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 get us started with our 1A teams, today we look at District One and find out how these teams fared for the decade.  Here are the numbers…

 

Overall Regular Season Record:

West Lyon 64-8 in 1A (two undefeated seasons) 13-5 in 2A…77-13 total

Hinton 43-29 in 1A, 10-8 in A…53-37 total

West Sioux, Hawarden 28-62

Sioux Central, Sioux Rapids 24-29 since 2004 (*23-11 in 8-Player 2000-2003)

Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 23-13 in 1A, 33-21 in 2A…56-34 total

South O-Brien, Paullina 21-33 in 1A, 17-19 in 2A…38-52 total

Lawton-Bronson 15-39 in 1A, 21-15 in A (one undefeated season in A)…36-54 total

Westwood, Sloan 8-28 in 1A, 4-14 in 2A, 4-32 in A…16-74 total

 

Only one team, West Sioux, was in 1A exclusively for the entire decade.  Every other team played up or down at some point, except Westwood, which somehow managed to have seasons in A, 1A and 2A.  A first for our search to this point.  Westwood started off the decade in 1A, but moved up to 2A for 2002 and 2003 before dropping all the way to A for the next four seasons.  Odd.  They have been 1A the past two seasons.  Sioux Central, Sioux Rapids started the decade out in 8-player before joining the 1A ranks in 2004.  Hinton and H-M-S had pretty strong decades, win-wise, but the story here is West Lyon.  64-8 in 1A is fantastic, but the 13-5 in 2A pushes their total into ICS ‘elite’ status.  They never finished worse than 6-3, and had five 8-1 seasons to go with the two unblemished marks.  Here are the district totals…

 

Overall District Record:

West Lyon 54-2 in 1A (seven undefeated district seasons) 12-2 in 2A…66-4 total

Hinton 32-24 in 1A, 9-7 in A…41-31 total *two eight-game districts in A

West Sioux 22-48

South O-Brien 18-24 in 1A, 13-15 in 2A…31-39 total

H-M-S 16-12 in 1A, 24-18 in 2A…40-30 total

Sioux Central 16-26 since 2004 (*10-4 in 8-player 2000-2003)

Lawton-Bronson 11-31 in 1A, 20-15 in A (one undefeated district season in A)…31-46 total *one eight-game district, two nine-game districts in A

Westwood 6-22 in 1A, 2-12 in 2A, 3-31 in A…11-65 total *two eight-game districts, two nine-game districts in A

 

West Lyon just flat out dominated district play.  Seven of their eight 1A seasons were without losses.  Their two 1A losses came in 2002, and they only lost one district game in both of their 2A seasons, going 6-1 in 2004 and 2005.  They are currently riding a 33-game district win streak, dating back to a 2005 loss to Sheldon in 2A.  H-M-S led the way in non-district play, sporting a 16-4 record.  On to the postseason story…

 

Overall Postseason/Playoff Record:

Substate record, playoff record, years qualified

West Lyon 2-0, 10-7, 7 in 1A (two semifinals, one final) x-x, 2-2, 2 in 2A (one semifinal)

Lawton-Bronson 0-1 in 1A, x-x, 3-1, 1 in A (one semifinal, one final in A)

Hinton 2-0, 0-3, 3 in 1A, x-x, 0-1, 1 in A

H-M-S 2-0, 0-2, 2

Sioux Central x-x, 0-1, 1 *0-1 in 8-player 2003

West Sioux 0-1

 

Once again, West Lyon stands out.  The only team here to win a 1A playoff game for the decade.  Nine trips to the playoffs out of ten seasons, and they were 5-2 in their district in 2002 when they didn’t make it.  They lost their finals appearance, 3-0 to Emmetsburg in 2008.  H-M-S had a stretch of four seasons in a row from 2001 to 2004 where they 6-3 three times, then 7-2, without making the playoffs.  Hinton also had a 7-2 season that failed to qualify them in 2001.  Lawton-Bronson had a magical run in 2007 to make it to the A final, but they lost to Wapsie Valley 22-14.