Road to state wrestling begins Saturday

Published by editor on Wed, 02/03/2021 - 10:52am

D-NH/G-R’s Wil Textor and A-P/GC’s Nile Petersen square off in Dike earlier this season. The two teams will cross paths again this Saturday as two of the teams at Saturday’s sectional tournament in Iowa Falls. (Jake Ryder photo)

By:

Jake Ryder

Eclipse News-Review

The road to Wells Fargo Arena and the 2021 IHSAA state wrestling tournament begins at noon on Saturday.

Aplington-Parkersburg/Grundy Center and Dike-New Hartford/Gladbrook-Reinbeck travel to Iowa Falls-Alden High School for a Class 2A Section 12 tournament. The top two placewinners in each weight class from that sectional will advance to the district tournament next Saturday at New Hampton.

Falcon wrestlers to watch: Zach Klahsen is the lone returning district qualifier for A-P/GC, looking to get back to the state tournament for the second-consecutive season. Seniors Nick Johnson (170/182) and Kolby Muller (HWT) are putting together solid seasons after finishing third and fourth in sectionals last season. Cadyen Shepard (126) has improved in his junior season. Justin Knaack (132/138) has had a solid freshman start on the varsity roster but may run into a tough bracket depending on which weight he wrestles.

Wolverine wrestlers to watch: Nick Reinicke (160) is the only returning district qualifier for the Wolverines, which didn't send anyone through to state last season. The Wolverines had a lot of close calls at sectionals – Dylan Ohrt (126), Cole Graves (152) and Jacob Leohr (HWT) all have the chance to improve on third-place finishes at last year's sectional tournament. Other Wolverines entering sectional action with 10-plus wins and a .500-or-better winning percentage include Lucas Ragsdale (106), Zach Adelmund (170), Wil Textor (195), Cayden Buskohl (182) and Isaac Carpentier (220).

Ranked opponents at Iowa Falls-Alden sectional (via The Predicament): 106–4. Carson Doolittle, Webster City; 5. Kade Blume, Roland-Story. 113–1. Cam Phetxoumphone, Webster City; 6. Jack Showalter, Hampton-Dumont-CAL. 132–7. Brody Hoversten, Iowa Falls-Alden; 8. Jakyb Kapp, H-D-CAL. 152–7. Carl Barkema, H-D-CAL. 182–10. CJ Hisler, Webster City. 285–10. Jacob Leohr, D-NH/G-R.