District 1 – Bettendorf
145
(#9) CJ Walrath (Fr) West Burlington (40-6)
(HM) Logan Adamson (Jr) Bettendorf (20-4)
(HM) Johnny Washburn (Sr) CR Prairie (27-8)
Talented freshman CJ Walrath will be in a district with a pair of returning State Qualifiers. Logan Adamson placed 7th last year as well. None of these guys have wrestled each other this year.
285
(#1) Griffin Liddle (Jr) Bettendorf (13-0)
(#8) Danen Settles (Sr) Fort Madison (33-6)
(#9) Togeh Deseh (Jr) Muscatine (22-4)
Griffin Liddle is ranked #1 for a reason and should cruise to a District Title. Settles beat Deseh by a 3-1 decision at the J-Hawk Invitational in January. Deseh has been wrestling well since then with his only losses coming to Liddle. Look for this to be a semi-final matchup on Saturday with the winner punching his ticket to state.
District 2 – Dallas Center-Grimes
120
(#8) Logan Stotts (Fr) Valley (27-7)
(HM) Cael Cox (Jr) Ankeny (26-9)
(HM) Kaleb German (So) Urbandale (23-10)
(HM) Kieran Shawhan (So) Dallas Center-Grimes (13-12)
Interesting weight class where Cox has beat Stotts and German. Shawhan owns a 1-0 win over German from the first tournament of the year. Stotts has beat German and Shawhan in close matches. This bracket could finish a number of ways with any 2 of the 4 wrestlers placing 1st and 2nd in any order. The semi-finals and placing rounds should be really exciting at this weight in Grimes.
District 3 – Des Moines East
160
(#3) Nick Bonanno (Sr) Indianola (42-3)
(HM) Treavor Summers (So) Ottumwa (27-7)
(HM) Carter Cahill (So) Ankeny Centennial (28-9)
(HM) Cody Gunn (Sr) Oskaloosa (9-4)
(HM) Andrew Reed (So) Southeast Polk (26-13)
Look for Bonanno to run away with this weight at Districts. However, there are 4 other wrestlers at this weight that all have a legitimate shot at punching their ticket to Wells Fargo Arena. Cahill beat Summers 11-6 and Reed in Overtime 7-5 at the CIML. Gunn has not wrestled many matched but he has wrestled Bonanno and Vetterick to close matches. There will be an exciting 1st round match, semi-final and I would not be surprised to see a wrestle back happen at this weight.
220
(#3) Kalob Runyon Jr Southeast Polk 28 4
(#8) Jackie Wells Jr Ankeny Centennial 28 8
(#9) Jaylin Smith Jr Indianola 24 12
(HM) Taylor Schwartzman Jr DM East 27 9
I look for Runyon to win this weight with relative ease. Wells-Smith was 0-0 after the first period in the dual before Wells locked up a cradle and pinned him. I look for this to be a semi-final match and the winner will find himself wrestling at the State Tournament next week. Don’t sleep on Schwartzman, he can be dangerous and has beaten some quality opponents.
District 5 – Fort Dodge
132
(#6) Brooks Cowell (Sr) Fort Dodge (26-7)
(HM) Connor Wiemann (Sr) Mason City (23-14)
(HM) Nick Walters (Jr) Sioux City North (35-3)
(HM) TJ Arnold (Sr) Spencer (27-7)
Cowell should win this weight, but don’t be surprised if Walters finds a way to win this weight. He placed 8th last season and has beat some quality opponents throughout his career. Wiemann has had a good season and wrestled hard. He has wins over some quality competition as well. Arnold has not wrestled a ton of 3A competition, but he did pin Plagge from Cedar Falls last night in the regional dual.
District 8 – Marshalltown
132
(#2) Aiden Riggins (So) Waverly-Shell Rock (25-2)
(HM) Cadin Herrmann (So) Waterloo East (25-4)
(#9) Jack Plagge (Sr) Cedar Falls (23-9)
(HM) Zach Bitker (Jr) Marshalltown (16-7)
(HM) Brennan Amos (So) Newton (15-8)
(HM) Carter Smith (Jr) Waukee (22-16)
Look for Riggins to run away with this weight at Districts. The other 5 guys are all wrestlers who have either been ranked or close to being ranked. Herrmann and Plagge have split this season. Bitker beat Amos 6-2. Amos and Smith both qualified last season. Bitker, Plagge and Herrmann were in a tough district and could not get out last season. There are a lot of moving parts in this bracket. Two of these guys will be wrestling for 5th place on Saturday which is crazy. Look for there to be a wrestle back and some fireworks in the semi-finals and 3rd place match.
195
(#7) Collin Bohnenkamp (Sr) Cedar Falls (29-4)
(#8) Jake Walker (Fr) Waverly-Shell Rock (25-7)
(#10) Ryan Cook (Sr) CR Xavier (31-7)
(HM) Owen Sanger (Jr) Newton (17-8)
This weight is interesting. Bohnenkamp does not have many matches at 195 this season. Walker has not wrestled the other 3 guys in this district, but is an extremely talented freshman with some quality wins. Cook qualified last season and has done nothing but improve all season and put together a 31-7 campaign. Sanger has not wrestled much, but also has some quality wins. I look for Bohnenkamp and Walker to have a battle in the finals.
220
(#1) Braydon Wolf (Sr) Waverly-Shell Rock (22-0)
(#2) Gage Linahon (Sr) Newton (28-1)
(#6) Cael Thorson (Sr) Waukee (32-6)
(#7) Carson Williams (Sr) Marshalltown (23-7)
Braydon Wolf is putting together one of the most dominant season in recent memory and I don’t think that changes this Saturday. Williams has wrestled both Linahon and Thorson. Linahon beat Williams 6-5; Thorson beat Williams 7-2. Linahon is the returning 3rd place finisher and knows what it takes to be successful when it matters most. Thorson qualified for state and won a match last season. Williams has been in a battle with several ranked wrestlers. This weight is going to be fun. We will see a Linahon-Thorson quarter-final. If Williams beats the loser of that match for 3rd then he will likely get a wrestle back to head to the state tournament.
No 1a district brackets to watch?