Blakesburg (6^th@130 39-13)

Chad Richardson –Lawton-Bronson (8^th@130 36-9)

Jared Hefler –Ogden (7^th@135 34-5)

Matt Finch –H-M-S- (3^rd@140 47-1)(3^rd@135-2009 49-1)(6^th@125-2008 31-4)

Dallas Houchins –I-35 (4^th@140 32-5)(6^th@125-2009 32-10)(8^th@112-2008 34-8)

Rilen Carew –West Branch (5^th@145 32-9)

Tyler Ogburn –Corning (2^nd@152 41-4)

Austin Kessler –Durant-Bennett (4^th@152 45-4)

Marrick Loftus –Logan-Magnolia (5^th@152 42-10)

Levi Peters –Twin River Valley, Bode (1^st@160 42-1)(2^nd@140-2009 43-3)

Jayden DeVilbiss –South Winneshiek (4^th@160 44-3)

Dacota Ward –Lisbon (2^nd@171 37-8)

Colton Van’t Hof –Sioux Center (3^rd@171 40-5)

Jake Crosby –Eddyville-Blakesburg (4^th@171 40-9)

Matthew Schmelzer –South Winneshiek (5^th@171 42-4)

Curtis Weber –Don Bosco (6^th@171 37-8)

Austin Rasch –Manson NW Webster (7^th@171 40-9)

Willie Lawrence –Bedford/Lenox (8^th@171 27-13)

Andrew Nodtvedt –Central Springs (3^rd@189 44-4)(7^th@189-2009 38-10 in 2A)

Nate Howard –Graettinger-Terril (4^th@189 45-6)

Kyle Soderblom –Lynnville-Sully (5^th@189 41-3)

Dalton Peterson –Woodbine (6^th@189 43-4)

Ethan Calvert –I-35 (7^th@189 38-8)

Cade Lambson –Mt. Ayr (6^th@215 37-7)

Josh Treybal –H-M-S (8^th@215 38-7)

Brendan Ter Wee –West Lyon (3^rd@285 42-5)

Caleb White –Tri-Center, Neola (4^th@285 44-8)(4^th@285-2009 43-5)

Tyler Bartels –Riceville (8^th@103-2009 30-9)

Kris Lehman –Guthrie Center (8^th@112-2009 43-8)

Keegan Taylor –Mason City Newman (6^th@112-2009 26-10)

 

JUNIORS

Jordan Bremer –Woodbury Central (1^st@103 43-2)(4^th@103-2009 45-6)

Brance Simms –Twin River Valley, Bode (2^nd@103 39-4)(5^th@103-2009 43-3)

Phillip Laux –Pekin (3^rd @103 41-1)

Ryan Hall –Jesup (6^th@103 42-5)

Tyler Shulista –Alburnett (1^st@112 43-1)(3^rd@103-2009 43-3)

Kody Krenz –Louisa-Muscatine (2^nd@112 30-5)(6^th@103-2009 32-8 in 2A)

Sawyer Farris –New London (3^rd@112 48-4)(1^st@103-2009 47-2)

Nick Drenth –H-M-S (5^th@112 44-4)

Tyler Hagen –Martensdale-St. Mary’s (7^th@112 38-13)

Tanner Scott –Eddyville-Blakesburg (4^th@119 45-7)

Walker Marshall –Missouri Valley (5^th@119 44-8)

Kolbi Kohl –Lisbon (6^th@119 34-10)

Logan Mulnix –North Linn (1^st@125 39-2)(7^th@125-2009 41-3)

Brayton Taylor –Prairie Valley (2^nd@130 41-1)(3^rd@119-2009 45-2)

David Walker –Martensdale-St. Mary’s (5^th@130 45-5)

Austin DeMuth –Don Bosco (7^th@130 37-10)

Ben Huber –Hudson (2^nd@135 31-6)

Tait Simpson –Lisbon (5^th@135 37-10)

Robert Walker –Martensdale-St. Mary’s (1^st@140 41-4)

Jake Slocum –West Branch (6^th@140 31-12)

Taylor Wedeking –Nashua-Plainfield (8^th@140 36-10)

Austin Even –Jesup (3^rd@160 46-5)

Connor Johnston –Tri County-Monte (8^th@189 34-17)

Joe Koehn –Elgin Valley (5^th@285 41-14)

Adam Steger –Maquoketa Valley (8^th@285 34-10)

Jesse Partlow –Manson NW Webster (7^th@112-2009 44-7)

Chet Utesch –Akron-Westfield (7^th@119-2009 42-6)

 

SOPHOMORES

Andrew Foutch –Underwood (5^th@103 46-7)

Heath Nagel –H-M-S (8^th@103 35-11)

Brett Marcum –Missouri Valley (8^th@112 40-19)

Carter Funke –Maquoketa Valley (7^th@119 37-13)

Loren Williams –Tri-Center, Neola (3^rd@135 46-11)

Gunnar Clark –West Hancock, Britt (6^th@152 31-16)

The last in our series of championship reviews is 3A.  The team title for 2010 again went to Waverly-Shell Rock.  This is the third straight trophy for the mighty Go-Hawks.  Rick Caldwell’s crew crowned four champions and garnered 163 points.  Bettendorf used their 13 qualifiers to score 138 points for second place, followed by Urbandale in third with 101.  Waverly-Shell Rock will return seven qualifiers for next year.  Let’s look back at each weight class and get a glimpse of the big school action.  Here are your 3A champions…

 

103: Tyler Willers, So. Pleasant Valley 40-1.  Willers didn’t come out of nowhere, but it seemed like the focus at 103 was on Colby Knight of Urbandale and Andrew Steiert of Waverly-Shell Rock.  Willers cruised to the final, and the semifinal between Knight and Steiert was a great 2-0 win for Knight.  Willers then pinned the undefeated Urbandale freshman in the third period of the championship bout for the gold.  The loss was the first of the year for Knight.  Willers placed 6^th last year at this weight.

112:  Cory Clark, So. Southeast Polk 41-0.  Clark became a back-to-back, undefeated champion with his 7-0 win over Connor Ryan of North Scott.  Ryan has only lost four matches in his first two seasons and three have been to Clark, including last year’s 103lb final.  Clark was outstanding from start to finish in the tournament, much like last year.  He started out with two first-period pins (one was in 0:13) then beat Iowa City West’s Jack Hathaway, 4-0 in the semis to reach his second final. 

119: Eric DeVos, So. Waverly-Shell Rock 37-5.  DeVos pinned his first two foes to reach the semis and a date with last year’s 112lb champion, Brandon Jones of Valley.  The same Brandon Jones that DeVos lost to in that final.  Redemption came in the form of a 3-2 win for the Go-Hawk.  He then downed Kirk Sallis of Waterloo East, 5-3 for the title.  The loss was only the third of the season for Sallis, and the second in one week’s time to DeVos, who won their district final match as well.

125: John Meeks, So. DSM Roosevelt 39-0.  Like Cory Clark, Meeks has remained unbeaten through his first two years of competition.  Title #2 came at the hands of former champion Adam Perrin of North Scott, 7-4.  It was the only close match of the tournament for Meeks, who had a tech fall and two major decisions leading up to the final.  A junior, Perrin has now finished 2^nd, 1^st and 3^rd. 

130: Chad Ryan, Jr. Sioux City North 45-2.  Ryan scored a major decision over last year’s runner-up at 119lbs, Jordan Rinken of Waverly-Shell Rock, 10-1 for the title.  Both wrestlers had 2^nd and 4^th place finishes prior to this matchup.  Ryan picked up steam with each match and Rinken had only given up two escape points in his first three matches, so the final was looking to be a tight one.  Ryan must have been against that idea, however.

135: Bo Schlosser, Jr. Bettendorf 21-0.  Schlosser missed a lot of matches during the regular season, but he made the most of his four at State.  After a first-round pin, he squeeked by 43-0 Josh Greiner of Ottumwa in a great match, and then survived a wild shootout with Tim O’Connell of Maquoketa, 11-10 to reach the final.  Waiting for him was Iowa City West sophomore Gradey Gambrall who knocked off three former place-winners to get there.  Schlosser controlled the action and held on for a 3-1 win.

140: Jake Ballweg, Sr. Waverly-Shell Rock 42-0.  I’d like to say the future Hawkeye made it look easy, but his 8-6 semifinal win over Julian Feikert of Keokuk was a little too close for comfort.  Unfazed, Ballweg dropped Elijah Sullivan of Lewis Central, 5-0 for 1^st place.  He leaves high school wrestling as a four-time finalist and back-to-back-to-back champion.  The three-peat gave him and his brothers Mark and Matt a total of seven Ballweg golds.  Quite Reiter-esque, if I do say so.  When Jake was a freshman, his first match was a victory over #1 ranked Nick Trizzino of Bettendorf.  He then rattled off 44 straight wins to reach the championship match at 112lbs against Trizzino, who throttled him, 10-1.  Trizzino’s revenge is the only thing standing between Jake and being a four-time champion.

145: Cody Caldwell, Jr. Waverly-Shell Rock 25-0.  Lots of injuries have plagued Caldwell, but he has now managed to win back-to-back titles to go with a 4^th place finish as a freshman.  He defeated senior Gustavo Martinez of Marshalltown, 5-2 to the delight of his father and coach, Rick Caldwell.  Martinez, despite the loss, may have had one of the best opening three match runs of the tournament.  He beat Rulin Pederson of Sioux City East, pinned Cole Clarken of Fort Dodge and then whipped Cody Swim of Indianola, 9-3 to reach the final.  Not bad…Caldwell will return next year to be the anchor of another strong title run.

152: Michael Kelly, Sr. Cedar Falls 36-1.  Another big Hawkeye recruit, Kelly had been a little stunned by a loss to Justin Koethe of Iowa City West earlier in the year, but he marched to the final, looking to add to his 2009 title and 4^th place finish in 2008.  His opponent, Joey Trizzino of Bettendorf, was impressive with victories over Koethe in the quarters and Alex Meyer of Southeast Polk in the semifinal.  The final was the biggest marathon of Saturday night.  After three overtimes, Kelly prevailed, 8-7 for the gold medal.  Trizzino finished 36-3, adding a 2^nd to his 3^rd and 8^th place finishes.

160: Nick Moore, Sr. Iowa City West 48-0.  Hmmm, this sounds familiar…Moore became the 19^th four-time champion in Iowa history with his 11-6 victory over Spencer Belieu of Indianola.  It was a ‘close’ match for Moore, who had pinned his last 22 opponents.  Can that possibly be correct?  Anyway, Moore was always amazing and as close to a sure thing as you can be in high school.  I thought he had some huge shoes to fill with brother Nate, but he has more than surpassed what it took.  To the best of my knowledge, a loss to Mark Ballweg in the State Dual Tournament as a freshman was the only time Moore tasted prep defeat.  Moore had just beat Ballweg, 3-2 in overtime in the semis of the traditional tournament on the way to his first title. 

171: Michael Moreno, Sr. Urbandale 43-0.  Finally…That must be what Moreno felt as he stepped up on the top step after two 2^nd place finishes and a 4^th place performance as a freshman.  Moreno handled North Scott senior Walt Gillmor, 12-2 after pinning his first three foes with ease.  This was an emphatic championship run and the highlight of the tournament for Urbandale.

189:  Kyven Gadson, Sr. Waterloo East 30-0.  All year, everyone wanted to know who would win between Riley and Knight in this year’s final.  Everyone but Gadson.  Two first-period pins, including one against Evan Knight of Urbandale in the quarters, got Gadson to the semis, where he outlasted Brandon Abernathy of Indianola, 6-4 in overtime.  Knight went on to down Abernathy in the consolation final for third place, 2-1.  Gadson would meet Matt Riley of DSM Roosevelt for the title, and roughed up the Roughrider, 13-3.  Gadson finished his career with back-to-back titles and a runner-up finish as a sophomore.  Riley placed 2^nd, 2^nd and 7^th.  Knight placed 3^rd, 1^st, 1^st and 2^nd. 

215: Cody Krumweide Jr. Waverly-Shell Rock 41-0.  Krumweide won his second straight 215lb title with a 5-2 win over Josh Lambrecht of CR Prairie.  Krumweide had a couple of pins then a hard-fought victory over Grant Riesberg of Dowling, 2-0 in the semis to reach the finals once again.  Along with Cody Caldwell, Krumweide will be a leader on a very strong Go-Hawk team next year.

285: Brody Berrie, Jr. Bettendorf 21-2. Berrie vs. Nolan Proehl of Davenport West was old hat to eastern Iowa fans, but it made for a great 285 finale.  Berrie won 4-2 to keep his mastery of Proehl intact.  Both had little trouble reaching the final.  Proehl’s first-round victim, Colin White of Glenwood, pinned four of five consolation opponents to come all the way back for third place, finishing 39-4.

That’s it for 3A.  It was an outstanding tournament with a ton of great performances.  It always is.  More to come.              

We look back at the 2A action from the State Wrestling Tournament today, and to start, we congratulate Denver-Tripoli.  The Titans broke through with an outstanding overall performance to win the team title.  Their point total of 148 was more than enough to hold off second place Davenport Assumption (109) and third place Ballard (103).  Assumption and Ballard were solid, but Denver-Tripoli just would not be denied, breaking a two-year hold Ballard had on the class.  The Titans crowned four champions and two others finished third.  Let’s take a look at each weight and the 2A champions…

 

103: Dylan Peters, So. Denver-Tripoli 51-0.  When a wrestler wins his bracket with four first-period pins, there is no room for argument.  An almost perfect season for Peters.  His loss in last year’s final is the only one suffered in his first two seasons of competition.  Just an outstanding performance and a wonderful wrestler to watch.  He pinned freshman Colton McCrystal of Sgt. Bluff-Luton in the final to win it all.  McCrystal finished the season at 51-5.

112: Gunnar Wolfensperger, So. Denver-Tripoli 36-3.  This title took a lot of work.  An opening round 8-7 win over Kyle Blocker of East Marshall…A wild 5-4 (3 OT) win over J.C. Vercande of Williamsburg in the quarters…A 7-4 battle with Jobe Goodale of Osage in the semifinal…All leading up to a showdown with 38-0 Kalen Greiner of Sigourney-Keota.  Wolfensperger handled the favored Greiner, 11-5 to make it two-for-two for Denver-Tripoli.

119: Brandon Sorenson, Fr. Denver-Tripoli 51-0.  Three major decisions and a first-period fall for the ninth grader who looked and worked like a senior.  He was head and shoulders above the field, sending out a loud message to future opponents.  His finals victim, Logan Thomsen of Union, had a great run to the title match before running into the undefeated Titan.

125: Levi Wolfensperger, Sr. Denver-Tripoli 51-0.  Four champs in a row and three of them unbeaten with 51 wins each…What can you say?  Unbelievable.  Wolfensperger capped a tremendous career with his fourth finals appearance and his second title in a row.  190+ wins puts him in very elite company in Iowa history.  He pinned two-time third place finisher Tyler Patton of Webster City to put an exclamation mark on the unreal start to the finals by Denver-Tripoli.

130: Jake Marlin, Fr. Creston/OM 43-3.  Marlin really had an outstanding tournament and won some big-time matches along the way.  In the quarters, he knocked off TylerEndres of Independence, 13-6.  He followed that up with a brilliant, hard-fought win over Tanner Schmidt of Charles City, who had just knocked out Dakota Bauer of Ballard in his quarterfinal match.  Schmidt looked like he was on his way to a title, but Marlin outlasted him and moved on to the final, where he downed Jake Keller of Columbus Junction, 5-3.  This bracket was loaded, and a freshman prevailed.

135: Kyle Paulson, Sr. Wilton 40-0.  Sweet justice for a very good wrestler who stayed under the radar.  Paulson goes out on top after downing Kendall Davis of Van Meter, Skyler Rice of Emmetsburg and Kyler Risher of Centerville in his last three matches.  Tough task to accomplish, but Paulson handled it nicely.

140: Seth Noble, Sr. Columbus Junction 48-0.  5^th as a freshman, 1^st as a sophomore and 2^nd as a junior.  Noble had a clear goal this year, and he did it the best way possible.  After losing to Tanner Hiatt of Ballard in last year’s final, Noble could only hope for a chance at redemption.  That chance presented itself in the semis, where Noble downed Hiatt, 8-5 in a rematch that put him back in the finals.  He then beat Blake Meling of East Marshall, 5-2 for another 1^st place medal.  180+ victories and three finals appearances for Seth Noble.

145: Aaron Sorenson, Jr. Forest City 37-2.  Sorenson downed Ballard sophomore Willie Miklus, 4-3 for the title in the last match, and their path to the final was nearly identical.  Both had easy first-round wins followed by pins in the quarters over very tough opponents.  Their semifinal matches mirrored each other as well, with Sorenson winning 3-1 over David Kellogg of DC-Grimes and Miklus edging Jimmie Schuessler of North Polk, 8-7 in close battles to set up the final.  Miklus jumped up from 119, where he finished 2^nd last year as a freshman, and Sorenson placed 3^rd at 140 last year as a sophomore.

152: Tanner Weatherman, Jr. Ballard 45-0.  The top five at this weight are just outstanding.  Ryan Valline of East Marshall, Cody Solari of Sgt. Bluff-Luton and Blake Sorenson of Denver-Tripoli finished 5^th, 4^th and 3^rd respectively, but any of them were more than worthy of winning it all.  The two who did battle for it earned their spot in the final.  Weatherman prevailed over Taylor Berger of Carroll, 11-4 for the title, his second straight after a runner-up finish as a freshman.  Berger survived a rough 6-5 (3OT) win over Sorenson in the semis that was fantastic.  Sorenson is the only senior in this bunch, and he leaves with a solid resume which includes 170+ wins, a 2^nd, 4^th and two 3^rd place finishes.

160: Landon Williams, Sr. Davenport Assumption 43-0.  In a bracket full of tough seniors, Williams took care of business step by step to remain unbeaten and bring home the title for Coach Pete Bush’s squad.  First downing Jase Schossow of East Marshall, then Joey Naig of Emmetsburg, followed by Noah Minikus of Denver-Tripoli, Williams had an impressive run before even meeting Kyle Walker of Algona in the final.  Walker beat defending champ Ethan Moorman of Centerville in the semi, but was no match for Williams, losing 13-1.

171: Mike England, Sr. Centerville 53-1.  Mostly forgotten in the middle of the “Brock Watch”, all England did was keep winning.  Weatherman was the two-time defending champ at this weight, and he pinned his way through the tournament last year.  With three more pins in this bracket, everyone thought this would be an amazing duplicate feat.  England would have none of it, outlasting the Ballard star, 3-1(OT) and stunning the crowd.  An amazing effort by England and a great moment for Centerville fans.

189: Stewart Holloway, Sr. West Burlington/ND 38-1.  Now here is a final four worth checking out.  Trevor Voelker of DC-Grimes, Sam Upah of East Marshall, Chaps Wilcke of OA-BCIG and Holloway.  Voelker beat Upah, 2-0  in the semis after downing Blaize Cabell of Independence in the quarters, 5-4.  Holloway beat Wilcke, 6-4 after getting by Jacob Morris of Emmetsburg, 11-9 in the quarters.  That set up the final between 46-1 Voelker and Holloway.  It did not disappoint.  Holloway survived, 5-4 in a great matchup.  Holloway also finished 3^rd and 5^th the last two years.  Voelker finishes with 2^nd, 5^th and 6^th place medals.  Upah placed 4^th to add to his 3^rd, 2^nd and 4^th place finishes.

215: Ryan Fank, Sr. Independence 44-2.  His 2-1(2 OT) win over Albia’s Slater Poe gave him the 1^st place medal, but his 6-3 win over James Morris of Solon in the semis might have been his best match ever.  Down 3-1 with just :10 left, he reversed the undefeated Spartan and put him to his back for three nearfall points as time expired to advance to the final and send Morris to the consolation bracket.  Sam Gervase of Davenport Assumption and Morris were the favorites, but they met up for 3^rd, with Gervase avenging a district final loss, 9-8.

285: Austin Blythe, Jr. Williamsburg 52-3.  Three straight finals appearances for the big Red Raider at 285.  After finishing second as a freshman, Blythe has two straight titles and over 135 victories to his credit.  His opponent in the finals was Adam Praska of Cresco, who finished 3^rd last year with only one loss and brought an unblemished record of 35-0 into the title match.  Praska pinned his first three foes with ease, but fell short against the determined Blythe, 3-2.  Tyler Swope of Davenport Assumption and Bret Johnson of Roland-Story finished 3^rd and 4^th, respectively, both losing to Blythe in earlier rounds.

There you have it for 2A.  We will get our 3A review in and then get to the returning place-winners for 2010-2011…                      

Starting with 1A, let’s take a look back at what transpired at Wells Fargo Arena in this year’s State Wrestling Tournament.  First off, Don Bosco nailed down their fifth consecutive team title, the new record for all classes.  Their 119 points were 48.5 higher than runner-up Eddyville-Blakesburg.  It was never in doubt.  Two champions, a second, a third, two sixths and a seventh place finisher fueled the powerful showing by the kings of 1A.  Congrats to Coach Kettman and the 10 Gilbertville qualifiers.  As for the new group of champions, let’s check out each weight class.  At 103lbs, the new champion is Jordan Bremer of Woodbury Central.  The 43-2 sophomore downed Brance Simms of Twin River Valley, Bode in the final, 5-3.  His big win on the road to the title was a 6-4 decision over senior Zakk Buch of Belle Plaine.  Bremer finished 4th as a freshman last year.

112: Tyler Shulista, So. Alburnett 43-1.  Shulista finished 3^rd last year, but scored three falls and a 12-3 major decision in the final match over Kody Krenz of Louisa-Muscatine to win it all.  His semifinal pin came against last year’s champion, Sawyer Farris of New London.

119: Christopher Halblom, Jr. Alburnett 46-0.  Halblom snagged his second title in his third finals appearance with his 2-1 overtime win against Ben McMahon of Don Bosco.  Two straight undefeated seasons for Halblom.

125: Logan Mulnix, So. North Linn 39-2.  Bit of an upset here, as Mulnix pulled out a 6-2 win over Jake Kadel of New London who was 49-0 going into the final.  Mulnix finished 7^th at this weight last year.

130: Derric Thomas, Sr. Mason City Newman 30-2.  Thomas joined the three-timer’s club with his 3^rd straight title after finishing 2^nd as a freshman.  His 10-8 thriller over Brayton Taylor of Prairie Valley was a dogfight.  Taylor came into the match with a 41-0 mark.  Thomas survived a nailbiter with David Walker of Martensdale-St. Mary’s in the semis, edging the Blue Devil with a 3-2 win to reach his fourth final.

135: Cole Welter, Sr. Don Bosco 44-0.  Welter won his third title with a solid major decision over Ben Huber of Hudson, 17-4.  His 3-2 semifinal victory over Tait Simpson of Lisbon was the best match of the weight class.  Welter also had a 5^th place finish as a sophomore to go with his three titles.

140: Robert Walker, So. Martensdale-St. Mary’s 41-4.  His 7-6 win over Matt Finch of HMS in the semis was unbelievable.  He followed it up with an impressive 4-3 win over senior Brode Hills of Louisa-Muscatine to win the title.

145: Justin Hoffman, Sr. East Buchanan 43-2.  Early on in this weight class, I thought there was no way anyone would beat Michael Jensen of Graettinger-Terril unless it was Clay Welter of Don Bosco.  Jensen got by Welter in the semis, but Hoffman put the hammer down on him in the final, racking up a 17-9 major decision.  Hoffman finished 8^th the last two seasons at 130lbs, but the move up to 145 worked out fine.

152: Dmitri Boyer, Sr. Eddyville-Blakesburg 50-1.  Back-to-back titles after a pair of 4^th place finishes for Boyer.  This was his title to lose, and once he got by Tim Moroney of East Buchanan in the semis, I figured it was a done deal.  However, Tyler Ogburn of Corning was busy pinning his way to the final on the other side of the bracket…He gave Boyer a battle, but in the end, Boyer was too much to handle, winning 4-2.

160: Levi Peters, Jr. Twin River Valley, Bode 42-1.  Some of the sting from teammate Brance Simms’ loss earlier was erased when Peters pinned Jason Frain of Riverside for the title at 160.  In fact, he pinned all four opponents while wearing bright green shoes.  Peters was the real deal and was fun to watch even though his matches never went the full 6 minutes.  He finished 2^nd at 140 last season.

171: Quinn Wilson, Sr. Riverside 55-1.  Not a single match was close.  Wilson matched Peters in the real deal category even with only one fall to his credit.  He downed Dacota Ward of Lisbon in the final, 6-0 adding to his 7^th place finish last year.  Back-to-back 50+ win seasons for Wilson.  Not bad.

189: Taylor Kettman, Sr. Don Bosco 42-1.  Having placed 3^rd and 2^nd the last two years, the only thing left for Kettman was to bring home the gold.  He did just that by pinning each of his first three opponents in the first period to reach the final where he defeated Bryce Olson of Eagle Grove, 7-2.  Kettman made it look easy by working very hard.  Olson’s semifinal win over Dalton Peterson of Woodbine was a back and forth thriller that ended with an Olson pin with :16 left in the match.  One of the most exciting matches of any round.

215: Jon Meyers, Sr. Coon Rapids-Bayard 49-0.  Meyers took 4^th last year, but came back on a mission.  Two falls and two easy victories garnered him a first place medal.  He downed Aplington-Parkersburg Senior Jordan Simon in the final, 7-2.

285: Caleb Wilken, Sr. Nashua-Plainfield 42-1.  Wilken started off with a pin, but had to survive three close matches to win the title, including back-to-back 2 OT classics in the semi and final matches.  He downed Caleb White, 3-2 and then got by Dylan Lame 4-2 to earn top honors in the heaviest weight class.  Wilken placed 7^th last season at 215.

There are your champions, and after we take a look at the 2A and 3A winners, I will give you a list of all the returning place-winners in each class for next season.  

Well, five of those guys fell victim for the first time this season in the most important match of their season.  Jake Kadel of New London in 1A @125, Brayton Taylor of Prairie Valley in 1A @130, Kalen Greiner of Sigourney-Keota in 2A @112, Adam Praska of Cresco in 2A @285 and Colby Knight of Urbandale in 3A @103 lost in the finals and placed second.  I think losing in the finals after being unbeaten to that point has to be one of the toughest pills to swallow in high school sports.  These five guys had tremendous seasons and have nothing to be ashamed of.  Fabulous jobs by all of them.  Before we get into the review/recap/thoughts and observations of the tourney, let’s give the senior champions a fond farewell…

3A:  Jake Ballweg, Jake Kelly, Nick Moore, Michael Moreno, Kyven Gadson, 2A: Levi Wolfensperger, Kyle Paulson, Seth Noble, Landon Williams, Mike England, Stewart Holloway, Ryan Fank, 1A: Derric Thomas, Cole Welter, Justin Hoffman, Dmitri Boyer, Quinn Wilson, Taylor Kettman, Jon Meyers and Caleb Wilken.  These guys were awesome, and as you will see in our review, they had wonderful careers.

The finals are near and the tension mounts…No matter what you’ve learned leading up to this moment, do not forget that the one thing to count on is that you cannot count on anything.  There have been and there will be upsets.  How big?  Who knows.  But trust me, there will be upsets.  Every wrestling tournament in history has had them.  It may not be of monumental status, but upsets will happen, nonetheless.  When it is all said and done, we will go back and review what happened and what to look for next year.  We will crunch the numbers and make the lists.  Five 1A wrestlers are still unbeaten on the year…Christopher Halblom, Jake Kadel, Brayton Taylor, Cole Welter and Jon Meyers.  Nine 2A unbeatens remain…Dylan Peters, Kalen Greiner, Brandon Sorenson, Levi Wolfensperger, Kyle Paulson, Seth Noble, Tanner Weatherman, Landon Williams and Adam Praska.  In 3A, the number is ten…Colby Knight, Cory Clark, John Meeks, Bo Schlosser, Jake Ballweg, Cody Caldwell, Nick Moore, Michael Moreno, Kyven Gadsen and Cody Krumweide.  Will they all finish that way?  Enjoy the finals and check back with us.

We are at the State Wrestling Tournament, and it has been fantastic as always.  We are going to be doing this a little different than in the past.  I was so caught up in all the action, I never made up my mind how to handle the coverage for our visitors to the site.  We are going with a basic review and wrap up of everything after all is said and done for this year, and then our plans for next year will include a different, more up to date session-by-session attack to keep everyone up to speed on what just happened.  The IHSAA site posts results after each session, and the Predicament’s coverage page has been excellent, so that has been available for those not able to make it out to the matches or those who just need a little info to go on top of what they witnessed.  We will try to work along the lines of that type of coverage next year to fortify our place in the wrestling scene.  We are a football site, but at the end of the day, we are a site about Iowa high school kids and all the sports we love.  As for this very moment, all the place-winning matchups are set to go.  252 kids are waiting for the chance to wrestle for 3rd through 8th place this afternoon in consolations for all classes.  There are some very big names in this group that did not avoid upsets on the championship side and there are some kids who probably didn’t have a clue they would actually be here at this point.  When they are done that leaves the table set for the big show tonight for the last 84 wrestlers alive in the tournament.  The finals are littered with the usual epic matchups and the unexpected pairings of upstarts.  When the consolations are completed, we will take a look at what is in store for the finals and what to expect in our review of the whole tournament.

You know we owe you tons of football Video from the Dome!! It is on the way.. I have to get through all the team tapes before I can break them out.    However, Selb has been keeping you updated with great info.. and tons of extra coverage of wrestling..   Our Main Man is looking good in ICS gear at state on Wednesday.

Well it’s all set now.  The districts are in the books and the State field is ready to roll.  There are lots of undefeated wrestlers left, but a few picked up their first defeat of the year at their district.  The majority of ranked individuals made it, while some were squeezed by loaded brackets.  Unfortunately, injuries kept some pretty good wrestlers from qualifying, but in some cases injured competitors made it through districts despite their ailments, surprising coaches, fans and family.  The brackets are finished and posted on the IHSAA website for all three classes, along with a quick-look listing of all first-round matches.  Also, the 3A regional dual matchups have been released, with matches scheduled for next Tuesday night to determine the eight State Dual Tournament teams.  They are as follows:

Bettendorf vs. Maquoketa

Indianola vs. Ankeny

Iowa City West vs. Keokuk

CB Lewis vs. Urbandale

Mason City vs. SE Polk

North Scott vs. CR Prairie

Valley, WDM vs. Sioux City East

Waverly-Shell Rock vs. CR Kennedy

 

There will be plenty of great action to focus on at State this year, but here are a few storylines to keep in mind…

-Nick Moore of Iowa City High will be going for title #4 at 160 in 3A.

-Don Bosco will be trying to win their 5^th consecutive 1A team title, a traditional tournament record if they do it.

-All three classes have two-time defending team champions back, and all are strong enough to compete for a third straight crown.  The aforementioned Don Bosco in 1A, Ballard of Huxley in 2A and Waverly-Shell Rock in 3A.

-Bettendorf qualified an amazing 13 wrestlers in 3A.

Here is a brief rundown of the 3A districts and what big matches may transpire at each of the eight locations.  Remember, there are full teams competing in the 3A districts, unlike the four-man brackets at each 1A and 2A district.  The top two at each weight advance to State, just the same.  This is a limited glance at the action, focusing on the better head-to-head matchups that should come about.  Get out to one of these districts if you can, and enjoy.

At Burlington:

Top Wrestlers: 135- Bo Schlosser, Bettendorf; 152- Joey Trizzino, Bettendorf; 285- Brodie Berrie, Bettendorf and Nolan Proehl, Davenport West.

Top Matchups: 

103, #5 Drake Swarm, Bettendorf and #4 Juan Coulter, Muscatine.

119, #5 Taylor Wickett, Bettendorf and #6 Ethan Cooper, Keokuk.

140, #9 Dominic Chase, Bettendorf and #4 Julian Fiekert, Keokuk.

145, #6 Trevor Duke, Keokuk and #10 Austin Pauley, Fort Madison.

152, #3 Joey Trizzino, Bettendorf and #4 Andrew Cartwright, Fort Madison.

171, #4 Nate Shaw, Bettendorf and #8 Derek Minch, Muscatine.

285, #1 Brodie Berrie, Bettendorf and #2 Nolan Proehl, Davenport West.

 

At Cedar Rapids Jefferson:

Top Wrestlers: 103- Kegan Wakefield, Iowa City West; 112- Jack Hathaway, Iowa City West; 152- Justin Koethe, Iowa City West; 160-Nick Moore, Iowa City West.

Top Matchups:  

103, #2 Kegan Wakefield, Iowa City West and #7 Joel Northrup, Linn-Mar.

125, #7 Luke Kremer, CR Kennedy and #10 Austin Weisinger, Marion.

160, #10 Zach Parsons, CR Kennedy and #1 Nick Moore, Iowa City West.

285, #4 Conner Herman, CR Jefferson and #9 Josh McDonald, CR Xavier.

 

At Council Bluffs Jefferson:

Top Wrestlers: 130- Jay Hildreth, CB Lewis and Chad Ryan, Sioux City North; 140- Elijah Sullivan, CB Lewis; 285- Colin White, Glenwood.

Top Matchups:

125, #5 Peter Stewart, Sioux City North and #9 Nate Harms, Glenwood.

130, #2 Jay Hildreth, CB Lewis Central and #3 Chad Ryan, Sioux City North.

140, #3 Elijah Sullivan, CB Lewis Central and #8 Mike Otto, Sioux City East.

145, #9 Tyler Maxwell, Glenwood and #7 Rulin Pederson, Sioux City East.

160, #8 Ethan Lara, Sioux City East and #7 Beau Gill, Sioux City North.

 

At Fort Dodge:

Top Wrestlers: 145- Cole Clarken, Fort Dodge.

Top Matchups:

152, Logjam alert: #7 Max Krieger, Mason City; #10 Matt Wilkerson, Spencer and #6 Ben Swalla, Ames.

189, #8 Jared Bartel, Mason City and #7 Erik Rasmussen, Ankeny.

 

At Johnston:

Top Wrestlers: 103- Colby Knight, Urbandale; 119- Brandon Jones, WDM Valley; 125- John Meeks, DM Roosevelt and Kyle Larson, WDM Valley; 135- Chris Avery, DM East; 140- Gabe Moreno, Urbandale; 171- Michael Moreno, Urbandale; 189- Matt Riley, DM Roosevelt and Evan Knight, Urbandale.

Top matchups:

112, Logjam alert: #10 Bryce Wernimont, Atlantic; #9 Johnny Jaeger, WDM Dowling; #8 Stephen Shaffer, Johnston and #6 Brandon Thomas, WDM Valley.

119, #8 Josh Perkins, Atlantic and #1 Brandon Jones, WDM Valley.

125, #1 John Meeks, DM Roosevelt and #2 Kyle Larson, WDM Valley.

189, #2 Matt Riley, DM Roosevelt and #3 Evan Knight, Urbandale.

215, Logjam alert: #6 Jim Swanson, Atlantic; #7 Grant Riesburg, WDM Dowling and #8 Jesse South, Johnston.

285, #10 Dakota Tennant, DM Roosevelt and #5 Joe Scanlan, Johnston.

 

At Knoxville:

Top Wrestlers: 112- Cory Clark, SE Polk; 135- Josh Griener, Ottumwa; 145- Cody Swim, Indianola; 160- Spencer Belieu, Indianola; 171- Trey Henderson, Indianola.

Top Matchups:  

130, #10 Vinnie Gomez, Indianola and #5 Dylan Blackford, Southeast Polk.

135, #2 Josh Greiner, Ottumwa and #8 Trent Brown, Oskaloosa.

145, #3 Cody Swim, Indianola and #4 Brett Sams, Oskaloosa.

189, Logjam alert: #4 Brandon Abernathy, Indianola; #6 A.J. Arrendell and #10 Joe Bell, Southeast Polk.

 

At Marshalltown:

Top Wrestlers: 119- Kirk Sallis, Waterloo East and Eric DeVos, Waverly-Shell Rock; 130- Jordan Rinken, Waverly-Shell Rock; 140- Jake Ballweg, Waverly-Shell Rock; 145- Cody Caldwell, Waverly-Shell Rock; 152- Michael Kelly, Cedar Falls; 160- Anthony Walther, Waverly-Shell Rock; 189- Kyven Gadsen, Waterloo East; 215- Cody Krumweide, Waverly-Shell Rock and Josh Lambrecht, CR Prairie.

Top Matchups:   

119, Logjam alert: #4 Jordan Jones, DM North/Hoover; #2 Kirk Sallis, Waterloo East and #3 Eric DeVos, Waverly-Shell Rock.

130, #4 Demetrious Taylor, Waterloo East and #1 Jordan Rinken, Waverly-Shell Rock.

135, #7 Brian Warren, DM North/Hoover and #5 Jake Rizzio, CR Prairie.

140, #6 Chase Eggers, Newton and #1 Jake Ballweg, Waverly-Shell Rock.

145, Logjam alert: #8 Gustavo Martinez, Marshalltown; #5 Zach Witte, CR Prairie and #1 Cody Caldwell, Waverly-Shell Rock.

152, #2 Michael Kelly, Cedar Falls and #5 Peyton Wagner, CR Prairie.

160, #9 Nick Vasey, DM North/Hoover and #3 Anthony Walther, Waverly-Shell Rock.

215, Logjam alert: #9 Doug Negrete, DM North/Hoover; #2 Josh Lambrecht, CR Prairie and #1 Cody Krumweide, Waverly-Shell Rock.

 

At North Scott:

Top Wrestlers: 103- Tyler Willers, Pleasant Valley; 112- Connor Ryan, North Scott; 125- Jimmy Gotto, Western Dubuque; 171- Walt Gillmor, North Scott; 215- Brock Haas, Dubuque Hempstead.

Top Matchups: 

103, #10 Jake Gotto, Western Dubuque and #3 Tyler Willers, Pleasant Valley.

112, #5 Bryce Lynn, Dubuque Senior and #2 Connor Ryan, North Scott.

125, #3 Jimmy Gotto, Western Dubuque and #4 Adam Perrin, North Scott.

215, #3 Brock Haas, Dubuque Hempstead and #10 Ben Nagle, North Scott.

As advertised, here are the potential matchups to look for in the 2A districts…

At Harlan:  103, Jimmy Scieszinski, Van Meter and Pryce Creighton, Dallas Center-Grimes.

112, Chase Flack, JSPC and Ryan Joint, West Central Valley.

130, Keegan Mumma, ADM and Jake Marlin, Creston.

135, Logjam alert: Will Stetzel, Perry; Kendall Davis, Van Meter and Anthony Hough, Harlan.

171, Logjam alert: Kane Seeley, Perry; Tyler Pullin, Dallas Center-Grimes and Seth Esaias, Red Oak.

189, Trevor Voelker, Dallas Center-Grimes and Jared Bevins, Creston/OM.

285, Zach Bauer, Dallas Center-Grimes and Matt Hoch, Harlan.

At Chariton:  130, Matt White, Albia and Dustin Harberts, Chariton.

145, Mitchell Hackett, Winterset and Jimmie Schuessler, North Polk.

171, Mike England, Centerville and Noah Pickard, North Polk.

At Lake Mills: 103, Doug Miner, Spirit Lake and Matt Bieber, Clear Lake.

119, Jacob Colon, Clear Lake and Cole Anderson, Forest City.

135, Skyler Rice, Emmetsburg and Trevor Hejhal, Osage.

145, Aaron Sorenson, Forest City and Jake Kopriva, Clear Lake.

189, Jake Morris, Emmetsburg and Dalton Schutjer, Charles City.

215, Logan Johnson, Algona and Patrick Hansen, Hampton-Dumont.

At Solon:  119, Brad McDermott, Davenport Assumption and Logan Thomsen, Union.

140, Nick Georgean, Davenport Assumption and J.J. Hanus, Solon.

160, Landon Williams, Davenport Assumption and Wil Hansen, Waterloo Columbus.

215, Sam Gervase, Davenport Assumption and James Morris, Solon.

At BCLUW:  119, Tyler Raygor, Webster City and Ryan Lutes, BCLUW.

130, Dakota Bauer, Ballard and Ben King, BCLUW.

140, Tanner Hiatt, Ballard and Blake Meling, East Marshall.

152, Tanner Weatherman, Ballard and Ryan Valline, East Marshall.

160, Kyle Lux, South Tama and Jase Schossow, East Marshall.

215, Cole Jackson, Gilbert and Devin Lemke, Iowa Falls.    

At Manchester:  103, Logjam alert: Dylan Peters, Denver-Tripoli; Austin Evens, Independence and Mitch Funk, MFL.

112, Gunnar Wolfensperger, Denver-Tripoli and Matt Paulus, New Hampton.

119, Brandon Sorenson, Denver-Tripoli and Jordan Roths, New Hampton.

145, Brett Yonkovic, West Delaware and Shane Havenstrite, North Fayette.

171, Trevor Pisney, Cresco and Alec Lang, New Hampton.

215, Ryan Fank, Independence and Charles Knipf, MFL.

285, Cameron Hayward, Independence and Adam Praska, Cresco.

At Washington:  112, Kalen Geiner, Sigourney-Keota and JC Vercande, Williamsburg.

At Cherokee:  119, Hunter Langley, Sgt. Bluff-Luton and Alex Rust, Central Lyon/GLR.

125, Logjam alert: Darius Dutcher, BCIG-OA; Eric Lindsey, Sgt. Bluff-Luton and Cole Zimbelman, Central Lyon/GLR.

152, Taylor Berger, Carroll and Cody Solari, Sgt. Bluff-Luton.

189, Chaps Wilke, BCIG-OA and Bruce McWilliams, Sheldon.

 

Now, trust me, these aren’t going to be the only great matchups, but these are the ranked wrestlers who could and should face each other.  There are also unranked returning place-winners and wrestlers coming back from injuries who will make an impact Saturday, as well.  As you can see, some weights have logjams of three wrestlers listed.  This means a ranked wrestler will be denied a trip to the State Tournament in those scenarios.  It always happens, and it is unavoidable.  We will also see if any of the unheralded upstarts can duplicate their magic from sectionals and advance through districts.

 

We will look at the 3A districts next.  Stay tuned.

Last night the field was set for the State Dual Tournament in both 1A and 2A.  The tourney will be in Cedar Rapids, February 27^th.  The 3A district champions and runner-up teams will meet on the 23^rd to decide the 3A bracket.  Here are the pairings with current dual team rank

1A

#1 Don Bosco vs. Clarion-Goldfield

#2 Logan-Magnolia vs. #9 Lisbon

#3 Nashua-Plainfield vs. #8 New London/WMU

#5 Eddyville-Blakesburg vs. #6 Coon Rapids-Bayard

2A

#1 Denver-Tripoli vs. Creston/OM

#2 Ballard vs. #8 Emmetsburg

#3 Davenport Assumption vs. #7 Clear Lake

#4 Dallas Center-Grimes vs. #6 East Marshall

 

As for Saturday, here is a small glimpse of some of the big possible matchups to look for at the 1A districts…

At Eddyville:  140, Robert Walker, Martensdale-St. Marys and Brett Roberts, Eddyville.  103, Phillip Laux, Pekin and Zakk Buch, Belle Plaine.

At Starmont:  112, Tyler Shulista, Alburnett and Brady Meyer, Sumner-Fredericksburg.

145, Justin Hoffman, East Buchanan and Tom Meirick, Turkey Valley.

171, Will Bird, East Buchanan and Matt Schmelzer, South Winneshiek.

At Guthrie Center:  112, Trevor Reiste, Panorama and Blair Kerkhoff, Audubon.

125, Kris Lehman, Guthrie Center and Jordan Johnson, I-35.

140, Cole Hopkins, Coon Rapids-Bayard and Dallas Houchins, I-35.

215, Logjam alert: Jon Meyers, Coon Rapids-Bayard; Christian Van Syoc, Griswold and Cade Lambson, Mount Ayr.

At Sioux Center:  125, Zach Ryan, Woodbury Central and Josh Kristiansen, Alta.

135, Steve Brockshus, Sibley-Ocheyedan and Tanner Taylor, Okoboji.

145, Michael Jensen, Graettinger-Terril and Wyatt Towne, H-M-S.

152, Russ Godbersen, M-M-C and Brett Flynn, H-M-S.

171, Jared McCoy, Woodbury Central and Colton Van’t Hof, Sioux Center.

189, Austin Sasse, West Sioux and Nate Howard, Graettinger-Terril.

215, Doug Schwaller, Okoboji and Josh Treybal, H-M-S.

285, Logjam alert: Matt Sefcik, Alta; Dustin Schwaller, Okoboji and Brendan Terwee, West Lyon.

At Clarion-Goldfield:  103, Brance Simms, Twin River Valley and Lance Maguire, Fort Dodge St. Edmond.

189, Bryce Olson, Eagle Grove and Bryan Martin, South Hamilton.

At Missouri Valley:  119, Logjam alert: Brennan McNitt, Council Bluffs St. Albert; Walker Marshall, Missouri Valley and Brandon Chesnut, West Monona.

160, Jason Frain, Riverside and Gabe Fell, A-H-S-T.

171, Quinn Wilson, Riverside and Alex Maule, West Monona.

285, Caleb White, Tri-Center and Jacob LeClair, West Monona.

At Aplington-Parkersburg:  103, Logjam alert: Tyler Bartels, Riceville; Drew Mangrich, Don Bosco and Ryan Hall, Jesup.

112, Garrett Bellinger, Nashua-Plainfield and Beau Westphal, Jesup.

130, Derric Thomas, Mason City Newman and Austin DeMuth, Don Bosco.

135, Cole Welter, Don Bosco and Ben Huber, Hudson.

145, Matthew Dettmer, Nashua-Plainfield and Clay Welter, Don Bosco.

160, Tevin Brinson, Mason City Newman and Austin Even, Jesup.

189, Andrew Nodtvedt, Central Springs and Taylor Kettman, Don Bosco.

215, Jordan Simon, Aplington-Parkersburg and Tony Becker, Don Bosco.

At Durant-Bennett:  112, Kody Krenz, Louisa-Muscatine and Sawyer Farris, New London/WMU.

125, Jake Kadel, New London/WMU and Alex Wright, Durant.

130, Gage Curry, Louisa-Muscatine and Drew Proctor, Tipton.

160, Dylan Schrader, Wapello and Jayson Madson, West Branch.

 

Later today we will list the potential matchups in 2A to look for.  

We’re going to take a slight break from the football decade posts during the next couple of weeks.  With the State Wrestling Tournament lurking, we want to touch on some of the action and the stories concerning the teams and individuals involved in this great time of the year.  Our high school wrestling in Iowa is as good as it gets, and our postseason is as exciting as the sport offers.  So, while I love writing about the football records, please allow me the chance to bring you some of our thoughts and observations about the action in all three classes of sectional, district and State Tournament competition.  The first thing you are going to need is a copy of the high school rankings.  Class 1A and 2A are final, and they are posted on thepredicament.com as always.  Class 3A will be posted later this week, probably sometime Thursday.  The IHSAA website has the locations for all sectionals and the district sites they combine to form. Now, while 3A teams were wrapping up conference tourneys or make-up duals, the 1A and 2A kids were wrestling in sectionals all over the state.  Each class had 16 sectionals, and the top two wrestlers at each of the 14 weight classes advanced to this weekend’s district tournaments.  That’s 448 wrestlers per class, 56 at each of the eight districts this Saturday per class.  That means there are only 896 wrestlers left in 1A and 2A.  The top two at each weight class will advance from districts to the State Tournament, forming a 16-man bracket for each weight.  That will leave the total number of wrestlers left at 448 in 1A and 2A.  In 3A, there will be eight districts with full teams competing Saturday, much like the 1A and 2A sectionals, but the top two place-winners at each weight advance straight to the State Tournament.  There aren’t enough 3A teams to hold sectionals, so they just bypass them altogether.  After districts are completed, there will be 224 3A wrestlers left to join the remaining 1A and 2A state qualifiers.  So 672 kids will make it to Wells Fargo for State, all wanting to reach the top stand…42 of them will do just that on February 20th.  Until that happens, we will try to be here for you.  As always, the Predicament is the first source for all things wrestling here in Iowa.  The magazine and the website are musts for high school wrestling fans.  I will touch on things, but they will cover it completely.  The IHSAA website will have all the updated info Sunday morning as far as district results, and when the State brackets are final, they will be posted there.  During the tournament, updated brackets are posted after each round is complete in each class.  So there are the basics, now let’s look back at the sectionals…

Here is a quick look at some numbers:

Returning State place-winners alive in 1A: 50 2A: 65 3A: 64

1A breakdown: 28 seniors, 13 juniors & 9 sophomores

2A breakdown: 35 seniors, 22 juniors & 8 sophomores

3A breakdown: 33 seniors, 20 juniors & 11 sophomores

Former State Champions alive in 1A: 6 2A: 9 3A: 11

Two-time State Champions alive in 1A: 3 2A: 1 3A: 3

Three-time State Champions alive in 3A: 1

Undefeated wrestlers still alive in 1A: 10 2A: 18

Returning place-winners not advancing from sectionals:  1A: 2 2A: 6

Returning place-winners competing in a different class than last year:  1A: 3 2A: 6 3A: 1

Returning place-winners competing for a different school than last year: 8

Ranked wrestlers not advancing from sectionals:  1A: 6 2A: 6

Most wrestlers advancing to districts in 1A: Don Bosco, 14 2A: Creston/OM 12

Tidbits:

In 1A, one #1 ranked wrestler lost in the sectional.  Senior Zakk Buch of Belle Plaine lost to Phillip Laux, a sophomore from Pekin.  Buch finished second and advanced to districts.  Buch placed 2^nd @ 103 in the State Tournament last year.  At 112, 2^nd ranked Sawyer Farris of New London lost to #3 Kody Krenz of Louisa-Muscatine, but finished second to advance.  Farris won the 103 title last year as a freshman.  At 285, #2 Dustin Schwaller of Okoboji lost to #7 Matt Sefcik of Alta, but finished second to advance.  In 2A, one #1 ranked wrestler also lost in the sectional, however, he did not advance.  Defending State Champion Alex Spooner, a senior, was one of three ranked wrestlers forced out of the sectionals with injuries from Forest City.  125lb Tyler Harmon and 140lb Tim Brock were both ranked 7^th in their weight class, but did not advance to the district meet.  They are both juniors.  Spooner was undefeated @103 last year, and placed 5^th his sophomore season @103.  #2 Pryce Creighton of DC-G lost to #3 Jimmy Scieszinski of Van Meter @103, but finished 2^nd to advance, and at 215, #2 Marcus Streit of Harlan lost to unranked Collin Bevins of Creston/OM.  Streit finished second and advanced.  11 ranked wrestlers in 1A and 2A lost to unranked wrestlers but still managed to finish second and advance to districts.  Part of the excitement of sectionals and districts is watching the unknown kids pop out of ‘nowhere’ and surprise the field.  Underdogs at State are always a great story, but until we get there, here’s a rundown of the proven studs at the top of the heap…

1A: Derric Thomas, SR Mason City Newman, 24-2.  #1 @130.  Three-time finalist, two-time defending champion.

Cole Welter, SR Don Bosco, 37-0.  #1 @135.  Two-time champion with a 5^th place finish sandwiched in between.

Dmitri Boyer, SR Eddyville-Blakesburg, 42-1.  #1 @152.  48-0 champion last year @145, two 4^th place finishes also.

Clay Welter, SR Don Bosco, 19-3.  #1 @145.  Two-time defending champion @152, 145.

Christopher Halblom, JR Alburnett, 40-0.  #1 @119.  Defending undefeated champion @112 and a runner-up in 2A as a freshman with Center Point-Urbana @103.  Only 4 losses total.

Brandon Welter, JR Don Bosco, 34-3.  #3 @125.  Two-time finalist with 110+ wins.

Jake Kadel, JR New London, 41-0.  #1 @125.  Two 3^rd place finishes with 120+ wins.

Sawyer Farris, SO New London, 38-3.  #2 @112.  State Champ as freshman.

2A: Tanner Schmidt, SR Charles City, 27-5.  #5 @130.  4^th @112 last year and 5^th as a freshman wrestling in 3A, with a 36-2 record and a title @103 as a sophomore.

Levi Wolfensperger, SR Denver-Tripoli, 43-0.  #1 @125.  Three-time finalist and champion last year @119 with 50+ wins.  Only 4 losses total.  180+ wins total.

Seth Noble, SR Columbus Junction, 39-0.  #2 @140.  Two-time finalist with a title as a sophomore @135 and a 5^th place finish as a freshman.  170+ wins, only 6 losses.

Blake Sorenson, SR Denver-Tripoli, 42-2.  #2 @152.  Finalist as a freshman, 3^rd and 4^th the last two seasons.  160+ wins against only 7 losses.

Ethan Moorman, SR Centerville, 43-4.  #2 @160.  Last year’s champ @160 and a 7^th place finish @152 as a sophomore. 

Brock Weatherman, SR Ballard, 34-1.  #1 @171.  Two-time defending champion @171.  Only three losses the last three seasons.

Mike England, SR Centerville, 46-1.  #2 @171.  Placed 4^th, 3^rd and then 2^nd at 140, 145 and 171.  165+ wins.

Sam Upah, SR East Marshall, 38-1.  #1 @189.  Placed 4^th, 2^nd and then 3^rd at 171.  170+ wins.

Tyler Patton, JR Webster City, 32-2.  #4 @125.  Two 3^rd place finishes

Skyler Rice, JR Emmetsburg, 29-4.  #3 @135.  Placed 3^rd and 4^th for Manson with 99 wins before transferring to Emmetsburg.

Tanner Weatherman, JR Ballard, 37-0.  #1 @152.  Two-time finalist and champion @135 last year.  120+ wins in three seasons.

Tanner Hiatt, JR Ballard, 37-0.  #1 @140.  Two-time finalist with undefeated title @140 last season.  120+ wins and only five losses in three seasons.

Austin Blythe, JR Williamsburg, 45-3.  #3 @285.  Two-time finalist and last year’s champion.  Has wrestled 285 all three seasons, winning 130 matches.

Dakota Bauer, SO Ballard, 29-1.  #3 @130.  44-2 champion @112 last year.

Dylan Peters, SO Denver-Tripoli, 43-0.  #1 @103.  40-1 as a freshman, losing only to Alex Spooner in the 103 final.

That’s enough for now.  We’ll worry about 3A after the districts, when we revamp our info heading into the State Tournament.  Get out to a district meet and enjoy the action this Saturday.  OBTW, most of the 1A and 2A regional duals have been moved to Wednesday night because of the weather.                      

To finish our look back at the state wrestling tournament, we focus on the big schools today.  The 3-A portion of the show was fantastic as always, with great storylines and classic matchups in every round.  There were a few surprises and no shortage of intense action.  Let’s break it down with a glance at each weight class.

103- Going into the tournament, thoughts of a possible showdown between #2 Kory Kistner and #1 Cory Clark looked like an intriguing final.  The bracket played out for a quarterfinal matchup, but an unfortunate injury in the first round caused Kistner, the Sioux City East senior, to forfeit his remaining matches, knocking him out of the tournament.  Their meeting never materialized, but SE Polk’s Clark went on to easily claim the title and remain undefeated in his freshman campaign.  He notched two falls and then a 5-0 decision over #3 Connor Ryan of North Scott in the final.  Ryan, a freshman, finished with a 36-2 record with both losses coming at the hands of the talented Ram.  Clark had an outstanding year and wrestled far above his competition in going 43-0.  He was one of the most enjoyable wrestlers to watch in the entire tournament.

112- This bracket featured a returning champion in sophomore Adam Perrin of North Scott, who won it all last year @103, and four other returning place-winners.  It looked like highly-touted Waverly-Shell Rock freshman Eric DeVos was on track for the title after getting by the #10, #4 and #2 ranked wrestlers to reach the finals.  He knocked out Perrin in the semis and faced WDM Valley junior Brandon Jones for the title.  Jones was coming off of two great matches with #7 Drake Chase of Clinton and Bryce Lynn of Dubuque Senior in the semis.  Jones carried his momentum into the final and won a hard fought OT match, 3-1 for the gold, stunning DeVos and the WSR fans.  A first round loss to Lynn by DSM East senior #5 Johnny Coleman almost cost him his chance to become the Scarlet’s first three-time place-winner, but he fought back and hung on to place 8^th and secure his place in the record book at East.

119- This bracket opened up with a first round matchup between #1 and #2.  John Meeks, a 35-0 freshman from DSM Roosevelt, and Nick Sand, Waterloo West’s 36-2 senior got things started off with a showcase showdown, won easily by the #1 ranked Roughrider, 9-1.  Meeks then fought on all the way to the finals, where he would face Waverly-Shell Rock sophomore #3 Jordan Rinken, who had two falls and a 10-0 major decision to his credit already.  Unfazed, Meeks controlled Rinken, who placed 4^th @103 last year, and escaped with a 5-3 victory for the title.  A 3-for-3 start for the CIML.

125- Returning place-winners Cody Caldwell and Dominic Chase really were the cream of this crop, so it was no surprise to find them facing each other in the finals.  #1 Caldwell of Waverly-Shell Rock plowed his way to the final, losing only once all season while wrestling through an injury that could have easily sidelined him for the season.  #2 Chase of Clinton found little resistance on his way to a 23-2 record and a berth in the championship match.  Unfortunately for Chase, Caldwell let loose for a 9-1 whipping, and raised his hand as the victor.  Go-Hawk head coach Rick Caldwell then had the unique opportunity to award the gold medal to his son on the top stand.

130- For CIML fans, this weight division was top-notch with #3 Cody Swim of Indianola, #4 Ben Cash of DSM Roosevelt and #5 Gabe Moreno of Urbandale in the mix.  However, none of them got through #1 Tommy Mirocha of Davenport Central and #2 Bret Baumbach of CB Lewis.  The two seniors met in the finals after Mirocha downed Cash in the semis, and Baumbach took care of Moreno.  In the quarters, Baumbach also sent Swim to the consolation bracket, winning a tough match with the Indian junior.  The final was one of my favorite matchups of the tournament.  These two had different styles, but provided a classic battle that ended in a narrow 3-2 win for Baumbach.  Both are four-time place-winners, and Baumbach ended up a three-time finalist.

135- It’s tough to figure out how Jake Ballweg stays out of the limelight.  The Waverly-Shell Rock junior came into the tournament ranked #1 at 41-3.  He is a defending champion, winning the 119 title last year, and a two-time finalist for the Go-Hawks, the defending team champion.  Yet, there was no buzz surrounding him to speak of.  So, all he did was cruise to the title with a major decision, 11-0 victory over Cedar Rapids Prairie freshman Zach Witte, who surprised everyone by reaching the final unranked.  Witte defeated #10 Bill Borseth of SE Polk in the semis and looked great in reaching the finals.  However, Ballweg proved to be way too much for the Hawk, and joined his brothers Mark and Matt as two-time champions.  Just, with less fanfare for some reason.

140- This was a great bracket for the CIML with four in the quarters and two in the semis, and DSM Roosevelt junior #5 Blake Meeks advancing to the final.  Meeks was one of five returning place-winners, and looked great.  But he would fall victim to Iowa City West senior #1 Dylan Carew in the final match, a 12-3 major decision by the former, and now once again champion.  Carew finishes as a four-time place winner in convincing fashion, after recording two falls and a tech fall prior to his major victory in the finals.      

145- Another #1 vs. #2 showdown here, as Chad Lowman and Michael Kelly met in the finals as the only returning place-winners at the weight.  #1 Lowman of DSM Roosevelt placed 3^rd the last two years, and reached the title match by running his record to 39-0.  #2 Kelly of Cedar Falls finished 4^th last year, and ran his record to 35-2 by downing Lowman in a somewhat surprisingly easy 7-1 bout.  Only a junior, Kelly will get a chance to defend his title for the Tigers next year.

152- Nick Moore’s brother Nate was a four-time finalist for Iowa City West, so the bar was set pretty high in the household.  Nick is doing a good job of trying to upstage his older sibling, who brought home gold his last two years in high school.  Now a junior, Nick captured his third title in as many tries by hanging on to win a nail-biter over Urbandale senior #8 Josiah South, 2-1.  The top-ranked man at 152, Moore got past the #2 and #3 ranked wrestlers to earn his shot at title number three.  Next year, Moore will no doubt get a taste of what Bart Reiter faced this season, as he will try to become the next member of the four-timer’s club.  Unless he decides to go out for basketball for a new challenge, of course.

160- Well, here we are.  Almost every tournament has an epicenter.  Sometimes it is obvious before the start, sometimes there has to be a major tremor for it to become apparent.  With Bart Reiter heading for his fourth title, the focus may have been on him, and deservedly so.  But the rumblings of that “match that everyone has their sights set on” started early and reached a crescendo in the semifinals when Derek St. John of Iowa City West and John Nicholson of DSM Roosevelt met.  A few quick notes:  St. John’s resume included two straight titles and a 3^rd place finish as a freshman.  A number one ranking and a 42-0 record that found him ranked #1 overall nationally at 160.  A recent fourth Mississippi Valley Conference title, just the fifth wrestler to achieve the feat.  Needless to say, St. John was considered the man, and rightfully so.  On the flip side, Nicholson himself was a defending champion, and had finished 3^rd the year before that.  He was ranked #2 and had a 33-2 record on the year.  His brother James had become the first Roughrider to win a state title, and his goal was to become the first Roughrider to repeat.  As is the case so many times in the state tournament, this type of match doesn’t always materialize in the finals, but being one round early did nothing to diminish the significance or the excitement.  Nicholson, unfazed by the overwhelming sentiment that no one could beat St. John, aggressively attacked the Trojan star, taking him down three times and totally controlling the match to pull out a 7-3 upset and a berth in the finals.  It was “shocking”, but when you consider the type of wrestler Nicholson is and what he has accomplished, he is the perfect example of what is possible.  What would have been a bigger shock was Nicholson losing the final after that statement semifinal match.  It is fitting that the Nicholson/Moreno saga followed that big semifinal.  They have had an amazing rivalry and have wrestled some classic matches.  This one would be no different.  Moreno, the Urbandale junior had raised his record to 36-3 to reach the finals and looked very good in getting there.  A rematch of the 152 final from last year, this one did not disappoint.  A narrow 3-2 win propelled Nicholson to the gold medal, a tremendous finish to an outstanding tournament and a brilliant career.  Whew! What a bracket.

171- The top five ranked wrestlers here also happened to be the only returning place-winners, and the #1 and #2 guys were both undefeated coming in.  Kyven Gadson, a junior from Waterloo East held the top ranking and a 34-0 record when he began on his path to the finals.  Placing 2^nd @145 last year was impressive, but jumping up so far in weight and still getting to the finals was even more astounding.  Jason McCormick of CR Jefferson would be his opponent after the senior defeated the #3 and #5 ranked competitors on his way to the title bout.  After a tough 3-2 decision, Gadson was the undefeated champion for the Trojans.

189- This was a brutally competitive weight class as it was, but when DSM Roosevelt’s junior Matt Riley, ranked #4 @215 dropped down and beat Urbandale’s #1 ranked Evan Knight, a returning champion, in districts, it got a lot more interesting.  Also, six of the eight quarterfinalists, and all four of the semifinalists were from the CIML.  #4 Brian Johnson of SE Polk went up against Riley, while Knight battled #2 Brandon Abernathy of Indianola in the semis to determine who would advance to Saturday’s final.  Riley majored Johnson, and Knight disposed of Abernathy 10-5 to set up the rematch.  This time, Knight had better luck with the Roughrider, winning 7-3 to repeat as a champion.  Knight has reached the finals all three years for Urbandale so far.

215- The bracket may have lost #4 Riley to the 189lb class, but there was plenty of talent remaining.  44-0 Cody Krumwiede of Waverly-Shell Rock led the way, looking to improve on his 6^th place finish last year as a freshman.  The #1 ranked Go-Hawk has been tabbed as the #1 sophomore in the country at his weight, and had little resistance on his way to the final match.  His semifinal match with Johnston’s #6 Adam Badgley was a 3-0 win, coming after a pair of falls in the first two rounds of action.  Meanwhile SE Polk senior #2 Ethan Bass was busy downing the #9 and #7 ranked wrestlers on his way to reaching the finals.  Bass scored two falls and a major decision on his way to running his record to 41-2.  In the championship, Krumwiede kept Bass locked down and prevailed 6-2 to earn top honors with a 48-0 record.  Bass finished his career as a four-time place-winner and the Rams’ all-time wins leader.

285- The biggest boys from the biggest schools put on quite a show.  Upsets were the norm in a mixed up bracket right from the start.  Unranked Johntrell Humphrey lost 12 matches on the year, but it didn’t stop him from knocking off 34-1 senior Kevin Harp of Iowa City High, ranked #6, in the first match of the division.  That was a sign of things to come, as #5 Colin White of Glenwood upended #3 Tyler Thompson of Norwalk and #7 Brodie Berrie of Bettendorf downed #1 and unbeaten Tray Pendelton of Waterloo East in quarterfinal action.  White was then upset himself, by #10 Brandon Burrell of CR Washington in the semis.  Burrell had seven losses coming into the tournament.  #2 Jake Crawford of SE Polk remained undefeated, slipping by Berrie in the other semifinal to set up the championship match.  Burrell rode the magic of the upset once again, and after thwarting numerous shot attempts by Crawford, he forced, and eventually survived deep into, overtime.  With an escape, he managed to win 3-2.  Crawford finished his senior year with a 42-1 record.  That was the final match of the 2009 tournament.  The team race went to Waverly-Shell Rock with 146.5 points, meaning all three classes had repeat winners, something that somehow had managed never to happen before.  This class was a tighter race, with four teams scoring over 100 points.  Second place went to Iowa City West with 138.5 points.  West graduates a lot of team points, but as always, expect their young talent to step up next year.  Third place DSM Roosevelt made things interesting, to say the least.  They scored 122.5 points with seven qualifiers and had five finalists, crowning two champions.  All of this just three years after crowning their first champion ever.  The program has really risen to new heights.  Southeast Polk placed fourth with 109 points.  The Rams also qualified seven this year, placing all of them and landing three in the finals with one champion.  They lose a tremendous senior class, but the underclassmen are eager to step up.

     Well, there you have it.  Another great tournament in the books.  I’m sad as always to see it end, but it sure was fun to witness.  Don’t forget, all three classes are in Cedar Rapids Saturday for the State Duals Tournament.  One last chance to see these guys in action.                          

Keeping with yesterday’s theme, here is a look at the 2-A portion of the state wrestling tournament, otherwise known as the Ballard Invitational. 

103- This bracket belonged to #1 Alex Spooner of Forest City.  The junior placed 5^th last year, and went 32-0 on his way to the title this season.  A very impressive 8-4 victory over #2 Dylan Peters of Denver-Tripoli, a freshman who was 40-0, nailed down a solid run for Spooner.  Peters was outstanding as well.  Both will no doubt be in the hunt next year as well.

112- Another battle of the top-ranked guys, with #1 Dakota Bauer of Ballard facing #2 Jacob Colon of Clear Lake.  The freshman Bauer improved to 44-2 with a thrilling 8-7 decision over the Lions’ sophomore, who fell to 42-3.  Bauer got by the #8 and #7 ranked wrestlers as well.  Colon looked poised for the title after downing the #6, #3 and #4 ranked wrestlers here, the last win being over Tanner Schmidt of Charles City, the 103 champion from last year.  Only a great effort from Bauer stopped him.

119- We all know the old saying…”Never say never!”  Well, from the outset of the tournament, it looked like one thing was for sure, and that was Levi Wolfensperger was not going to be denied.  The Denver-Tripoli junior only lost to #1 Joe Colon @125 this year while winning 47 matches.  Chalk up four more for the three-time finalist, as he defeated another Ballard wrestler, freshman Willie Miklus, 18-7 in the final match.  Wolfensperger left little doubt, cruising to the title and dominating the field.

125- Speaking of Joe Colon, the Clear Lake senior saved his best for last, knocking out undefeated #3 Jake Keller of Columbus Junction in the semis, and taking out last year’s 119 champion, Tyler Grask of Ballard in the final match, 4-1.  Grask was no match for the #1 Colon, who returned to the top stand undefeated at 43-0, adding to his 2007 title @103.  He also placed 3^rd last year @112 and has only lost once since his freshman year.

130- Right out of the gate, Nathan Vaske of West Delaware was in for a fight.  The #5 senior started his tournament run with a matchup against #3 Dylan Rusher of Roland-Story.  Rusher had just lost in the district final to #1 Tucker Weber of Clear Lake, his first setback of the season.  Vaske gave him a two match losing streak and moved on to down #9 Brent Blaser of Osage and #7 Logan Mathes of South Tama to reach the final against none other than the aforementioned Weber.  Both wrestlers were already three-time place-winners, and Vaske claimed the coveted first place medal, winning 7-2.

135- Six returning place-winners in this bracket had legitimate title aspirations, but sophomore Tanner Weatherman of Ballard turned out to be the top dog.  A finalist last year @125, #1 Weatherman pinned #5 Chris Alber of Independence in the final for the gold.  Derrick Miner of Spirit Lake Park and Matt Mullikin of Sigourney-Keota both finished their high school careers as three-time place-winners, with #2 Miner placing 4^th and #6 Mullikin placing 5^th.

140- This was a fantastic weight class with a wild finish.  The final pitted #1 vs. #2 and both were undefeated.  Seth Noble of Columbus Junction, a junior, and Tanner Hiatt of Ballard, a sophomore, put on a show in a great final match.  #1 Noble was the undefeated champion last year @135, where he was also 5^th as a freshman.  #2 Hiatt placed 2^nd @130 last year.  Noble beat #10 Jake Kopriva of Clear Lake, #4 Cody Solari of Sergeant Bluff-Luton, who was 52-0, and #7 Oz Wolfensperger of Denver-Tripoli to get back to the finals.  He had control of Hiatt and a 4-2 lead and was 7 seconds away from being a repeat champion when he loosened his hold for a split second, allowing Hiatt to escape, making it 4-3.  As Noble backed away to run out the clock, he lost his footing and stumbled to the edge of the mat, falling on his behind.  Hiatt lunged forward, collecting both of Noble’s legs for a takedown as time expired, giving him a miraculous 5-4 win.  Noble was stunned and Hiatt became a 47-0 champion.  What an amazing finish.

145- Back to the “Never say never!” analogy.  If Levi Wolfensperger was a lock @119, then surely his teammate #1 Blake Sorensen was money @145.  At 47-0, the Titan junior seemingly just had to get by #3 Ryan Hand in their first round matchup and he would be on his way to an easy title.  Hand upset Sorensen, who would have to settle for 3^rd place, his third time as a place-winner.  Hand rode that momentum to the final where he met up with #4 Matt Mougin of Columbus Junction.  Mougin defeated Hand in the district final, and repeated that with a 5-4 victory to earn top honors.

152- Trent Weatherman of Ballard is arguably the best wrestler Ballard has ever had.  His 19-4 tech fall over #7 Ted Kruger of Sibley-Ocheyedan in the final made him a back-to-back undefeated champion, and a four-time finalist for the Bombers.  If you are the best at Ballard, that is really saying something, but Weatherman has deserved any and all praise he has earned on the mat.  Just an outstanding competitor with all the tools a high school wrestler could ever need.  Wow.

160- Ethan Moorman of Centerville turned a nice career into a great one with a stellar performance at state this year.  Only a junior, the #5 Moorman was 38-4 and coming off a loss to #1 T.J. Hiatt of Ballard in their district final match, when he started his impressive run.  He beat #9 Ryan Valline of East Marshall to start it off, followed that win with a fall against #7 Seth Esaias of Red Oak and then dropped #2 Andrew Rodas of MFL in a 10-9 squeeker to reach the finals.  Waiting for him was Hiatt and a shot at revenge.  Moorman was up to the task, beating Hiatt 3-1 to win it all for the Big Red.

171- Ballard fans didn’t have to wait long to have something to cheer about after Hiatt’s upset loss.  #1 Brock Weatherman made it to the finals to defend his title @171 by fighting through the #3 and #5 ranked wrestlers to take on #4 Mike England of Centerville, a two-time place-winner who, like teammate Moorman, lost to a #1 ranked Ballard wrestler in their district final meeting and wanted revenge in the state final.  This time, the Bombers came out on top, as Weatherman, a junior, survived a tough 3-2 battle with the Big Red junior.  England beat the #9, #2 and #7 ranked wrestlers to earn a shot at the crown, but Weatherman denied him.  Brock will no doubt join his cousin Trent near the top of the list of great Ballard wrestlers.

189- This weight class had its share of solid wrestlers.  Five returning place-winners were in the mix, but when it was all finished, only #2 Carl Broghammer of West Delaware was left standing.  The 36-1 senior upended the #8, #10 and #3 ranked wrestlers to land a spot in the final against #4 Tomas Lira, a senior from West Liberty who dumped the #9, #1 and #6 ranked competitors on his way to the championship match.  Lira’s quarterfinal victory over #1 Trevor Voelker of Dallas Center-Grimes was a highlight match of the bracket.  In the final though, Broghammer outlasted the crowd favorite Lira 8-5 to give West Delaware their second champion of the tournament.

215- Much like Alex Burkle at this weight in 1-A, a wrestler here appeared locked in and on target every step of the way.  That would be #2 Bryant Hummel of Clarinda.  He easily disposed of #1 Pat Kolker in the quarters before pinning #3 James Morris of Solon in the semis, thus launching him into the finals.  Waiting there for him was yet another Ballard product, #4 Chris Schaudt, a senior.  Schaudt had just passed a stern test from #7 Drew Sheeder of Davenport Assumption to earn his spot in the championship match, and he kept it close, but couldn’t stop Hummel.  The Clarinda senior finished 51-1 and left little doubt who was the class of the bracket.  Solon junior James Morris, an ICS favorite, finished 39-2, placing fourth for the Spartans.  When does football start?

285- Austin Blythe of Williamsburg made it all the way to the 285 finals last year as a freshman.  Second place @285 for a freshman is an amazing accomplishment, but Blythe wanted more.  He would have to face a rough path to get back this year.  The #1 ranked Raider got by unranked Nick Trencamp, a tough senior from West Delaware who ended up placing eighth, in the first round, followed by wins over the #3 and #6 ranked wrestlers to land a spot in the finals.  There, he would face #5 Javier Rendon, a senior from West Liberty who had survived a rough battle with #4 Kasey Juhl of Atlantic in the semis.  Blythe took control from the beginning, and ended up pinning Rendon with 10 seconds left in the first period, putting a quick, clean end to the 2-A tournament, much like Kober did in 1-A.

     2-A was a lot of fun to watch.  I suppose it was outstanding for Ballard fans.  The Bombers qualified 11 and placed 9 of them, with 5 champions.  Along the way, they easily defended their team title from a year ago, racking up 220 points, just short of beating the next three teams combined.  Denver-Tripoli did an amazing job of getting past Clear Lake for a second place team finish, yet they were a staggering 131-1/2 points behind the Bombers.  More of the same next year, or maybe a new team champion?  We’ll have to wait and see.            

I would much rather dissect the state wrestling tournament from A to Z, but time constraints of that pesky daytime job are limiting me.  I will, however offer up this mini-overview of the final results based on what I saw at Wells Fargo last week.  It was, as always, a spectacular event.  There was an extremely high amount of top talent on hand this year, and a very narrow margin between most 8^th place finishers and the occupants of each step up to the top stand.  There were a bevy of great matches, upsets, screams of joy and tears of pain.  That is why our state tournament is as good as any other could hope to be.  Looking at 1-A, here is a brief glance at the champions of each weight.

103- On mat #3 at the outset of the 1-A tournament, a New London assistant coach told freshman Sawyer Farris, “Let’s get this thing going.  You’re the best one out here.  It’s time to prove it.”  That little pep talk must have done the trick.  Along the way to his title, Farris defeated the #8, #1 and #6 ranked wrestlers.  He had a tough overtime match with Zach Buch of Belle Plaine in the final, but raised his hand with a 4-2 win and left with a 47-2 record.

112- Four returning place-winners guaranteed us this would be good.  In the end, it came down to a pair of sophomores who both placed 2^nd last year.  Brandon Welter of Don Bosco finished 2^nd @103, while Christopher Halblom of Alburnett placed 2^nd @103 in 2-A, wrestling for Center Point-Urbana last year.  Halblom would reign supreme in 2009, winning a close 3-2 match to run his record on the year to 39-0.  He downed the #5, #7 and #10 ranked wrestlers on his way to the bout with #3 Welter, who he beat in the sectional and district meets to get to Des Moines.

119- This weight saw six returning place-winners among the 16 fighting for top honors.  None were equal to the task of bringing down Mason City Newman junior Derric Thomas.  This might be the most under-hyped wrestler of the whole tournament.  Thomas is a two-time finalist who won it all last year @112.  He came in with a 27-1 record and beat the #7, #4 and #2 ranked wrestlers to take home the crown.  He defeated two unbeaten opponents and survived a 6-4 dual with Ben McMahon of Don Bosco to repeat as a champion.  Yet I do not remember anyone I spoke with talking about him at all from Wednesday on.

125- Again, six returning place-winners resided in this bracket.  In the opening round, last year’s champion, #1 Jake Demmon of Eddyville-Blakesburg locked horns with #2  Cole Welter of Don Bosco, himself a champion in 2007.  Welter advanced, and it catapulted the junior to the title.  He proceeded to take down the #6, #3 and #4 ranked wrestlers on his way.  His title bout with sophomore Nolan Oviatt of Logan-Magnolia was a no-brainer 7-0 victory.

130- Seven returning place-winners and last year’s 103 champion (Klint Stapes, SR, I-35) were included here.  In the end, it was all Drew Hinschberger, the senior from Belle Plaine.  He defeated Seth Epling, a senior from Woodbury Central,  9-4 to raise his record to 46-1 on the year.  He finishes his career after the State Duals in Cedar Rapids this Saturday as the Plainsmen’s all-time wins leader and a 3-time place-winner.  *Hometown team note: Congratulations to Pleasantville senior David Ginger who finished 4^th.

135- Not much to say here that hasn’t already been documented.  Bart Reiter of Don Bosco became the 18^th member of Iowa’s greatest wrestling fraternity when he joined his brother Mack in the four-timers group.  Undefeated and undaunted, he easily cruised to his fourth title by getting past what I guess could be considered his closest nemesis, Cameron Wagner of Belle Plaine in typical fashion, 7-1.  Wagner had a fine career, placing three times at state, but you just can’t pay the bills when you’re in Reiter’s bracket.  I don’t know where he ranks among those 18, but he has had a brilliant career and was fun to witness.  He will move on to wrestle for Minnesota next year, but he will be in the Iowa record books forever.

140- Colton Wagner of Belle Plaine ranks right behind Hinschberger in career wins, and he joined his teammate as a champion by beating Levi Peters of Twin River Valley, Bode in the final match.  Colton is now a 4-time place-winner who never placed lower than 4^th.  He downed the #10, #1, #8 and #4 ranked wrestlers on his path to a 44-1 record and the title @140.  Quietly effective, Wagner was without a doubt one of the very best wrestlers in 1-A overall this year.

145- Dmitri Boyer of Eddyville-Blakesburg rode the #1 ranking all the way to the top stand as an undefeated champion in his junior year, matching what teammate Jake Demmon accomplished last year.  Boyer majored #6 Joseph Atwell of Panorama in the final match 12-3 after getting past the #7 and #2 ranked wrestlers at the weight.  Atwell was entertaining and was trying to become the Panthers’ first champion.  Hopefully, his style and achievements rubbed off on the underclassmen of Panorama.

152- #1 Clay Welter of Don Bosco came into the tournament as a defending champion with a 30-1 record.  He will now have two titles to defend in his senior year after beating #5 Andrew Anthofer, a senior from Coon-Rapids-Bayard, 5-2 in the final.  Clay beat the #7 and #2 ranked wrestlers to meet Anthofer in the championship.  He got by the only undefeated competitor at this weight, 47-0 Ethan Hess of Bedford/Lenox.

160- It looked like we were heading for a Central Iowa showdown between James Houchins of I-35 and Blake Faucher of Guthrie Center, only Joe Sievert wasn’t willing to conform to the script.  The senior from Akron-Westfield downed #1 Houchins in the semis, and then beat #5 Faucher 14-9 to claim the title, finishing at 42-1 on the year.  Houchins wrestled back to become a four-time place-winner, finishing 4^th, 5^th, 2^nd and 3^rd for the Roadrunners.  Faucher, a junior, finished at 48-4 on the season.

171- Sometimes, #2 beats #1.  That was the case here, as #2 Nate Tool, a senior from Twin River Valley, Bode gutted out a tough, 5-3 OT victory over #1 Taylor Kettman, a junior from Don Bosco to claim gold.  His path to the top stand was blocked by toughness the whole way.  First, Tool got by #9 Jeff Gacke of Central Lyon.  Then, in the quarters, he had to beat #6 Kyle Soderbloom, an undefeated sophomore from Lynnville-Sully.  In the semis, he topped #4 Marc Benning of Nashua-Plainfield in a dogfight with the 42-1 senior.  Finally, he knocked off the top-ranked Kettman in a nail-biter.  One of the most deserved medals in the whole tournament went to Tool.

189- Jake Thome of Don Bosco garnered top honors here, becoming the Dons’ 4^th champion of the tournament.  The #4 ranked senior is now 39-0 after beating the #6, #2 and #1 ranked guys at his weight.  In the final, Thome met up with #1 Scott Eben of Central Lyon, a senior who finished runner-up last year and 5^th as a sophomore.  Thome outlasted Eben 3-2 to add to Don Bosco’s staggering point total.  *Hometown team note:  Congratulations to Cass Lester of Pleasantville.  The senior finished 6^th.

215- No doubt about it, Alex Burkle was the man at this weight.  The senior from North Linn had placed twice before, but seemed entirely focused on bringing home the first place medal for 2009.  He did just that, finishing 43-0 by taking care of #10 Jordan Simon of Aplington-Parkersburg 12-5 to claim the title with ease.  Burkle was never in trouble from the first whistle of his first match.  Fearsome, relentless and flawless, Burkle was not kidding around at Wells Fargo.

285- Kyle Kober has a flair for the dramatic.  The #1 ranked West Branch senior won a ton of matches as a three-time place-winner for the Bears, wowing fans along the way.  He put an exclamation point on the 1-A tournament in his final high school match by winning the title with a emphatic pin against #2 Cory Becker of Don Bosco, capping a fantastic 44-0 campaign. 

Don Bosco wrapped up their fourth straight team title early on and pounded out 194 points, more than doubling second place Belle Plaine’s total of 96-1/2.  Well, there you have it, 1-A in a nutshell.  So many great performances and so many great matches.  I swear it keeps getting better every year.  1-A was outstanding.  Now if only Pleasantville could win the State Duals…              

The field is set.  1-A, 2-A and 3-A district results determined the 672 young men who will compete in this year’s state wrestling tournament.  We discussed the 1-A and 2-A situations leading up to the district meets, but had no time left for 3-A, so I will try to give a quick overview of the 3-A results and what the field for state looks like.  As always at this time of the season, I urge you to stay close to the Predicament’s website for the best coverage and insight for the tournament.  They will have it covered, so there is no use doubling up here.  The website is thepredicament.com…Some observations and notable items from 3-A:

12 undefeated wrestlers remain.

18 ranked wrestlers did not advance from districts.

102 unranked competitors did advance. 

Three 4^th-ranked wrestlers failed to advance, the highest not to make it.

12 former place-winners did not advance this year.

All seven former champions in 3-A advanced to defend or regain (Dylan Carew) titles.

Iowa City West has both of the 2-time defending champions in Nick Moore and Derek St. John. 

Five 3-time place-winners are in the mix, as well as five 2-time finalists.

14 wrestlers have made the finals a total of 19 times.

The CIML advanced a total of 74 wrestlers, 20 of which are returning place-winners.

Indianola advanced the most of any CIML school with 10.  Iowa City West also advanced 10, while Waverly-Shell Rock sent nine.

John Nicholson of Roosevelt and Evan Knight of Urbandale are defending champions from the CIML.

26 freshmen qualified.  Three are ranked #1 (Cory Clark, SE Polk @103, Eric DeVos, Waverly-Shell Rock @112 and Blake Meeks, DSM Roosevelt @119) with only one loss among them.

The 3-A regional dual matchups will be held next Tuesday night between the eight district team champions and the eight runner-up squads.  Six CIML teams are still alive for the state dual tournament.

18 qualifiers have 40 or more wins going into the state tournament.

16 qualifiers have 15 or more losses going into the state tournament.

Halfway through the 2-A districts, we find ourselves at Cherokee.  This district meet will include 13 ranked wrestlers and only three weights with two ranked individuals.  Notables:  #6 Tim Negaard of BHRV and #10 Whitey Pierce of OA/BCIG @103, as well as unranked Hunter Langley of Sgt. Bluff, who defeated Pierce in their sectional final.  #3 Darius Dutcher of OA/BCIG is @119.  #4 Josh Schaefer of OA/BCIG is @125.  #2 Derrick Miner of Spirit Lake Park is @135.  Miner is a two-time place-winner at state.  #4 Cody Solari of Sgt. Bluff is undefeated @140.  #7 Ted Kruger of Sibley-Ocheyedan and #8 Tyler Down of OA/BCIG are @152.  #3 Brian Block of Sibley-Ocheyedan and #10 Bruce McWilliams of Sheldon could have a rematch of their sectional final @171, won by Block.  There is also a potential rematch @215 between #9 Taylor Whitt of MOC and #10 Jay Kruger of Sibley-Ocheyedan.  Whitt was victorious in their sectional final.

     South Tama hosts a district with 18 ranked wrestlers participating, and five brackets that include two ranked foes.  The highlight weight is 130, where #2 Nick Rutherford of Grinnell, #6 Gabe Uhde of East Marshall and #7 Logan Mathes of South Tama will battle it out for the two spots.  Uhde beat Rutherford in their sectional final match.  Mathes and Rutherford are both place-winners from last year’s state tournament.  Notables:  A possible rematch @119 between #5 Ryan Matherly of Grinnell and #10 James Kent of Iowa Falls.  Kent got the win in their sectional final match.  #8 Justin Lopata of Benton and #10 Blake Melling of East Marshall @135.  Lopata finished 4^th @125 last year.  #3 Kyle Lux of South Tama is @152.  #8 Keaton Rickels of Iowa Falls and #9 Ryan Valline of East Marshall @160.  Valline won their sectional final match.  #2 Sam Upah of East Marshall is undefeated @171.  He finished 2^nd there last year and 4^th in 2007.  #7 Devin Lemke of Iowa Falls and #9 Jordan Kaiser of Benton @189.  Finally, @285 we have #10 Adam Crawford of Nevada and last year’s state runner-up, #1 Austin Blythe of Williamsburg.

     That leaves us with the Cresco district.  24 ranked wrestlers.  Eight weight classes with two ranked wrestlers.  One weight with three ranked wrestlers.  14 wrestlers ranked in the top 5 at their weight.  Two top-ranked individuals.  Cresco is a school that loves their wrestling, and their district meet is one for everyone to love.  Let’s break it down…

103:  Undefeated #2 Dylan Peters of Denver-Tripoli and #7 Matt Paulus of New Hampton.  Peters won their sectional final match.

112:  #4 Tanner Schmidt of Charles City and #5 Tyler Endres of Independence.  Schmidt won the 103 state title last year, and finished 5^th at that weight when Charles City was 3-A in 2007.  Endres was 7^th last year @103.

119:  #1 Levi Wolfensperger of Denver-Tripoli and #2 Chris Paulus of New Hampton.  Wolfensperger won their sectional final match.  Levi is a two-time finalist at state and Paulus is a two-time place-winner.

135:  #5 Chris Alber of Independence and #9 Tim Negen of Denver-Tripoli

140:  #3 Taylor Reicks of MFL and #7 Oz Wolfensperger of Denver-Tripoli.  Reicks placed 6^th @112 in 2006 and Oz placed 4^th last year @135.

145:  #1 Blake Sorenson of Denver-Tripoli is undefeated and placed 4^th last year @119, after finishing 2^nd @112 in 2007.  The jump in weight hasn’t seemed to trouble him.

152:  #2 Shane Havenstrite of North Fayette and #6 Noah Minikus of Denver-Tripoli.

160:  Another case of not enough room at the top.  #2 Andrew Rodas of MFL, #4 Blake Bagby of Independence and #6 Jesse Johnson of Charles City will all be looking to survive this battleground.  Rodas defeated Bagby in their sectional final match.  He and Johnson both placed at state last year.  Tough break for at least one of these guys.

171:  #5 Blaze Cabell of Independence is the favorite here.

215:  #5 Lucas Sharp of Charles City and #6 Ryan Frank of Independence.

285:  #3 Adam Praska of Cresco and #7 Charles Knipf of MFL.  Praska is undefeated, and hopes to win the last match in this district at his gym.

Also, the teams that advanced from Tuesday’s regional duals to advance to the 2-A state duals tournament are, in order of their seeding, Ballard, Clear Lake, Denver-Tripoli, Davenport Assumption, Independence, OA/BCIG, Atlantic and Union, LaPorte City.

     So there you have it.  A look at what is going on Saturday at the district meets.  Hope you enjoyed it.  As for 3-A, I’m sorry we don’t have time to break it down with a proper preview, but we will take a good look back at the districts and prepare for the state tournament as soon as we can.  Be careful out and about in the impending snow, and enjoy whatever district you plan on attending.