106
Top Half: Only 3 of the top 10 ranked wrestlers will be featured in the top half of the bracket here. #5 Gable Fox of Don Bosco should meet #8 TJ Schott of Regina in the quarters. The winner of that will likely face #4 Blake Bauer of SE Warren for a trip to the finals. Look for a Fox/Bauer semi.
Bottom Half: The 3 top ranked wrestlers all got thrown into the bottom half as well as #6 and #9. #3 Cooper Siebrecht of Alta will have a tough first round match with #6 Will Portis of Rockford. The winner of that match will be rewarded by getting a match with returning state runner-up Justin Portillo of Clarion-Goldfield. The winner of that match will likely face the 4th place finisher from a year ago, Brock Henderson of North Linn, in the semifinals. Look for a Portillo/Henderson semi.
Finals Prediction
Lars: Portillo (CG) over Fox (DB)
Kirk: Portillo (CG) over Bauer (SEW)
Eric: Portillo (CG) over Fox (DB)
113
Top Half: The top quarter is loaded with #4, #8, #3, and #6. Look for Jeremiah Colon of Newman and Brady Kyner of SE Warren to get by tough first round matches and set up a rematch from earlier in the year where Kyner edged Colon 5-3. Don’t be surprised if Colon can turn that result around and be into the semis. We should have #9 vs. #10 in the other quarter of the top half. Look for Tanner Lundgren of Emmetsburg to get by Kody Kleve of Starmont in that match.
Bottom Half: The match everyone has been waiting for at this weight will take place in the quarterfinals between returning state champ Drew West of Highland Riverside and the undefeated freshman, Alex Thomsen of Underwood. Look for the returning champ to get it done again. The bottom quarter has #5 Ben Moyer of Alburnett vs. #7 Nicholas Martin of Moravia. Look for the tough freshman, Martin to come out on top of this quarter.
Finals Prediction
Lars: West (HR) over Kyner (SEW)
Kirk: West (HR) over Kyner (SEW)
Eric: West (HR) over Colon (New)
120
Top Half: In the top quarter we could have #3 Cole Needham of West Marshall up against #4 Chase McLaughlin of Lisbon. Look for Needham to advance into the semis where he could face tough freshman and #6 ranked Colin Schrader of Wapsie Valley or #9 Tucker Franklin of Alburnett. Look for a Needham/Schrader semi here.
Bottom Half: Here is another weight where we could have #1 vs. #2 in the quarterfinals. Look for Bryce West to show how good he is by handling #2 Zach Ulven of Westwood. Look for #7 Ryan Szalat of St. Edmonds to get by Kugel of Dike-New Hartford and Solko of Alta to be West’s semifinal opponent.
Finals Prediction
Lars: West (HR) over McLaughlin (L)
Kirk: West (HR) over Needham (WM)
Eric: West (HR) over Needham (WM)
126
Top Half: #7 Drake Halblom of Alburnett is having a solid season and his reward for that is drawing #2 Briar Cochran of Moravia first round. Look for Cochran to get by Halblom and advance into the semis where his opponent will likely be the winner of the #6 Tanner Greenwald of Wilton vs. #3 Nick Mangrich of Don Bosco match. Look for it to be Cochran vs. Mangrich in this semi.
Bottom Half: The best first round match at this weight will be between #4 and returning state champ Nick Williams of Lisbon and #5 Christian Polley. Look for Williams to survive here and advance to the semis where he will face #1 Josh Portillo of Clarion-Goldfield.
Finals Prediction
Lars: Portillo (CG) over Cochran (Mo)
Kirk: Portillo (CG) over Cochran (Mo)
Eric: Portillo (CG) over Cochran (Mo)
132
Top Half: 132 is a weight class that wasn’t as deep as some others at the beginning of the season, but with Happel and Glosser up at 138 a lot of studs cut down to 132 recently. We could have #2 Logan Mays of Wilton vs. #5 Joel Haberman of Clarion-Goldfield in the top quarter. Look for Mays to come out on top of that match. He will then likely face the winner of the #3 Trent Johnson of Dike-New Hartford and #6 Dylan Schuck of Sibley-Ocheyedan match. I think Schuck continues his impressive season and advances to the semis.
Bottom Half: We should have two good quarterfinal matchups on the bottom half #3 (@138) JD Rader of South Hamilton vs. #1 and 2x state champ Hunter Washburn of Alburnett will be the first one. Look for Rader to give Washburn some trouble. The other match up will be #4 Jake Hunerdosse of SE Warren and #7 Lane Nichols of Woodbury Central. Look for a Washburn/Nichols semifinal.
Final Prediction
Lars: Mays (Wil) over Washburn (A)
Kirk: Washburn (A) over Johnson (D-NH)
Eric: Washburn (A) over Mays (Wil)
138
Top Half: Here is the weight with the potential match most 1A wrestling fans are looking forward #2 and returning state champ Jeren Glosser will likely face #4 Jake Mulford of Audubon in the semifinals if he can get by tough freshman #7 Trey Brisker of Wilton
Bottom Half: #1 Carter Happel should have little trouble reaching the finals from the bottom side. He will likely face #5 Karsen Seehase of Sumner-Fredericksburg in the semifinals as long as Seehase can get by #6 Drake Healey of Iowa Valley. We should get the match up everyone has been waiting for between #1 and #2 here.
Final Prediction
Lars: Happel (L) over Glosser (EBF)
Kirk: Happel (L) over Glosser (EBF)
Eric: Happel (L) over Glosser (EBF)
145
Top Half: The top quarter is the toughest at 145. #6 Brady Brott of Clarion-Goldfield faces Gabe Henderson SE Warren first round. Henderson placed 7th at 132 last year. Look for Brott to move on from that matchup where he could face #7 Drew Anderson of Westwood if he can get by a tough first round test against Derek Erdman of MMC. Look for Brott to come out of this quarter where he will face #2 Blake Meyer of Sumner-Fredericksburg.
Bottom Half: Another tough quarter on the bottom will have #3 Coleby Bratrud of Northwood, #5 Brad Kerkhoff of Audubon, and #8 Garret Sayler of Sibley-Ocheyedan. Look for Bratrud to survive a tough first round match against Kerkhoff then get by Sayler. #1 Conner Shulista of Alburnett is a big favorite to make the semis from the bottom quarter.
Final Prediction
Lars: Shulista (A) over Meyer (SF)
Kirk: Shulista (A) over Meyer (SF)
Eric: Shulista (A) over Meyer (SF)
152
Top Half: 152 might be one of the most solid weight classes top to bottom in 1A. Look for returning state runnerup and #2 ranked Bryce Paul to make the semis. In the other quarter we will have #4 Zach Axmear of English Valley against #7 Chris Paulsen of Don Bosco. Axmear is a state placewinner from last year but is relatively untested this year. Look for a Paul/Paulsen semifinal here.
Bottom Half: #1 ranked Sawyer Amling of Ed-Co showed why he is the top ranked wrestler at this weight with a win of #2 Bryce Paul at districts. Look for Amiling to make the semifinals. In the bottom quarter you have #3 Dakota Drenth of HMS and #8 Brady Schmidt of Lake Mills. Drenth has a very tough first round match with Jarel Arbegast of West Fork. Look for Arbegast to get the upset in that match which will set up a great semifinal with Brady Schmidt. That will be a rematch where Schmidt won the first meeting 5-0.
Final Prediction
Lars: Amiling (EC) over Axmear (EV)
Kirk: Amling (EC) over Paul (A)
Eric: Amling (EC) over Paul (A)
160
Top Half: The top half of this bracket could see #3 Jacob Hoch of SE Warren against #4 Caleb Wedeking of North Butler in the quarterfinals. Look for Hoch, fresh off a win over the #1 ranked wrestler at 170, to take this match. The next quarter could feature #1 and undefeated Kegen Fingalsen of Central Springs and a very underrated Trent Kruger of Sibley-Ocheyedan. Look for the #1 ranked wrestler to stay undefeated here.
Bottom Half: 6 ranked wrestlers make up the bottom half of 160 lead by #2 Cody Kingery. Kingery will be tested but should end up in the semis when the dust settles. Look for Logan Peed of South Central Calhoun or Joey Schwenn of Belle Plaine to reach the semis from the bottom quarter.
Final Prediction
Lars: Fingalsen (CS) over Kingery (U)
Kirk: Kingery (U) over Hoch (SEW)
Eric: Kingery (U) over Hoch (SEW)
170
Top Half: The top half will have #1 and defending 170 state champ Dale Hilleman more than likely come out of the top quarter where he could face #2 Ryan Hageman of South Winneshiek in the semis. This will be a rematch of last years quarters where Hilleman topped Hageman 6-1.
Bottom Half: #5 Gable Verschoor of Woodbury Central is likely to come out of his quarterfinal where he will face the winner of a very tough bottom quarter of the bracket of the bracket that has #3, #4, #7, and #10. Look for the sophomore Dan Bishop to be Verschoor’s semifinal opponent.
Final Prediction
Lars: Hageman (SW) over Verschoor (WC)
Kirk: Hageman (SW) over Verschoor (WC)
Eric: Hilleman (WM) over Bishop (H)
182
Top Half: We will have #2 vs. #3 first round as Derek Kohlmeyer of Sumner-Fredericksburg will take on Austin Laabs of Guthrie Center. This isn’t the first time these two wrestlers have met up first round of state. The two squared off last year as Kohlmeyer took that match 16-4. The winner of this match should be the favorite to reach the finals from the top side.
Bottom Half: The 3rd quarter of this bracket will be the toughest as it has 4 ranked wrestlers. Look for #10 Nathan Krueger to keep rolling after winning a district bracket that had 4 ranked or previously ranked wrestlers. The bottom quarter of the bracket has #1 and state champ from 2013 Evan Hansen of Exira EHK. Look for Hansen to reach the finals yet again.
Final Prediction
Lars: Hansen (E) over Kohlmeyer (SF)
Kirk: Hansen (E) over Kohlmeyer (SF)
Eric: Hansen (E) over Kohlmeyer (SF)
195
Top Half: The top quarter of this bracket is pretty solid with 4 wrestlers who are or were ranked at one time. #5 Hunter Johnston of Eddyville-Blakesburg will have his hands full first round against #6 Andrew Olsen of Lake Mills. Look for Johnston to come out on top and face #10 Clayton Juhl of North Cedar in the quarters. Juhl could pull the upset and be onto the semifinals where his likely opponent will be #3 Zach Hickson of Don Bosco. This would be a rematch from early in the year where Hickson won
Bottom Half: The bottom has #1, #2, #4, #7, and #8. #2 Rylan Richardson of South Central Calhoun should reach the semifinals from his quarter. #1 Cash Wilcke of OA-BCIG should also reach the semis but he will be tested by a ranked wrestler in each match. First round he will have #8 Tyler Larson of Nashua-Plainfield then he will have #4 Ty Schneider of SE Warren.
Final Prediction
Lars: Wilcke (OABCIG) over Hickson (DB)
Kirk: Wilcke (OABCIG) over Hickson (DB)
Eric: Wilcke (OABCIG) over Hickson (DB)
220
Top Half: #3 Cale Crowder of Guthrie Center is the favorite to make the semis out of the top quarter. He could be tested by Sophomore and #9 ranked Matt Naig of Sibley-Ocheyedan. #4 Andrew Petersen should be the favorite to make the semis from his quarter.
Bottom Half: The top two wrestlers at this weight are in the bottom half #1 Ryan Parmely and #2 Clay Meinders of AGWSR. Look for both to meet up in the semis with Parmely wrestling a ranked wrestler every match of the way. Look for the defending state champ Parmely to knock off the 3rd place finisher from last year Meinders.
Final Prediction
Lars: Parmely (MV) over Crowder (GC)
Kirk: Parmley (MV) over Petersen (WC)
Eric: Parmely (MV) over Crowder (GC)
285
Top Half: #1 Levi Paulsen of Woodbury Central is the favorite to win this weight, but he has a tough road ahead of him. He will have the #4 ranked wrestler Cody Thompson of Graettinger first round. If he can get by him he will then have #9 Luke Worden of Belmond-Klemme. The other quarter on the top side has and interesting first round match up between Skyler Popham of Clarksville and #8 Gatlin Keehner of MFL. Look for Popham to pull the upset here and advance to the semifinals.
Bottom Half: We have another great first round match up here between #2 Joe Ricker of Mt. Ayr and #5 Tim Butcher of Manson. Look for Ricker to win this and reach the semis where he could face unranked Kyler Schott of North Linn who will need to get through #7 and then #3.
Final Prediction
Lars: Paulsen (WC) over Ricker (MA)
Kirk: Paulsen (WC) over Ricker (MA)
Eric: Paulsen (WC) over Ricker (MA)