106
The top half of the bracket features 5 ranked wrestlers and is led off by a fun matchup between #2 Shea Ruffridge of Pocahontas Area vs #4 Chase Luensman of Monticello. The winner of that match will likely face #8 Kole Hansen of Atlantic in the 2nd round. The other quarter has a first round matchup between #3 Eric Faught of Clear Lake and #6 Dylan Robinson of New Hampton. The winner will be favored in the 2nd round as well and should move on to the semifinals.
The bottom half of the bracket seems to be evenly split with a ranked wrestler in each of the 4 first round matches. The quarters will likely have #9 Matt Randone of Assumption vs #10 Grayson Kesterson of Williamsburg. Randone has been red hot lately and I look for that to continue and him to move into the semis. The bottom quarter of the bracket should pit #5 Kaden Anderlik of Crestwood against #1 Aden Reeves of Albia in a battle of talented freshman.
Finals Predictions:
Lars – Aden Reeves (Albia) over Eric Faught (Clear Lake)
Eric- Aden Reeves (Albia) over Eric Faught (Clear Lake)
Kirk – Aden Reeves (Albia) over Shea Ruffridge (Pocahontas Area)
113
The top half of the bracket features 4 ranked wrestlers including a highly anticipated rematch from the 106 semis a year ago when #2 Josh Keller of Columbus Community takes on #6 Noah Fye of New Hampton. The other quarter should pit #9 Brady Fritz of South Tama vs #8 Carter Cox of Atlantic.
On the bottom side #1 Justin Portillo seems to have a clear path to the semis with no ranked wrestlers in his quarter. The bottom of the bracket features another great first round matchup between #3 Duncan McCain of Mid-Prairie vs #5 Riley Wright of Denver Tripoli. The winner of that matchup should set up a great semifinal vs Portillo.
Finals Predictions:
Lars – Justin Portillo (Clarion-Goldfield-Dows) over Drake Doolittle (Webster City)
Eric- Justin Portillo (Clarion-Goldfield-Dows) over Josh Keller (Columbus Community)
Kirk – Justin Portillo (Clarion-Goldfield-Dows) over Josh Keller (Columbus Community)
120
The top half at 120 contains 6 ranked wrestlers but only 1 of the top 5. #10 Chase McLaren of Atlantic will wrestle #7 (at 113) Zach Thompson of Perry first round with the winner likely getting #8 Jon Hellman in the quarterfinals. #9 Nick Meling of East Marshall should win his first round match. He will see the winner of #7 Jacob Fenske of Assumption vs #4 Michael Millage of Crestwood.
The bottom half at 120 is loaded with 5 ranked wrestlers including the top 3 guys. #1 Josh Portillo of Clarion-Goldfield will get a test first round from #5 Jared Hensley of Bedford/Lenox. The winner should face #2 Rhyker Sims of Sergeant Bluff-Luton in the quarters. The bottom quarter features a sneaky good match between #6 Dante Tacchia of Iowa Falls vs a very good Gabe Ruepke of Chariton. The winner should square off against #3 Connor Cleveland of New Hampton who has been doing his best wrestling over the last few weeks.
Finals Predictions:
Lars – Josh Portillo (Clarion-Goldfield-Dows) over Michael Millage (Crestwood, Cresco)
Eric- Ryhker Sims (Sergeant Bluff-Luton) over Michael Millage (Crestwood, Cresco)
Kirk – Josh Portillo (Clarion-Goldfield-Dows) over Michael Millage (Crestwood, Cresco)
126
The top half features 4 ranked wrestlers none of whom meet each in other in the first round. One quarterfinal will likely see #8 Ben Carr of Solon vs #5 Ryan Steffen of Crestwood. The other quarter should feature #3 Brayden Curry of Sergeant Bluff-Luton vs #4 Tanner Probasco of South Tama.
The bottom half will have 3 ranked wrestlers led by #1 Brock Rathbun of Center Point-Urbana. There is a really good first round match between #10 Tate Battani of Ballard and Tyler Shatek of New Hampton who was previously ranked. The winner of that bout will have Rathbun in the quarters. The bottom section of the bracket will have #9 Gisaveri Niyibizi of Perry as the only ranked wrestler.
Finals Predictions:
Lars – Brock Rathbun (Center Point-Urbana) over Brayden Curry (Sergeant Bluff-Luton)
Eric- Brock Rathubun (Center Point-Urbana) over Brayden Curry (Sergeant Bluff-Luton)
Kirk – Brock Rathbun (Center Point-Urbana) over Brayden Curry (Sergeant Bluff-Luton)
132
The top half features 4 ranked wrestlers with none meeting first round. Derek Holschlag was ranked #2 at 126 in the final rankings before deciding to go 132 for the postseason. He should await the winner of #6 Kade VanKirk of Perry and a very tough Tony Garcia of Mt Vernon. Don’t be shocked to see Garcia give VanKirk a tough match or even came out of this one. The other quarter will likely have #9 Colton Vest of South Tama vs #1 Keaton Geerts of New Hampton.
The bottom half at 132 will have 5 ranked wrestlers. We should get to see a great quarterfinal with #2 Brice Everson of Camanche vs #3 Shea Swafford of Mediapolis. The other part of the bottom side has a great first round matchup with #5 Austin Gutknecht of Clarinda vs #7 Chase Lienhard of Crestwood. The winner will likely face #4 Austin Rozeboom of Boyden Hull/Rock Valley.
Finals Predictions:
Lars – Keaton Geerts (New Hampton) over Brice Everson (Camanche)
Eric- Derek Holschlag (Union) over Brice Everson (Camanche)
Kirk – Derek Holschlag (Union) over Brice Everson (Camanche)
138
The top half at 138 features 4 of the top 5 guys at this weight and they all meet each other in the first round. #2 Wyatt Thompson of Creston will take on #4 Kirk Mommsen of Davenport Assumption in the first round. The first round will also have #3 Austin Staudt of Charles City vs #5 Brennan Swafford of Mediapolis. The winners will likely face off in the semifinals.
The bottom of the 138 bracket will also have 4 ranked wrestlers with 1 first round match with 2 ranked foes. #8 Connor Ascherl of MOC Floyd Valley will face #10 Lucas Roland of PCM Monroe with the winner getting #1 Ryan Leisure in the quarters. #6 Tanner Abbas of Clarion Goldfield appears to be the clear front runner to come out of the other quarter.
Finals Predictions:
Lars – Ryan Leisure (Clear Lake) over Wyatt Thompson (Creston Orient-Macksburg)
Eric- Ryan Leisure (Clear Lake) over Wyatt Thompson (Creston Orient-Macksburg)
Kirk – Wyatt Thompson (Creston Orient-Macksburg) over Ryan Leisure (Clear Lake)
145
The top half will have 4 ranked wrestlers including #1 Bryce Leshen of Albia who appears to have a good path to the semifinals. The other part of the top will have #3 Mason Buster of Mediapolis vs #8 Pierce Gelhaus of Forest City in the first round. The winner will likely have #4 Maxwell Forsyth of Charles City waiting in the quarters.
The bottom half will feature 5 ranked wrestlers including a dynamite matchup between #2 Nick Hyland of Vinton-Shellsburg and #5 Brady Brott of Clarion Goldfield. The winner will likely face #7 Cole Fritz of Solon who should be tested by Jaret Probasco of South Tama in round 1. The other quarter could have #6 Trae Pecinovsky of Crestwood vs #9 Xavier Miller of PCM Monroe who will have a tough first match with Mitchel Swank of Creston.
Finals Predictions:
Lars – Bryce Leshen (Albia) over Nick Hyland (Vinton Shellsburg)
Eric- Bryce Leshen (Albia) over Brady Brott (Clarion-Goldfield-Dows)
Kirk – Bryce Leshen (Albia) over Brady Brott (Clarion-Goldfield-Dows)
152
The top half features 4 ranked wrestlers. The top of the bracket features 2 very tough unranked wrestlers in a great first round match between Preston Dunn of Sergeant Bluff and Nick Johnson of Davenport Assumption. The winners prize will be a date with #1 Matt Malcom of Glenwood in the quarters. The other section will have a first round match of #2 Tommy Bradshaw of Greene County vs #8 freshman Wes Cummings of PCM Monroe. The winner of that match should see #6 Isaac Judge of South Tama in the other quarter.
The bottom half will have 4 more ranked wrestlers. #4 Joe Kelly of West Liberty is the only ranked wrestler in the top quarter but should get tested by Trey Van Weelden of Washington in the second round. The bottom section has a first round matchup between #5 Brock Jennings of Osage and #10 Ryan Gorman of New Hampton. The winner should see #3 Blake Lawless of Albia in the quarters. This half appears to be a great race for the finals.
Finals Predictions:
Lars – Matt Malcom (Glenwood) over Blake Lawless (Albia)
Eric- Matt Malcom (Glenwood) over Brock Jennings (Osage)
Kirk – Matt Malcom (Glenwood) over Blake Lawless (Albia)
160
The top half will 5 ranked wrestlers including the top 4 guys! We should get a great first round match right away between #1 Tristan Johnson of Osage and #4 Josh Strohman of Algona. The winner should likely face #7 Cam Leith of Creston in the quarters. Another good first round match should be #3 Jake Juhl of Independence against talented freshman Tristin Westphal-Edwards of Washington. I look for Juhl to move on to face #2 Zach Johnston of ADM Adel in the quarters.
The bottom half is pretty wide open without any of the top 4 ranked guys. The bottom half will only have 2 ranked wrestlers and they will face off in the first round when #5 Trevor Nelson of Solon faces off against #10 Dylan Coffin of Saydel. Isaiah Vaughan spent some time in the rankings earlier this year and is wrestling well and could make some noise here as well.
Finals Predictions:
Lars – Tristan Johnson (Osage) over Trevor Nelson (Solon)
Eric- Tristan Johnson (Osage) over Trevor Nelson (Solon)
Kirk – Tristan Johnson (Osage) over Trevor Nelson (Solon)
170
The top half includes 5 ranked wrestlers including 3 of the top 4. The only first round matchup between ranked wrestlers will be #8 Jacob Kloft of Maquoketa and #10 Coy Roussell of West Delaware. The winner will likely face #4 Bailey Chyma of South Tama in the quarters. The other quarter should feature #1 Chase Shiltz of Creston vs #3 Tucker Morrison of Columbus Community. Morrison’s only loss of the season came against Shiltz.
The bottom half will have 4 ranked wrestlers including a good first round match between #2 Anthony Sherry of Glenwood and #6 Conner Shaw of Garner Hayfield Ventura. The bottom section will have a good first round match between #9 Michael Kent of Iowa Falls and another good freshman from PCM Monroe in Jarron Trausch. The winner of that match will likely face #5 Nick Holt of Independence in the quarters.
Finals Predictions:
Lars – Chase Shiltz (Creston Orient-Macksburg) over Anthony Sherry (Glenwood)
Eric- Chase Shiltz (Crestton Orient-Macksburg) over Anthony Sherry (Glenwood)
Kirk – Chase Shiltz (Creston Orient-Macksburg) over Anthony Sherry (Glenwood)
182
The top half at 182 will have 5 ranked wrestlers including the top 4 guys! Coming off a loss in the district finals #2 JJ Clark will have his hands full first round against #9 Sam Mathis of Roland Story, Story City. The winner will likely meet #3 Danny Sommerlot of Pocahontas Area in the quarters. The other quarter appears to be a likely matchup between #1 Nick Baumler of North Fayette Valley and #4 Vic Malloy of Williamsburg.
The bottom half will also have 5 ranked wrestlers and should be pretty wide open. #5 Zac Stork knocked off Clark at districts and has been on a tear since dropping down to 182 late in the season but faces #8 Logan Chipp of Hampton Dumont first round. The winner will likely face #6 Cade Baker of Garner Hayfield Ventura in the quarters. Another good first round match will pit #7 Cole Bennett of ADM Adel vs #10 Elliott Ryan of Independence. The winner there will likely face Luke Erickson of Mediapolis in the quarters. Erickson was ranked most of the year and will not be an easy out for anyone.
Finals Predictions:
Lars – Nick Baumler (North Fayette Valley) over Zac Stork (Atlantic)
Eric- Nick Baumler (North Fayette Valley) over Zac Stork (Atlantic)
Kirk – Nick Baumler (North Fayette Valley) over Zac Stork (Atlantic)
195
The top half of the bracket will have 4 ranked wrestlers. We will see a great first round matchup with #3 Izaak Shedenhelm of Denver Tripoli vs #5 Zach Haggstrom of Glenwood. #6 Shane Poppens of Aplington-Parkersburg likely awaits the winner in the quarterfinals. #7 Ethan Timmerman of Mediapolis looks like the clear favorite out of the other quarter and could make a run into the semis.
The bottom half only has 3 ranked wrestlers but they are all ranked in the top 4 of this weight. We will have a great first round matchup with #2 Seth Maitlen of Creston vs #4 Matt McMillan of Independence. The winner could face returning place winner Nick Jacobs of Charles City who after taking some losses early in the year has been wrestling well of late. The other quarter here seems to be heavily favored by #1 Bryce Esmoil of West Liberty. The sophomore Esmoil comes in 45-0 and everyone else in this section has double digit losses on the year.
Finals Predictions:
Lars – Bryce Esmoil (West Liberty) over Izaak Shedenhelm (Denver-Tripoli)
Eric- Izaak Shedenhelm (Denver-Tripoli) over Seth Maitlen (Creston-Orient-Macksburg)
Kirk – Bryce Esmoil (West Liberty) over Izaak Shedenhelm (Denver-Tripoli)
220
The top half of 220 will have 5 ranked wrestlers including a first round matchup between #5 Travis McMillan of Oelwein and #2 Alex Paulson of Forest City. It won’t get any easier from there and the winner will likely have #3 Kadon Hulett of Creston in the quarterfinals. #6 Levi Duwa will likely await the winner of #8 Travis Poffenbarger and a very good Ko Kieft of Sioux Center in the first round.
The bottom half will feature 4 more ranked wrestlers and will have a first round match between #1 Gavin Dinsdale of Webster City and #7 Jordan Baumler of North Fayette Valley. The winner there will likely face #4 Noah Broderson of Davenport Assumption in the quarterfinals. #9 Gage Jarrett of West Burlington Notre Dame is the only ranked wrestler in the bottom section but he will be tested by Caleb Ring of Osage and Hunter Gibson of ADM Adel who have both spent time in the rankings.
Finals Predictions:
Lars – Gavin Dinsdale (Webster City) over Alex Paulson (Forest City)
Eric- Gavin Dinsdale (Webster City) over Kadon Hulett (Creston Orient-Macksburg)
Kirk – Gavin Dinsdale (Webster City) over Kadon Hulett (Creston Orient-Macksburg)
285
The top half of this bracket only has 2 ranked wrestlers and #1 Carter Isley of Albia seems destined to make another trip to the state finals. He came out on top of a district with 4 ranked wrestlers that left 2 of them at home. He will likely face freshman Spencer Trenary of Pocahontas Area in the quarters who was ranked earlier in the year. #7 Michael Ahrendsen of Union Laporte City is the other ranked wrestler on this side and could get tested in the second round by Tanner Hoffstetter of Grinnell who has also spent time in the ranking.
The bottom half will feature 5 ranked wrestlers. #4 Nathan Heath of ADM Adel is the other man to survive that brutal district 6 and will now have to face #9 Caleb Sanders of Glenwood in the first round. The winner will likely face #10 Elijah Van’t Hof of Sioux Center in the quarters. The bottom section could see a quarterfinal between #2 Cooper Lawson of Webster City and the big man from Mount Vernon in #5 Tristan Wirfs.
Finals Predictions:
Lars – Carter Isley (Albia) over Cooper Lawson (Webster City)
Eric- Carter Isley (Albia) over Nathan Heath (ADM Adel)
Kirk – Carter Isley (Albia) over Nathan Heath (ADM Adel)
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