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.      

One more item from 1-A, I should mention that the sectional team champions and runner-ups qualified for the regional duals which were held Tuesday.  The winners will now advance to the state dual team tournament in Cedar Rapids, February 28^th.  They are, in order of seed, Don Bosco, Belle Plaine, Nashua-Plainfield, Logan-Magnolia, Nodaway Valley, Coon Rapids-Bayard, Pleasantville and Manson.  Congratulations to the coaches and wrestlers from these schools, especially Pleasantville.  Go Trojans!

     Now for 2-A, but a much more condensed version due to time constraints.  I mentioned yesterday that only three ranked wrestlers lost in the sectionals.  Two of them were in 2-A at 145 and 171.  #5 Craig Mai of New Hampton @145 is a senior who placed 4^th in 2007 @112. He was upended along with #8 Josh Haug, a junior from Mount Vernon.  The basics:  There are six returning or former champions in 2-A.  They are #4 Tanner Schmidt of Charles City @112, a junior who won the 103 crown last year and placed 5^th @103 in 3-A in 2007.  #2 Tyler Grask of Ballard @125, a senior who nabbed the title @119 last year and placed 5^th @103 in 3-A wrestling for Dowling in 2006.  #1 Joe Colon of Clear Lake @125, a senior who finished 3^rd @112 last year after winning it all in 2007 @103.  #1 Seth Noble of Columbus Junction @140, a junior who took top honors @135 last year, and was 5^th @135 in 2007.  #1 Trent Weatherman of Ballard @152, a senior who is arguably the most accomplished, polished and certainly the most decorated wrestler in the 2-A field, who won the 152 title last year and finished 2^nd @145 in 2007 and 2^nd @135 in 2006.  And finally, #1 Brock Weatherman of Ballard @171, a junior who won the title last year at the same weight.  Quite an impressive list.  As for teams, Ballard and Clear Lake each advanced 12 of 14 wrestlers from sectionals.  Independence brings 11, while Davenport Assumption and OA/BCIG will have 10 each.  Let’s take a quick glance at each of the eight districts, where 448 wrestlers will be fighting it out for a trip to the state tournament in 2-A…

     At North Cedar, there are 14 ranked wrestlers competing, with seven returning or former state tournament place-winners, led by #5 Nathan Vaske of West Delaware @130.  Vaske is a three-time state place-winner, finishing 5^th @119, 5^th @112 in 3-A and 7^th @103.  Highlight showdown: At 285, a possible rematch of the sectional final between #2 Andrew Bush of Davenport Assumption and #9 Brock Goodall of DeWitt Central.  Bush won that match, his 100^th career victory.  Bush placed 3^rd at state last year, and has his eyes on the top stand this year.

     At West Liberty, there will also be 14 ranked wrestlers among the 56 total.  Some notables:  #3 Jake Keller of Columbus Junction @125 is undefeated and placed 6^th last year @119.  #6 Matt Mullikin of Sigourney-Keota @135 is a senior with two place-winning finishes at state.  #1 Seth Noble of Columbus Junction @140, mentioned earlier, is a returning champion @135.  The logjam @145 creates a sticky situation for three highly-ranked competitors, with #2 Colton Moore of West Burlington, #3 Ryan Hand of Wilton and #4 Matt Mougin of Columbus Junction.  Mougin defeated Moore in their sectional final, and will get the winner of Moore-Hand if he can get by Dillon Stutzman of Sigourney-Keota.  All three are two-time place-winners at state, but at least one of them will not get a chance for their third.  #3 Stewart Holloway of West Burlington and #4 Tomas Lira of West Liberty are the focus @189.  Both placed at state last year.  Lira wrestled up and won a title @215 in his conference tournament.  Lastly, #3 James Morris of Solon @215 is the favorite to win the weight class, and is on our ICS All-Time Favorites list.  With all due respect to the other competitors, good luck to James…

     At Atlantic, we have 14 ranked wrestlers again.  There is a top-ranked wrestler in #1 Trevor Voelker of Dallas Center-Grimes @189, and four weight classes with two ranked competitors.  Notables:  #6 Alex Pietz of Perry and #10 Walker Marshall of Missouri Valley @112.  A possible rematch of #6 Keegan Mumma of Adel and #7 Bo Cosens of Woodward-Granger @125.  Cosens won their sectional final match.  #8 David Kellogg of Dallas Center-Grimes and #9 Brady Betcher of Winterset @140 could lock horns again.  Betcher won their sectional final match.  #4 Dakota Friesth of ADM and #9 Carroll Heitshusen of Shenandoah @152.  Two big-time upper-weight talents are also here.  #4 Kasey Juhl of Atlantic @285 and #2 Bryant Hummel of Clarinda @215.  Either would be solid picks to win it all at their weight.

     At Chariton, there are 17 ranked wrestlers, and five weights with two ranked wrestlers in the foursome.  The easiest way to outline this district is by saying Ballard is here.  All 12 of their wrestlers who advanced to this district were sectional champions.  They ran away with the 2-A state team title last year, and the train is rolling along just as fast this year.  The only question is how many of these 12 will make it to state?  Notables:  #3 Dalton Kingery of PCM @103.  #1 Dakota Bauer of Ballard @112.  #2 Tyler Grask of Ballard @125.  #4 Matt White of Albia @130 and Kyler Risher of Centerville who is ranked #5 @125, but placed 2^nd at sectionals @130.  #1 Tanner Weatherman of Ballard and #7 James Clark of Chariton @135.  #2 Tanner Hiatt of Ballard @140.  #6 Taylor Eichinger of Ballard @145.  #1 Trent Weatherman of Ballard @152.  #1 T.J. Hiatt of Ballard and #5 Ethan Moorman of Centerville @160.  #1 Brock Weatherman of Ballard and #4 Mike England of Centerville @171.  #4 Chris Schaudt of Ballard and #8 Slater Poe of Albia @215.  Whew, what a crew the Bombers have…

     At Humboldt, there are 23 ranked wrestlers and seven weights with two ranked wrestlers.  Also, @103, we have #1 Alex Spooner of Forest City, #4 Isaac Lundgren of Emmetsburg and #5 Kwinn Kraft of RCL-SCAL, creating another situation of a highly-ranked wrestler not advancing to the state tournament.  Spooner beat Lundgren in their sectional final match.  Clear Lake is the cream of the crop here, and they’ll need to advance as many of their 12 guys to state as they can if they want to give Ballard a run.  Notables:  #2 Jacob Colon of Clear Lake and #7 Tyler Patten of Webster City @112.  #4 Tre Rutz of Humboldt is @119.  #1 Joe Colon of Clear Lake and #8 Erik Schmidt of Gilbert @125.  #1 Tucker Weber of Clear Lake and #3 Dylan Rusher of Roland-Story @130.  Weber is a three-time place-winner at state, while Rusher has placed twice.  #4 Joe Bieber of Clear Lake is @135.  #8 Steve Scarrow of Clear Lake and #9 Kanne Kraft of RCL-SCAL @145.  #5 Joey Naig of Emmetsburg and #10 Christian Trebil of Clear Lake @152.  Trebil won their sectional final match.  #3 Nick Larson of Algona is @160.  #6 Kelan Richardson of RCL-SCAl and #8 Jake Morris of Emmetsburg @189.  #1 Pat Kolker of Clear Lake is @215.  And, lastly, #6 Zach Lindquist of Clear Lake and #8 Cody Dierks of Gilbert @285.

     I will address the remaining three 2-A districts in the next post.  It looks like 3-A is going to get pinched based on a lack of time to put something together.  I will address this issue post-districts, with a recap of the action and a preview of state for the big schools.               

We move on to New London, where the hosts have eight guys still alive, Eddyville-Blakesburg brings seven and the Plainsmen of Belle Plaine roll into town with 13 representatives.  Belle Plaine has really brought it together this season with one of their best lineups since 2001 when they won it all.  Last week they won their seventh consecutive sectional team title, which was their 18^th in the last 19 years, and earlier they captured their 17^th straight Southern Iowa Cedar League title.  They are looking to make a statement.  #6 Zakk Buch will start it off for them @103, where he will be joined by #5 Sawyer Farris of New London.  At 112, #2 Jake Kadel of New London and #7 Tanner Scott of Eddyville-Blakesburg lead the way at one of five weights with two ranked wrestlers.  17 ranked wrestlers in all will be competing at the district, highlighted by returning state champion Jake Demmon of Eddyville-Blakesburg, who is currently #1 @125, and the superb Wagner boys of Belle Plaine, Cameron and Colton.  Cam is #2 @135 and Colton is #2 @140.  They have combined for two 2nds, a 3^rd and a two 4^th place finishes between them at state so far in their careers.  Look for that list to be even more impressive after next week.  Belle Plaine also boasts Drew Hinschberger, #1 @130 and a two-time place-winner at state.  He is the all-time wins leader at Belle Plaine with 153, just ahead of teammate Colton Wagner, with 152 after their sectional championship wins.  Another #1, Dmitri Boyer of Eddyville-Blakesburg, will try to advance @145.  He has two 4^th place state finishes on his resume to date.  At 135, #5 Colby Kriegel of BGM is also a two-time place-winner at state with a pair of 6^th place finishes the last two years.

     Onward to Truro, where I-35 hosts a district with 19 ranked wrestlers.  Three of them will battle each other at 125 for two advancements.  #8 Levi Richards of Nodaway Valley, #9 Wes Prill of Pleasantville and #10 Dallas Houchins of I-35 each know at least one of them will only see Wells Fargo as a fan this year.  Houchins defeated Richards in their sectional final, while Prill was one of 11 Trojans to advance from sectionals, nine of which were champions, the most of any school in 1A, and second only to 2A Ballard’s 12.  Only two other weight classes here have two ranked wrestlers, so this district will advance at least 10 unranked competitors to state.  One of those could very well be unranked returning champion Klint Stapes @130 from I-35.  He was only 14-1 on the year after his sectional championship.  He won the 103 title last year as a junior.  The most decorated wrestler here though, is #1 James Houchins of I-35 @160.  James is a three-time place-winner at state, finishing 4^th, 5^th and 2^nd in his career.  Don’t overlook #6 Kyle Soderbloom of Lynnville-Sully @171.     He is 32-0 as a sophomore and is stuck in the middle of a very loaded weight in 1A, not getting much notice…Yet. 

     Underwood plays host to a district with only 13 ranked wrestlers, and only two weights featuring two together.  One of them could shape up to be great, though.  At 189, #3 Keith Rush of Griswold (23-0) should face #9 Dillon Grossman of Woodbine (42-3).  At 171, #3 Quinn Wilson of Oakland Riverside is rolling along at 46-0 this season, while teammate Jason Frain is ranked #7 @160 and is 39-4.  He placed 2^nd @152 last year.  Also, both Brennan and Sean McNitt of CB St. Albert will be favored to advance for the Falcons.  Logan-Magnolia qualified 10 for the bus trip to Underwood.

Next stop is Manson, where eight weight classes feature two ranked wrestlers and 20 overall will compete.  Some highlights:  #2 Skyler Rice of Manson and #5 Shay Taylor of Prairie Valley will be at 130.  #5 Blake Faucher of Guthrie Center and #6 Kendall Sommerlot of Pocahontas will be at 160.  Undefeated #2 Nate Tool of Twin River Valley, Bode is at 171, and has two 4^th place state finishes to his credit.  His teammate #3 Sean Schneider @125 also is a two-time place-winner at state, finishing 4^th @112 and 8^th @103.

     Riceville “hosts” the district meet at Luther College, and 11 ranked wrestlers will be on hand to do battle.  Two weight classes feature a pair of ranked wrestlers that would make for an exciting final.  At 171, #4 Marc Benning of Nashua-Plainfield and #7 Matt Fassbinder of Elgin Valley appear destined for a showdown, while 189 brings us the possible matchup of #5 Quinn Meirick of Turkey Valley and #6 Collin Sudol of Nashua-Plainfield.  After sectional finals, there were only two losses total between these four.  Get used to seeing the words Nashua and Plainfield in the results from this one.  They qualified 12 of 14 for the district round.

At Jewell, 12 ranked wrestlers highlight the field of 56, but two-time state finalist and last year’s 112 champion Derric Thomas of MC Newman is the star.  He is #1 @119 and is joined by #9 Michael Tlach of West Hancock, who he beat in their sectional final.  #3 Keith White of West Marshall @140 placed 5^th at state last year @125, and South Hamilton’s #9 Dustin Rholl would like to avenge his sectional final loss to #10 Jacob Everts of Aplington-Parkersburg @160.  Possible marquee matchup:  At 215, look out for #2 Jordan Adams of MC Newman vs. #10 Jordan Simon of Aplington-Parkersburg.  Dan Kruger of West Hancock is #3 @285.

     Finally for 1A, we go to Sioux Center for a fantastic district.  23 total ranked wrestlers.  Two different weights featuring three ranked wrestlers.  14 wrestlers ranked in the top five.  This district has it all.  All but one thing…Jordan Gacke.  The two-time defending state champion from Central Lyon.  ACL surgery after football season has kept him out of the lineup this year, so we will not get to see him defend his titles, sadly.  He had a chance of finishing his high school career with appearances in three consecutive final matches in wrestling, which would have went nicely with his three consecutive appearances in the 2-A state football title game.  Crutches kept that from officially happening, as well.  Anyway, I hope they mention him somehow at Wells Fargo during the state meet.  He deserves some recognition…Back to Sioux Center.  Aside from the two weights with three ranked wrestlers, Sioux Center also has six weights with two ranked wrestlers.  Let us proceed.  At 112, we have #4 James Tatman of Graettinger-Terril and #9 Seaton Sandbulte of Sioux Center.  At 119, there’s two-time state place-winner #3 Augustine Martinez of Sioux Center hoping for a shot at #7 freshman Chet Utesch of Akron-Westfield, who beat him in their sectional final.  135 will have #3 Matt Finch of HMS and #10 Logan Tonderum of Graettinger-Terril.  At 145, #3 Russ Godberson of MMC is joined by #4 Michael Jensen of Graettinger-Terril, who he beat in their sectional final.  At 171 we have #9 Jeff Gacke of Central Lyon and #5 Dakota Miller of Lawton-Bronson.  285 features #7 Kyle Brown of Graettinger-Terril and #10 Dustin Schwaller of Okoboji.  Schwaller lost to Brendan Terwee of West Lyon in their sectional final, so he really has his work cut out for him in this district.  Now we get to the real business at hand.  160 and 189 have six ranked wrestlers and only four spots available.  At 189, #1 Scott Eben of Central Lyon, a finalist last year at state and a 5^th place finisher two years ago, is in a jam with #2 Jake Hoffman of Graettinger-Terril and #10 Clayton King of Lawton-Bronson.  Hoffman defeated King in their sectional final, and is also a two-time place-winner at state.  King might get the squeeze here.  Finally, high drama at 160…#2 Joe Sievert of Akron-Westfield, #3 Dylan Reynolds of Central Lyon and #4 Kass Schany of Graettinger-Terril all have state title aspirations.  All three of them are capable of placing high at the state tournament.  At least one will not get the chance.  Reynolds lost to Sievert in their sectional final, so he’ll have to face Schany and hope for the best.  Sievert appears to be in the best spot, but anything could happen.  What an amazing district that will be, and what an amazing Saturday overall.  I didn’t realize it would take me this long to look at 1-A, so the 2-A and 3-A overviews will be much more brief since it is Thursday and I will be busy most of Friday.                              

This Saturday 24 high schools across the state of Iowa will be hosting district wrestling tournaments.  Between the 1A and 2A classes, there will be 895 wrestlers competing at 16 sites for the right to advance to the state tournament at Wells Fargo Arena Feb. 18-21.  The top two place-winners at each weight class from the sectional tournaments held last Saturday advanced to Districts.  If you’ve done the math already, and decided 895 is incorrect, there are only three qualifiers at 119lbs for the Tipton district meet, due to only one qualifier advancing from the Durant sectional.  Why they couldn’t have come up with a way to fill that slot, I can only guess, so I won’t bother asking.  The #1 and #5 ranked wrestlers are there, so it will work out fine, but still, it’s weird.  Anyway, I thought it would be fun to do a little overview of what will be going on this weekend in all three classes, so let’s see how it goes, shall we?  First off, you need to remember that 3A does not have sectional tournaments, so those eight districts will be contested by full lineups, with the top two place-winners at each weight advancing directly to the state tournament.  There are a lot less 3A wrestling schools, so sectionals are pointless.  First things first, though.  Let’s look at Class 1A and some of the big matchups.  To further prove the validity of the rankings, all but three competitors who were ranked in the top ten at their respective weights by the Predicament in 1A and 2A advanced.  In 1A, Jesup’s talented freshman #10 Austin Even was beaten by Chris Orr of East Buchanan 5-4 in the semis @152 at Wapsie Valley.  He finished third, closing out his season at 40-3.  We will hear from him again next year.  25 of the remaining 139 ranked 1A wrestlers finished second in sectionals, while the other 114 were champions.  That leaves 308 unranked grapplers looking to break through to state, which many of them obviously will, since each class sends 224 wrestlers to state.  Four 1A weight classes have one district location with 3 ranked wrestlers included among the four, so at the very least four ranked wrestlers will definitely not advance, even if there are no “upsets”.  This means that 89 unranked wrestlers will make the 1A state tournament no matter what, but most likely there will be more advancing.  At Tipton, there will be 22 ranked wrestlers among the mix, with three of them at 112.  #3 Brandon Welter will square off with #8 Alex Wright of Durant and #1 Christopher Halblom of Alburnett goes against Tait Simpson of Lisbon.  Halblom beat Welter in the sectional final 3-1, and finished 2^nd @103 last year wrestling in 2A for Center Point-Urbana.  Welter finished 2^nd @103 for the Dons in 1A last year.  103 features #1 Tyler Shulista of Alburnett and #7 Beau Westpfahl of Jesup.  Westpfahl defeated Shulista in their sectional final match.  At 119, #5 Chris Taylor of Lisbon and #2 Ben McMahon of Don Bosco are the favorites to move on to state.  McMahon placed 4^th @119 last year.  125 features #5 Logan Mulnix of North Linn and #2 Cole Welter of Don Bosco.  Welter downed the North Linn freshman in the sectional final in 2OT, giving him his first loss of the season.  Welter was 5^th last year @112, but won it all as a freshman @103 in 2007.  At 135, #1 Bart Reiter is the lone rated wrestler here, but he is also a three-time defending state champ, so it bears mentioning.  His season is one of the biggest storylines this year, as he tries to join his brother Mack in the four-timers club, which is currently 17 members strong.  Four other weight classes also have two ranked wrestlers competing, highlighted by #1 Taylor Kettman of Don Bosco and #8 Scott King of Tipton @171, #1 Alex Burkle of North Linn and #3 Mitch Montgomery of Lisbon @215 and #1 Kyle Kober of West Branch and #2 Cory Becker of Don Bosco at 285.  Two other #1 ranked wrestlers will be in action at Tipton, with 140 leader Chris LeClere of North Linn and top-ranked Clay Welter of Don Bosco at 152.  Welter is the defending state champion @145.  Don Bosco has 12 district contestants, and will look to push as many of them on to state as possible in order to defend their current three year reign atop the 1A team race in the traditional state tournament.  The district meet at New London will lead off the next post.                   

Cardinals Fans, I’ve been there..  Although, I was a huge Steelers fans in the 70′s, The Seattle Seahawks become my favorite team when they started the Franchise.  At 8 years old, I was ready to venture out on my own.  Being a Seahawks fan is who I am, the day they won the NFC title in 2006, I got phone calls from all across the country.  People would say,”your the only Seahawks fan I’ve ever known.”    Well Aside from the change in uniform(it still bothers me), my passion and loyalty has been true..     Here is a minute by minute time Lapse of Superbowl Sunday XL.  You will see some guest appearances by my Dad, and oldest Daughter Cathlin who is sporting my #19 personalized mesh Seahawks jersey from 1982.  

Cards opening possession 5 plays. One big first down throw by Warner to Breaston, little else.

Steelers first play on their 2^nd possession, Ben finds Holmes on a great scripted play they couldn’t wait to use. Cards are giving Holmes lots of

room. Then Ben improvises on a big 1^st down completion to Miller. Another throw to Miller, and you can hear the Steeler Fans chanting

Heath…. Madden references a good block by Justin Hartwig

Pittsburgh finishes it with a Russell TD. 10-0 ..

Warner need to respond, this is a critical stage in the game for the Cardinals.. Otherwise doubt may start creeping in.. Warner is standing in making throws and getting whacked.. After a big holding call, he comes back 12 yards to Breaston.. Then the big play to Bouldin. Under heat he finds Patrick for the much needed response… 10-7 Cards are in it..

Steelers forced to punt. Huge Breaston punt return wasted by the cards.. Steelers ball again..

Big Ben gets one tipped and the Cards have the ball and a chance to take over the game in Steeler territory. Cards need a TD here. Warner perfect on a slip screen to Hightower, first down.. Now Fitzgerald for a first down.. NBC shows a graphic of how perfect Warner has been in the Redzone in the Playoffs.. Not GOOD…. Next comes the play that may turn this one around. NFL Player of the year Harrison reads Warner and takes away the slant and then to the house for a TD. Perhaps one of the greatest plays in NFL History. Harrison’s TD stands and a 14 point swing gives the Steelers a 10 point lead heading into the break. Alex Flanagan interviews Ken Whisenhunt at halftime… who the hell is Alex Flanagan and why does she talk so slow???

2^nd half. Cards ball first.. James sure is running hard. Warner gets hit, ruled a

 fumble.. Overturned.. Incomplete pass, punt..

Steelers conservative.. Run Run Run.. Huge roughing call on Ben pretty questionable. These are the kind of calls tend to go the way of former champions. This is that intangible factor, the X-factor that can’t be measured. Cards D comes up big and holds the Steelers to a FG, but veteran leader and one of the NFL’s most underrated football Players Adrian Wilson gets called for roughing the holder… A Weak call, it was harmless and incidental… That said, the Steelers passive posture on offense continued and the Cards defense held them to a FG anyway. 20-7.

Cards get ball Warner throws a for a big 1^st down.. Guess what.. A yellow flag comes out… Kurt and the cards are playing against a great

steeler squad and so much more. X-factor strikes again Punt..

Cards D also Holds Cardinals D lineman.. Dockett starting to look like the best player on the field….

Did you notice on Breaston’s Punt Return there was no Flag? That X-factor is hard to see… At this point I’m pulling for Warner and the Steelers. Seems hard to do that but as a fantasy football owner its easy to watch games in this ironic fashion. Warner starts to click now.. And at this point, only two scores down I feel like he has a chance to win the game. The Steelers are now passive on defense. Warner has tempo and starts to turn the game. He caps it with the fade to Fitzgerald, WoW.. Ball game… 20-14 under 8 minutes to go..

Now, I feel like the steeler fan inside me believes they must start playing the game. It feels like their offense must come up with an answer or this is Kurt’s Game for the taking. 3 and out.. Dockett with a huge sack. Really.. Can a team that was average for most of the regular season take it to the team that played the toughest schedule in the NFL and was the most consistent all season? It is now time for Warner.

Warner with a completion to Breaston Then comes a big holding call on the cards and a few incompletions and the cards are forced to punt.. Harrison also gets a roughness call on the punt but it was post possession, so the Steelers get the ball. However they are buried inside the one. On third and ten Ben completes a remarkable pass to Holmes but Hartwig is called for holding? The x-factor is gone. It was in the enzone so a safety is the call. 20-16.. With Warner getting the ball back.. The Cardinals may actually get it done.

On the second play from scrimmage Warner hits Fitzgerald for a 64 yard TD. 21-24 Cardinals…I’m thinking overtime..

Managing the game is an overused term. However up to this point, that was what Roethlisberger was doing. Now he had to manage to find a way to get his team at least into FG Range. He did that and more. Perhaps the catch Holmes made was stunning, but Ben’s pass was just as amazing. On this drive, the Steeler fan in me reared its ugly head. I was yelling at Holmes after every big catch because he was celebrating instead of getting back to the line of scrimmage and to get ready for a play. In the end, you have to give him credit for playing with emotion and desire. He wanted to be great, and he was when it was all on the line.

Still…. The celebration on sideline was a little too much considering Warner had 30 seconds and two timeouts left. If his last pass was not ruled a fumble, the Cards would have had 15 more yards tacked on and one more shot. In the end, the best team in the 2008 season won the Super bowl. However, Warner never waivers, and my belief in him as winner never will.