With the month of January already upon us, for high school wrestling fans that means it won't be long before the postseason is here.
Wrestlers have the rest of this month to prepare for the sectional (Feb. 5) and district (Feb. 12) tournaments, with hopes of grabbing one of those precious state tournament berths.
The intensity of practice picks up several notches, as coaches look to have their athletes peaking at the right time of the season.
"We don't do any extra conditioning or anything like that until the middle of the season," Creston/O-M coach Darrell Frain said. "We've just been doing a lot of technique work. We'll go two-a-days here for a while, with one geared towards conditioning and individual work."
As publisher of The Predicament, Iowa's wrestling newspaper and website, part of my duties are compiling the Class 1A rankings every season. I also try to give input into the 2A and 3A rankings, if needed.
Our most recent set of ratings were released Thursday and several area athletes are included.
Creston/O-M is ranked ninth in the Class 2A State Tournament Team Rankings, which is our projections on how teams will finish at state based on ranked wrestlers. The Panthers have a pair of rated wrestlers in top-ranked Collin Bevins at 215 and No. 2 Jake Marlin at 135. Both have had solid first months, with Bevins dropping a pair of close decisions at the tough Kansas City Classic and Marlin losing a tight match to now top-ranked Matt White of Albia. I would love to see that rematch in Des Moines, as I'm sure so would the Panther returning state champ.
In Class 1A, a pair of Pride of Iowa Conference teams are ranked in the top 10. Interstate 35 is rated fifth behind four ranked wrestlers and Martensdale-St. Marys is seventh, also with four wrestlers in the latest rankings.
All four of the 1A wrestling programs covered by the Creston News Advertiser — Corning, East Union, Mount Ayr and Nodaway Valley — will begin the postseason in Greenfield at a sectional tournament. It promises to be a very tough tournament, with a solid Guthrie Center team, several strong wrestlers from Panorama and West Central Valley and Clarinda Academy adding some tough kids to the mix.
The top two place winners at each weight class will advance to districts in Truro, where ranked teams I-35 and M-SM will join in the fun.
Here is a quick state-wide look at the 1A individual rankings and where some area athletes may factor in come tournament time.
103 — Defending state champion Jordan Bremer of Woodbury Central is undefeated and ranked No. 1. No. 2 Andrew Foutch of Underwood — who some area teams will see later this month at the Guthrie Center Tournament — and No. 3 Zach Welter of North Linn are also perfect so far this season. Four freshmen are ranked, including Dylan Gibson of M-SM and Jared Eischeid of Carroll Kuemper. Gibson will go into the postseason as the favorite in the area district, but the other spot appears up for grabs.
112 - Brance Simms of Twin River Valley, runner-up to Bremer at 103 last season, is the wrestler to beat here. He is the lone 112-pounder in the top 10 who hasn't lost this season. Returning state place finisher Taylor Hagen of M-SM, ranked seventh, appears to be the top 1A wrestler at this weight in the area.
119 - Tyler Shulista of Alburnett won state at 112 last season and is undefeated and ranked first at 119 this winter. Trevor Reiste of Panorama is ranked ninth and will be someone to deal with at sectionals and districts for the local wrestlers. I-35 transfer Kole Stapes of M-SM, a state qualifier last season, is expected to also be here once he is eligible due to transfer rules.
125 - Two-time state champ Christopher Halblom of Alburnett is the heavy favorite in this weight class. A pair of wrestlers — No. 2 Tyler Reiste of Panorama and No. 7 Ryan Joint of West Central Valley — will be at the Greenfield sectional.
130 - Chet Utesch of Akron-Westfield is ranked No. 1, a year after incredibly not making weight at districts. A pair of POI wrestlers are in the mix at this weight and could meet at districts. Jordan Johnson of I-35 is rated second behind Utesch, but has been out a while with an injury. Kevin Wessel of Nodaway Valley has yet to taste defeat this season and is rated eighth.
135 - Returning state champ Logan Mulnix of North Linn lost earlier this season to the wrestler he defeated in the state finals last year, but is sill ranked No.1, since the other wrestler has moved up to 2A this season. Fourth-ranked David Walker of M-SM and No. 7 Kris Lehman of Guthrie Center are a combined 29-1 and will be tough to knock off in the postseason. Another wrestler to watch here is returning state qualifier Kolby Baier of Nodaway Valley.
140 - Robert Walker of M-SM, a state champ last year as a sophomore, recently moved down a weight class and is now the man to beat here. He's undefeated, as are No. 2 Nolan Oviatt of Logan-Magnolia and No. 3 Tait Simpson of Lisbon.
145 - If anyone from the four area schools wants to go to state at this weight class, they will likely have to get through fifth-ranked Tasker Phillips of Pleasantville and/or No.10 Clay Stetzel of Guthrie Center, who are both likely district participants. Matt Finch of Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn takes over the No. 1 spot with Robert Walker dropping down to 140.
152 - We could get a third look at No. 2 Dallas Houchins of I-35 and No. 9 Dray Carl of Corning at districts. Houchins has shut out Carl in both meetings, but no doubt the Red Raider would welcome another chance at the three-time place finisher. Cole Larsen of Guthrie Center has been injured, but could also be a key player at this weight come tournament time. Houchins, along with top-ranked Austin Kessler of Durant-Bennett and four other wrestlers in the top 10, is undefeated.
160 - Austin Even of Jesup is ranked No. 1, followed close behind by fellow undefeated wrestler Tyler Ogburn of Corning. Ogburn was the runner-up at 152 last season and will look to close out his career on top. POI rival and ninth-rated Cody Schurman of Southeast Warren has pushed Ogburn to the limit twice this season already and could be a district opponent.
171 - Sixth-ranked Brick Imerman is one of four undefeated rated wrestlers at this weight class and will be the wrestler to beat come sectional time in Greenfield. Two of those undefeated wrestlers — No. 1 Dacoda Ward of Lisbon and second-ranked Jayden Devilbiss of South Winneshiek — should meet this weekend in Tripoli to decide the top spot. Kory Schmelzer of Corning has had an outstanding start to the season and will be one to watch in the postseason.
189 - Andrew Nodtvedt of Central Springs is ranked No. 1 here and one of three undefeated wrestlers in the top 10. In the Truro district, I-35 returning state place winner Ethan Calvert is ranked fourth, but is also battling injury. Mikel Feick of Nodaway Valley has started out strong and could be the wrestler to beat in the Greenfield sectional.
215 - Mount Ayr returning state place finisher Cade Lambson is ranked second, but an injury has kept him out of action since the first week of the season. Whether or not he will be ready to go at full strength by sectionals is unknown. Phil Lumley of Pleasantville is ranked sixth and could overtake Lambson as the favorite in the district if the Raider is not at 100 percent. Nate Howard of Graettinger-Terril is undefeated and holds the No. 1 ranking.
285 - Brendan TerWee of West Lyon has been No. 1 since the start of the season and has yet to be tested this year. Caleb White of Tri-Center (Neola) is ranked second, but has yet to see the mat this season. He should be in action by the time the John Harris Tournament rolls around later this month. Matt Eads of I-35 is ranked seventh and should be favored in the area when the postseason comes around.
I will try to break down the 2A field later this month, which includes the Creston/O-M and Bedford/Lenox district at Atlantic. It also appears this will be a very solid district, based on the latest rankings.