106
Ranked Wrestlers:
#1 Camron Phetxoumphone of Webster City
#2 McKinley Robbins of Greene County
#3 Cole Nelson of Humboldt
#4 Carter Anderson of Albia
#5 Lane Scorpil of Columbus Community
#6 Derrick Bass of Assumption, Davenport
#7 Carter Kolthoff of BCLUW – Conrad
#8 Chase Fiser of Bondurant-Farrar
Top Half:
Carson Less from West Delaware has been inconsistent at times this season but is wrestling very well as of late. Unfortunately, he gets the unenviable task of drawing #1 Cam Phetxoumphone in the opening round. Phetxoumphone will likely get yet another rematch with #3 Cole Nelson of Humboldt in the quarterfinals and I have no reason to believe that he doesn’t win that match again and advance. The next quarter of the bracket looks to be a crash course for #6 Derrick Bass of Davenport Assumption and #8 Chase Fiser of Bondurant-Farrar. Bass was injured at the district tournament but if healthy I look for the freshman to reach the semifinals.
Bottom Half:
Perhaps the best first round matchup in all of Class 2A could take place here with #2 McKinley Robbins of Greene County taking on #4 Carter Anderson of Albia. The winner of that match will likely face #7 Carter Kolthoff of BCLUW in the quarterfinals. #5 Lane Scorpil of Columbus Community is the lone ranked wrestler in the bottom quarter but could face a stiff test from Coy De Boer of Sheldon in the quarterfinals.
Predictions:
Lars: Camron Phetxoumphone (Webster City) over McKinley Robbins (Greene County)
Tony: Camron Phetxoumphone (Webster City) over McKinley Robbins (Greene County)
Eric: Camron Phetxoumphone (Webster City) over Lane Scorpil (Columbus Community)
113
Ranked Wrestlers:
#1 Carter Fousek of Crestwood, Cresco
#2 Cole Whitehead of Center Point- Urbana
#3 Keaton Zeimet of Central DeWitt
#4 Jonathon Burnette of Spirit Lake Park
#5 Rylie Anderson of Bondurant-Farrar
#7 Carter Littlefield of Jesup
#8 Cole Nelson of Perry
#9 Kellen Moore of Forest City
#10 Aybren Moore of Atlantic
Top Half:
Defending state champion Carter Fousek of Crestwood, Cresco is the only ranked wrestler in the top quarter of the bracket and appears destined for another trip to the semifinals. #4 Jonathon Burnette of Spirit Lake Park should face #8 Cole Nelson of Perry in the other quarter on the top side with the winner squaring off with Fousek for a chance at the finals.
Bottom Half:
#3 Keaton Zeimet of Central Dewitt is hoping to improve on his 3rd place finish from last season but his road won’t be easy. He will likely face off with #7 Carter Littlefield of Jesup in the quarters who was a class 1A state place winner last season. #2 Cole Whitehead has had a fantastic season but gets rewarded with 4 ranked kids in his quarter of the bracket. He faces off with the talented freshman #9 ranked Kellen Moore of Forest City in his opening bout. Get past that match and he will have the winner of #5 Rylie Anderson of Bondurant-Farrar and #10 Aybren Moore of Atlantic for a chance to reach the semifinals.
Predictions:
Lars: Carter Fousek (Crestwood, Cresco) over Cole Whitehead (Center Point-Urbana)
Tony: Carter Fousek (Crestwood, Cresco) over Keaton Zeimet (Central Dewitt)
Eric: Carter Fousek (Crestwood, Cresco) over Cole Whitehead (Center Point-Urbana)
120
Ranked Wrestlers:
#1 Dominik Ridout of East Marshall – LeGrand
#2 Nick Fox of Osage
#3 Colby Lillegard of Bondurant-Farrar
#4 Kolten Crawford of Union, LaPorte City
#5 Ben Schmitz of Kuemper Catholic
#7 Blake Engel of West Delaware
#8 Kayden Gryp of Williamsburg
#9 Johnny Hua of MOC-Floyd Valley
#10 Ben Vogel of Camanche
Top Half:
#8 Kayden Gryp of Williamsburg has been wrestling well but will get a good test from Carter Straw of Independence who has been wrestling great as of late and could make some noise here. The winner will likely see #3 Colby Lillegard of Bondurant-Farrar in the quarterfinals who comes in as the top seed. #1 ranked Dominik Ridout of East Marshall is the only ranked wrestler in the next quarter but Johnathan Erp of Red Oak seems to be wrestling his best right now and could be a dangerous out in this bracket.
Bottom Half:
The bottom half of the bracket should be very competitive with 6 ranked wrestlers. Freshman Nick Fox of Osage is the highest-ranked wrestler on this side but will have a tough road as he starts with #5 Ben Schmitz of Kuemper Catholic in his opening bout. Schmitz has taken a couple losses lately but is a former high place winner and always dangerous. The winner will see the winner of a fun matchup between #9 Johnny Hua of MOC-Floyd Valley and #10 Ben Vogel of Camanche. The bottom quarterfinal could be a matchup between #4 Kolten Crawford of Union, LaPorte City and #7 Blake Engel of West Delaware.
Predictions:
Lars: Dominik Ridout (East Marshall–LeGrand) over Nick Fox (Osage)
Tony: Colby Lillegard (Bondurant-Farrar) over Nick Fox (Osage)
Eric: Nick Fox (Osage) over Dominik Ridout (East Marshall–LeGrand)
126
Ranked Wrestlers:
#1 Matthew Lewis of Centerville
#2 Isaiah Weber of Independence
#3 Brock Beck of Grinnell
#4 Cael Ihle of Gilbert
#5 Joe Sullivan of Osage
#6 Sam Nelson of Clear Lake
#8 Logan Arp of South Tama County
#9 Evan Woods of West Delaware
#10 Brady Ortner of Vinton-Shellsburg
Top Half:
#2 Isaiah Weber of Independence is the only ranked wrestler in the top quadrant of this bracket even though Lenz spent some time in them earlier this year. #5 Joe Sullivan of Osage and #9 Evan Woods of West Delaware square off first round in a good matchup with the winner likely facing #8 Logan Arp of South Tama, who has been wrestling great, in the next quarterfinal.
Bottom Half:
#3 Brock Beck of Grinnell will square off against #10 Brady Ortner of Vinton-Shellsburg in an interesting matchup of styles and body types. The winner of that could see #6 Sam Nelson of Clear Lake who placed 4th last year but has missed a lot of time this season. Nelson will get a good test from Jack Ites of Iowa Falls in the opening round. One of the real head-scratchers of all the state brackets to me is #4 Cael Ihle of Gilbert not getting seeded coming in at 46-2. As further punishment, he draws #1 ranked and two-time state champion Matthew Lewis of Centerville in his opening bout.
Predictions:
Lars: Matthew Lewis (Centerville) over Isaiah Weber (Independence)
Tony: Matthew Lewis (Centerville) over Isaiah Weber (Independence)
Eric: Matthew Lewis (Centerville) over Isaiah Weber (Independence)
