Adam Reth is one of Iowa's most dominant wrestlers (Photo/Wyatt Schultz, The Predicament)The passion for wrestling in Iowa is like nowhere else. The high school state tournament held in the Hawkeye State is the pinnacle of that on the prep level. This year's individual tournament will be held this coming Thursday through Saturday at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, which five weeks later will also host the 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
Though it looks like the Class 3A (big school) tournament will be dominated by No. 17 Southeast Polk, which had 13 of its wrestlers qualify for the state tournament, there is an extremely tight battle for second place and the always excellent individual weight class battles. The race for runner-up looks to be one about volume vs. elite anchors. Linn Mar has 12 individual qualifiers for the state tournament, while No. 48 Bettendorf only qualified seven for state but has five wrestlers ranked either first or second in the state per The Predicament. Other teams in the hunt for second are Waverly-Shell Rock, which qualified nine for state, along with Cedar Rapids Prairie and their eight state qualifiers.
Six wrestlers enter the Class 3A state tournament without a loss, including two in the 170-pound weight class. In that bracket, Duke Egli (Fort Dodge) and Dustin Fuller (Sioux City North) are paired in the same quarter of the draw despite being the top two ranked wrestlers in the bracket per The Predicament. Other undefeated wrestlers include No. 16 Nolan Hellickson (Southeast Polk) at 106, Bryce Meyer (Fort Madison) at 113, returning state placer Joel Northrup (Linn Mar) at 145, and Alex Gross (Keokuk) at 285.
Hellickson, ranked No. 1 in Iowa Class 3A at 106 by The Predicament, has the No. 2 ranked wrestler Jacob Schwarm (Bettendorf) in his half of the draw. At 113 pounds, Meyer is in the bottom quarter of the draw, which also features defending state champion Matt Wempen (Linn Mar), and in the other quarter of that same half is Junior National freestyle All-American Kaz Onoo (Mason City). Like Hellickson, Northrup at 145 pounds is ranked No. 1 in Iowa Class 3A, and has the No. 2 ranked wrestler -- three-time state placer Alex Hernandez -- from Bettendorf in his half of the draw. Finally, at 285 pounds, Gross finds himself in an unpleasant position, drawing national No. 17 Jake Scanlan (Southeast Polk) in the quarterfinal round and then having the class's top-ranked wrestler Pedro Gomez (Marshalltown) in the other quarter of the same half.
The additional nationally ranked wrestler in this classification is Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf), who is ranked No. 14 at 126 pounds. He is positioned in the third quarter of the draw, and his primary challenger is in the other quarter of the same half, returning state runner-up Chris Walters (Iowa City West). A third returning state runner-up joins Stroker and Walters in this weight class, Travis Willers (Pleasant Valley), who finished second at 106 last year and is among those in the top half of the draw.
Arguably the most notable Class 3A quarterfinal projection comes at 132 pounds, where the two top ranked wrestlers in the weight class are slated to meet; two-time state placer Logan Ryan (Bettendorf) and three-time state placer, also winning state in 2011, Colby Knight (Urbandale).
Last year's battle for second place in Class 2A between Davenport Assumption and West Delaware Manchester was decided by one-half point, with both teams within seven of state champion Denver-Tripoli. This year, the state champion will most likely be either No. 34 West Delaware Manchester or Davenport Assumption, with the margin being razor thin. Heading to state, the Hawks have nine qualifiers, while the Knights are working with ten in Des Moines.
Both squads are represented by a wrestler in seven of fourteen weight classes: 106, 113, 138, 145, 152, 182, and 285; while the Knights also have a wrestler at 126, 132, and 160 with the Hawks being represented at 170 and 220. Therefore, it makes some sense to look at those common weight classes first.
At 106 pounds, each squad is poised to be represented in the top bracket semifinal. Patrick Woods (West Delaware Manchester) placed third at state last year and is the No. 1 ranked wrestler in this weight per The Predicament. Though freshman Darien Collins (Davenport Assumption) is only ranked ninth, he is the highest ranked in that quarter of the draw.
Both squads also have wrestlers in the top half of the draw at 113 pounds, and each is the highest rated wrestler in their quarter of the draw. Zach Less (West Delaware Manchester) is ranked second after placing fifth at state last year, but is joined by third ranked Johnny Etherington (Charles City) in that top quarter; while returning state placer Brendan Gould (Davenport Assumption) is ranked fifth, highest of that second quarter. The overall weight class favorite would be returning state runner-up Mason Miller (Winterset).
At 138 pounds, two-time state placer Eric Clarke (Davenport Assumption) is ranked third in the state, but has the second ranked wrestler -- Zach Skopec (Spirit Lake) in that same quarter; while senior Ryan Soppe (West Delaware Manchester) is unranked, but his quarter of the draw features no ranked wrestlers. However, the story of this weight class is No. 13 Jake Marlin (Creston), who seeks a fourth state title. Life will not be easy for Marlin, as he has the undefeated Drew Foster (Mediapolis) in his quarter of the draw.
Similarly the 145-pound weight class features a wrestler from both favorites, but is dominated by the journey of No. 6 in the nation Brandon Sorenson (Denver-Tripoli) -- undefeated at 53-0 on the year -- going after a fourth state title. His first round opponent is Tionte Parks (Davenport Assumption). Looking forward in the draw, Sorenson is likely to face the fifth-ranked wrestler in the quarterfinal and the second-ranked wrestler in the semifinal. Zach Muller (West Delaware Manchester), already a two-time state placer, is ranked fourth in this weight, and is well positioned to make the semifinal from the bottom quarter of the draw.
Three-time state placer Nick Georgean (Davenport Assumption), a state champion last year and undefeated at 32-0 is the favorite at 152 pounds. However, his journey will not be easy starting with Griffin Obsing (Albia), who is 47-1 and ranked fifth in this weight, in the opening round. In the other quarter of Georgean's half is returning state runner-up Logan Thomsen (Union) and returning state third place finisher Jesse Etherington (Charles City). All that leaves Jake Voss (West Delaware Manchester), a junior returning state placer, well positioned to make the state final here despite being fourth in the state rankings.
Both teams also have a wrestler at 182 pounds, though Jacyn Goebel (West Delaware Manchester) enters as the favorite coming off a fourth at state finish last year, though returing state runner-up Chase Shedenhelm (Denver-Tripoli) is in that same half of the draw. Sophomore Gabriel Rangel (Davenport Assumption) is drawn into the same quarter as Goebel.
Finally, both teams feature a wrestler at 285 pounds, where again the West Delaware wrestler enters as the favorite. Dean Broghammer placed third at state last year as a junior, and is undefeated this season at 43-0. Broghammer's primary challenge looms in the semifinal round, as second-ranked Josh Clark (Union) is in the same half of the draw. Sean Easler (Davenport Assumption), a returning state qualifier, is ranked fifth in this weight, and should advance to at least the semifinals.
Other state qualifiers for Davenport Assumption include returning state runners-up Tony Devriese (126) and Kyle Springer (132), along with Danny Bush (160); while West Delaware Manchester is also represented by Thomas Oleson (170) and Adam Reth (220), who is ranked No. 7 nationally and a defending state champion.
Devriese, ranked third in his weight class, finds himself in the tougher half of the draw. He is joined in his quarter by fifth-ranked Bryce Leshen (Albia), while the other quarter of that bottom half bracket features the two top ranked wrestlers -- defending state champion Max Thomsen (Union), undefeated this year at 43-0, and John Christopherson (Spencer).
Springer, ranked second in this weight class, is looking at a de facto state final in the semifinal round against Colton McCrystal (Sgt. Bluff Luton). McCrystal, ranked first in this weight, beat Springer 8-6 in last year's state final.
Bush, who is ranked sixth in this weight class, has a first-round bout against the fourth-ranked wrestler Tanner Schaefer (Spencer). If able to win that match, it would be the top-ranked wrestler Trey Ryan (Mt. Vernon) in the quarterfinal round.
Oleson for West Delaware Manchester is drawn against fifth-ranked Brice Wilcke (Clear Lake). Wilcke is in the top quarter of the draw. In the second quarter of this weight class is the top-ranked wrestler Erik Lux (South Tama), who enters the state tournament undefeated at 45-0. He is the defending state champion, and is looking at a finals collision with two-time state placer Adam Drain (Mediapolis).
Undefeated at 41-0, Reth is one of the state's most dominant wrestlers. He is the prohibitive favorite at 220 pounds. However, this will mark his last wrestling event -- unless post-season competition looms -- as he's going to play football for Northern Iowa next year.
The showcase weight in Class 2A comes at 120 pounds, where there is a pair of undefeated wrestlers in Charles Jones (Waterloo Columbus), a defending state champion, and Leighton Gaul (New Hampton). Also in this weight class is two-time state champion Doug Miner (Spirit Lake), who is looking at a quarterfinal date with fellow defending state champion Jones.
In small school Class 1A, Alburnett enters as the top-ranked team, and has the most state qualifiers with nine. Twelve wrestlers in nine weight classes enter this event as undefeated. Multiple undefeated wrestlers are present at 126, 138, and 220 pounds.
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