The Don Bosco-Southeast Polk dual is potentially set to feature 19 ranked wrestlers from Classes 1A and 3A. If the two teams were to meet in a straight up format that would mean 5 of the 14 matches would feature a ranked showdown, and 3 of those will be a meeting between Top-5 ranked wrestlers. The reality however is that both of these teams will look to shift their wrestlers by bumping into more favorable matches. Class 1A’s Don Bosco and Class 3A’s Southeast Polk will go head to head in Gilbertville live on the IAwrestle Rokfin channel. Our live coverage is scheduled to begin at 4:30PM with previews, predictions, and coaches interviews followed by junior varsity matches at 5:30PM.
The other question lingering at the moment is the status of two Don Bosco wrestlers Michael McClelland and Cedric Yoder. To this point both wrestlers have yet to appear in a competition this season, but we feel confident that Yoder should be ready to make his debut, though McClelland is less certain. The status of these two wrestlers could have a meaningful impact at how the Dons shuffle their lineup to matchup with the Rams.
Head-to-Head matchups:
Straight up
If this dual goes straight up the lineup favors Don Bosco in 7 out of 12 matches, with the remaining two in the “toss-up” category. That means if the Rams manage to win both of those (very possible) we could be looking an even split in terms of number of matches. As mentioned above we aren’t predicting this one to be a straight up dual, so bonus and bumping is going to play a big factor.
In the event the dual were to be straight up the two key toss-ups are at 145 and 220, which also just so happen to be out top two anticipated matches we want to see. I stand by what I said in that article that I would lean toward Kalob Runyon to beat Jarod Thiry in the 220 match, but the Cael Rahnavardi-Joel Jesuroga match feels like a true coin flip. In straight up scenario I have the dual coming down 37-27 in favor of the Dons, giving Rahnavardi the edge at home. Even flipping that match I would still have DB coming out with a 33-30 win.
(Predictions coming tomorrow)
Who could Don Bosco bump?
Looking at the dual from Don Bosco’s perspective we could see a couple of lineup moves in this dual. One of the more likely moves is bumping Cael Rahnavardi to 152. That would change his potential matchup from the #2 ranked Joel Jesuroga to #4 ranked Carson Martinson. The Rahnavardi-Jesuroga match is one of the biggest head-to-head meetings coming into this dual, but it’s viewed as a toss-up. With Southeast Polk heavily favored at 152, it could be more beneficial to have Rahnavardi face Martinson. Let’s not forget that Rahnavardi is no stranger to wrestling up. As a sophomore he had to go all the way up to 170 pounds to make the Don’s lineup and he finished fourth in the state.
Who could Southeast Polk bump?
For SEP the biggest move that stands out on paper is the possibility of having Aiden Grimes move up to 195 to take on Yoder. In our straight up predictions we had Cade Tenold by Major and Yoder by decision (+7 for Don Bosco). Even if they give up six points to the Don’s at 182, if Grimes is able to steal a win a 195 that reduces the net point total (+3 for Don Bosco) in those two matches.