February 13, 2018 By Chris Varney
Here is a look at some of the wrestlers we follow at the Class 1A as the State Tournament starts Thursday:
Belle Plaine
Numbers have been low for the once mighty Belle Plaine wrestling program but the Plainsmen will send two to the Well this week. Senior Dakota Henry (37-7) is ranked 5th by the Predicament at 126 pounds. He has lost twice to Williamsburg’s Jalen Schropp and #2 Cole Siebrecht of Lisbon in sectionals and districts. Henry had to come through the wrestleback round at districts and beat Mitchell Moore of Wapello by fall at 2:34 to make it to state. Henry has a tough first round match with #8 Wyatt Crocker (47-5) of Logan Magnolia. Sophomore Ethan Allie (39-12) also is in the tournament at 182 pounds. Allie also won in the wrestleback round at districts beating Jon Rife of Wilton 3-2. He has a tough first round match against #1 Logan Schumacher (48-0) of Martensdale St. Mary’s who was the state runner up a year ago.
English Valleys
It seems like the Bears have someone in the state tournament every year. Last season, Zach Axmear got his state title and now he is wrestling in an Iowa Hawkeye uniform. This year, E-V sends two to state, both making their first appearance. Sophomore Seth Thompson (33-14) is in the field at 120 pounds. Thompson won his weight class at districts with two pins, beating Trent Terrell of Wayne at 3:46 in the finals. He did lose in the finals of the SICL tournament to Cauy Fitch of Colfax Mingo by a 6-2 score. Fitch, who also made the state field, beat Thompson three times during the season. Thompson wrestles unranked Parker Sternhagen (22-4) a freshman from Maquoketa Valley. Junior Caleb Peach (35-18) is also in at 170 pounds. Peach beat Sage Zylstra of Lynnville Sully and Tylor Kane of BGM at districts after losing to both wrestlers during the season (Zylstra at conference and Kane at sectionals). Peach will face #9 Thomas Even (24-7) a sophomore from Don Bosco in the first round.
Iowa Valley
The Tigers get three into the state tournament field this year. Last year as a sophomore, Garet Sims made it to the semifinals before losing to the aforementioned Schumacher and ended up with a 5th place medal. This year, Sims (52-1) is back at 182 pounds and is ranked #2 according to the Predicament. Sims only loss is to Tanner Sloan of Alburnett is the top ranked wrestler at 195 pounds. Sims faces Senior Joe Kenkel (46-11) of AHSTW in the first round. Sophomore Ben Smith (51-3) is back in the 145 field after not medaling a year ago. Smith is ranked 10th and has lost this season to Tiger Terpstra of Centerville 3-1, Sage Walker of Eddyville 3-1 and Cooper Siebrecht of Lisbon by fall at 5:00. He got a bad break in the draw — #1 ranked Chance Throndson (42-2) of Riceville lost in the districts and will face Smith in the first round. Finally, Sophomore Kayne Marshall (36-22) is in the field at 126 pounds. Marshall drew #1 ranked Alex Thomsen (47-1) of Underwood in the first round.
Lynnville Sully
After not sending anyone to state the last couple of years, Hawks Senior Josh Dunsbergen (36-5) has made it to state for the first time. Dunsbergen has seen time at three different weight classes but 138 seems to be his most common. He lost to Tyler Strasser of North Mahaska in January 3-2 and then lost again 3-0 in the SICL finals. Dunsbergen redeemed himself by beating Strasser 5-2 at sectionals and then again in the wrestleback round at districts 10-3. He faces #3 Kolton Roth (45-2) of Graettinger-T/RA in the first round.
Montezuma
The big man, Battreall (39-13) is making his first state tourney appearance at 285. Battreall was able to wear down both opponents at districts, earning third period pins, beating Matthew Kauffman of Pleasantville at 5:57 and topping Daniel Tapken of English Valleys at 5:12. Battreall had an early stretch of two tournaments where he lost 6 of 7 matches — he goes in as a District champ but will have to face #4 Brock Farley (42-8) of Denver in the first round.
North Mahaska
The Warhawks got shut out of the state tournament last year but Junior Jarrett Stodghill returns to state after making it as a freshman. Stodghill missed about a month of the season but has recovered to go 16-3. He lost in the district finals to Zach Hammes of Pekin 6-2 but did not have a wrestleback. He had an interesting rivalry with Dylan Caskey of HLV this year, going 3-1 against him with the only loss in the conference finals. Stodghill faces #9 Nate Monahan (40-9), a sophomore from Woodbury Central.
1A wrestlers will be in Session 3 of the state tournament with first round action beginning at 6pm on Thursday night. We’ll have coverage on 1410 KGRN and myiowainfo.com.