2007 State Tournament Coverage
Class 1A Weight-by-Weight Preview

BY MATT PFIFFNER
103 - (8 ranked wrestlers made the State Tournament)
Top half - This is definitely the tougher of the two halves. Second-ranked Adam Hight (39-0) of Nodaway Valley and No. 1 Sean McNitt (39-1) of Council Bluffs St. Albert appear to be on a collision course for a quarterfinal bout. Both face tough freshmen in the opening round, but should be able to get past those tests. Also on the top half, third-ranked Cole Welter (27-1) of Don Bosco and No. 7 Zach Campion (24-3) of Lisbon meet in the first round. Welter won the first time they met, 11-8. The winner likely meets fourth-ranked Michael Tlach (34-3) of West Hancock in the other quarterfinal.

Bottom half - A pair of tough unranked freshmen meet rated sophomores in a pair of interesting first-round bouts. Freshman Derric Thomas (35-6) of Mason City Newman will test No. 6 Tony Simon (40-5) of Highland, as will fellow freshman Kyle Kleve (43-6) of Starmont against No. 5 Sean Schneider (35-5) of Twin River Valley. The winners of those two matches meet in a quarterfinal. In the other quarter, No. 10 Zach Ryan (32-8) of Woodbury Central is the lone ranked grappler, but should get tested in the first round against formerly rated Brett McMains (37-8) of Woodbine. Sophomore David Ginger (37-4) of Pleasantville and Klint Stapes (28-8) of Interstate 35 meet in a first-round bout between Pride of Iowa Conference rivals. This half appears to be wide open for just about any of the eight wrestlers to make a run at the finals.

Predicament's Finals Predictions: Matt Pfiffner - Sean McNitt vs. Tony Simon; Jim Thompson - McNitt vs. Simon; Wyatt Schultz - Cole Welter vs. Simon

112 - (9 ranked wrestlers made the State Tournament)
Top half - The top two rated wrestlers at this weight appear in the top half of the draw and could meet in the semifinals. No. 1 Bart Reiter (27-0) of Don Bosco, the 103-pound champ last season, takes on a tough senior in Cody Smith (41-5) of Central Decatur in the first round. If he gets past Smith, Retier would either face No. 4 Heath DeForest (43-1) of Pleasantville or No. 8 Augustin Martinez (41-4) of Sioux Center in the quarters. In the other quarter, No. 2 Alex Helmich (32-0) of Graettinger/Terril, the runner-up at this weight a year ago to Mark Kist of Eagle Grove, appears to be the clear favorite to advance to the semifinals. If he and Reiter meet, it would be a battle of undefeated grapplers with a trip to the finals on the line.

Bottom half - A pair of first round bouts between ranked wrestlers highlights this half of the draw. No. 7 Jackson Winkelbauer (33-5) of Prairie Valley takes on No. 10 Kirby Karwal (41-4) of Griswold. Winkelbauer has only lost to Helmich (twice) and 2A No. 2 Mike Helle of RCL/SCAL (three times). In the other quarter, No. 5 Justin Marx (34-4) of Dike-New Hartford meets No. 9 Matt Haley (38-5) of Corning in the first round. The winner there likely meets No. 6 Cameron Wagner (35-5) of Belle Plaine in the quarters. Wagner handed DeForest of Pleasantville his only loss of the year in the District finals and could be a wrestler to beat on this half.

Predicament's Finals Predictions: MP - Bart Reiter vs. Jackson Winkelbauer; JT - Reiter vs. Winkelbauer; WS - Reiter vs. Matt Haley

119 - (All 10 ranked wrestlers made the State Tournament)
Top half - Defending State champ Jase Thompson (42-1) of Mason City Newman begins his title defense against No. 9 Nick Feauto (24-1) of Lawton-Bronson, who suffered his first loss of the season at Districts. The winners meets No. 10 Jeff Ohnemus (41-6) or Jason Winkler (29-4) of South Winneshiek in the quarters. A top-notch first-round match in the other quarter pits No. 3 Jordan Westfall (42-2) of Highland against No. 6 Kendall Witt (38-4) of Tri-Center. Whoever survives that bout could meet No. 7 Colton Wagner (36-6) of Belle Plaine in the quarters. Whoever survives this half and wrestles Saturday night will have earned it.

Bottom half - The top-ranked wrestler, Travis Taylor (38-0) of Prairie Valley appears to have a clear path to the semifinals. No one has less than 10 losses in his quarter of the draw. Taylor will be looking for his second trip in a row to the State finals at 119. The other quarter on this side, however, is a different story. Fourth-ranked Jake Demmon (41-2) of Eddyville-Blakesburg, who gave Thompson of MCN his lone loss on the year, faces No. 8 Ben Morrow (34-5) of North Linn in the first round. The winner meets No. 5 Greg Reiter (39-4) of Don Bosco or Jared VanGinkel (31-8) of West Lyon in the quarters.

Predicament's Finals Predictions: MP - Jase Thompson vs. Travis Taylor; JT - Thompson vs. Taylor; WS - Thompson vs. Taylor

125 - (9 ranked wrestlers made the State Tournament)
Top half - The two wrestlers who have been the clear No. 1 and No. 2 at this weight all season appear headed for a semifinal clash, but they will be tested heavily along the way. No. 1 Dalton Jensen (45-1) of Missouri Valley was a State champ two years ago at 103, but finished third last year at 119. He meets No. 3 Cody Delagardelle (35-6) of Don Bosco in the first round, but if he gets past that, should have an easier time in the quarters. No. 2 James Houchins (41-0) of Interstate 35 has been pushed to the limit a few times this season, but has always come out on top and appears to be wrestling his best down the stretch. He meets No. 10 Wade Hebrink (32-3) of Lake Mills in the first round and if he gets past him, could face No. 8 Justin Machacek (37-6) of North Linn in the quarters. If Jensen and Houchins do meet on Friday, expect a classic match.

Bottom half - There are no first round matches between ranked wrestlers on the bottom half, but that doesn't mean there won't be some great bouts. No. 7 Cody Johnston (37-5) of Nashua-Plainfield meets Mike Jensen (28-9) of Underwood in the first round. Jensen nearly beat Houchins last month and can go with anyone at this weight. A No. 5 Dimitri Boyer (39-5) of Eddyville-Blakesburg vs. No. 9 Drew Hinschberger (37-6) of Belle Plaine quarterfinal seems likely, while Johnston could meet No. 4 Mitch Erdman (38-3) of MMC in the other quarterfinal bout.

Predicament's Finals Predictions: MP - Dalton Jensen vs. Mitch Erdman; JT - Jensen vs. Dimitri Boyer; WS - James Houchins vs. Drew Hinschberger

130 - (All 10 ranked wrestlers made the State Tournament)
Top half - Top-ranked Marshall Koethe (29-1) of Akron-Westfield is favored to reach his third championship match in as many seasons, but will have to work for it. After what appears to be an easy first-round match, Koethe could meet No. 2 Jeret Chiri (41-1) of New London/WMU in the second round. But Chiri has to get past No. 5 Logan Larsen (36-4) of Mount Ayr in a good first round bout. In the other quarter, No. 8 Caleb Jens (38-3) of Odgen and No. 9 Kody Kersten (39-4) of Logan-Magnolia meet. The winner there likely gets No. 6 Nathan McRoberts (36-1) of Rockford in the quarterfinal match.

Bottom half - The top first round match here is No. 3 Nathan DeBoer (37-2) of Central Lyon against No. 7 Vince Hawkins (45-1) of Alburnett. DeBoer's only losses came at the hands of Koethe at Sectionals and Districts. The winner of that great match probably meets No. 4 Mitch Johnson (27-2) of Interstate 35, a two-time State place winner. No. 10 Zach Beekman (36-8) of Pocahontas Area appears to be favored in the other quarter, but could face tough tests against Vance Ortner (35-7) of Don Bosco in the first round and possibly Lee Beumer (35-6) of BGM in the quarters.

Predicament's Finals Predictions: MP - Marshall Koethe vs. Nathan DeBoer; JT - Koethe vs. DeBoer; WS - Koethe vs. Mitch Johnson

135 - (8 ranked wrestlers made the State Tournament)
Top half - Third-ranked Nate Herda (37-1) of Central Lyon and No. 8 Stephan Schwartz (29-8) of Lake Mills meet in the first round and the winner probably meets No. 5 Caleb Hopkins (42-1) of Coon Rapids-Bayard in the quarters. No. 7 Jake Schwebke (39-5) of AGWSR appears the favorite in the other quarter.

Bottom half - For the fifth time in the first six weight classes in 1A, the top two ranked individuals are on the same side of the draw. Top-ranked Ryan Mulnix (40-0) of North Linn appears to have a clear path to the semis. It would be a huge upset if he wasn't there. Waiting for him could be No. 2 Jordan Hasenkamp (42-0) of Twin River Valley, who has steamrolled through all competition this season. But a first-round match against talented freshman No. 6 Russ Godberson (35-7) of MMC come first and then a possible quarterfinal meeting with No. 10 Jon Adams (35-8) of Underwood or Garrett Young (36-7) of Interstate 35. Adams has beat Young twice this season, including a thrilling 12-10 decision in their last meeting.

Predicament's Finals Predictions: MP - Nate Herda vs. Jordan Hasenkamp; JT - Herda vs. Ryan Mulnix; WS - Caleb Hopkins vs. Hasenkamp

140 - (All 10 ranked wrestlers made the State Tournament)
Top half - A pair of outstanding first round matches highlight this half of the draw, which includes No. 1 Sam Groves (43-0) of Nodaway Valley. Groves should meet one of four ranked wrestlers in the semifinals. No. 6 Andy Vogel (24-4) of Pekin is coming off the high of beating the No. 2 wrestler at this weight at Districts. He meets No. 8 Ethan Sebert (35-5) of Belmond-Klemme in the first round. The winner there will wrestle No. 4 Dan Wieland (39-1) of East Buchanan or No. 7 Ben Sojka (37-5) of Logan-Magnolia in the quarters. Whoever survives that brutal quarter better save some energy for a possible meeting with Groves.

Bottom half - Like the top half of the draw, the bottom half has a pair of great first round bouts. No. 2 Johnny Siegel (40-3) of New London/WMU meets No. 10 Jordan Troshynski (45-3) of Manson NW Webster on the opening day. At the same time, No. 3 Adam Hageman (37-3) of South Winneshiek and No. 5 Aaron Lang (42-0) of Hamburg should be wrestling as well. Expect the winner of that quarter to represent this side in the finals, but No. 9 Brody Verschoor (39-8) of Akron-Westfield may have something to say about that if he gets through his quarter of the draw.

Predicament's Finals Predictions: MP - Sam Groves vs. Adam Hageman; JT - Groves vs. Tyler Weeda; WS - Groves vs. Aaron Lang

145 - (9 ranked wrestlers made the State Tournament)
Top half - Two outstanding seniors who are both looking for their first trip to the State finals may be in each other's way by the time the semifinals roll around. But both No. 2 Eddie Reiter (26-3) of Don Bosco and No. 3 Matt Terrell (39-0) of Interstate 35 have a lot of work to do to to reach that point. Reiter faces No. 7 Scott King (41-5) of Tipton in the first round and may have No. 9 Dale Handley (39-8) of Alburnett in the quarters. Terrell has No. 10 Mike Bear (41-3) of West Marshall in the opening round and if he wins that, would face either John Clevenger (40-7) of Tri-Center or Joe Sievert (37-5) of Akron-Westfield in the quarters. There are plenty of solid wrestlers here, but it would be surprising if it wasn't Reiter and Terrell wrestling in the semis on Friday.

Bottom half - A very intriguing first round match highlights the first round of matches here. No. 5 Kile Beaver (40-2) of Iowa City Regina and No. 8 Jordan Oulman (38-2) of Riceville have both had outstanding senior seasons and have been wrestling great down the stretch. Oulman nearly defeated Reiter at Districts. The winner likely meets No. 1 Nick LeClere (41-0) of North Linn in the quarters. On the other half, No. 6 Marcus Edgington (39-3) of Hinston and Sean Schafbuch (38-5) of Belle Plaine appear to be likely quarterfinal foes.

Predicament's Finals Predictions: MP - Matt Terrell vs. Nick LeClere; JT - Eddie Reiter vs. LeClere; WS - Reiter vs. LeClere

152 - (8 ranked wrestlers made the State Tournament)
Top half - We could have a pair of outstanding quarterfinal bouts here, if all four ranked wrestlers get past their first round bouts. Fourth-ranked Nate Tool (36-2) of Twin River Valley and No. 6 Mason Cook (36-6) of North Linn could face off in one quarter, while No. 2 Mike Finch (44-0) of HMS and No. 3 A.J. Youngblut (37-5) of Don Bosco could meet in the other. One first-round match to watch here is Youngblut against Kyle Ray (35-13) of Nodaway Valley. Ray is a long, lanky wrestler who can be very tough to wrestle for the first time.

Bottom half - Top-ranked Gavin Nelson (45-0) of Missouri Valley appears primed to make another run at the State finals. After finishing second as a sophomore, Nelson slipped a few spots last season. A possible second-round match against Justin Chambers (39-1) of Pekin could be interesting. In the other quarter, No. 5 John Sievert (41-4) of Akron-Westfield and No. 7 Ryan Kurovski (39-3) of Belle Plaine meet in the first round and the winner could face Joe Audlehelm (39-3) of Central Decatur, who faces Lucas Bray (33-9) of Mason City Newman in the opening round.

Predicament's Finals Predictions: MP - Mike Finch vs. Gavin Nelson; JT - Finch vs. Nelson; WS - Finch vs. Nelson

160 - (9 ranked wrestlers made the State Tournament)
Top half - A match of monumental proportions very well could take place in the second round. Top-ranked Marshall Barney (42-0) of Logan-Magnolia and No. 2 Cory Ferguson (28-0) of Montezuma should have no problems getting through their first round opponents. That would set up an amazing quarterfinal bout between these two undefeated talents. Waiting for the winner in the semis could be the winner of a first-round bout between No. 4 Chad Moorehead (39-7) of Akron-Westfield and No. 6 John Simon (30-8) of Aplington-Parkersburg.

Bottom half - With Barney and Ferguson on the top half, third-ranked Jordan Gacke (38-0) of Central Lyon could be the favorite to come out of this side of the draw, but he has a lot of work to do. In the first round, he meets No. 7 Dallas Fischels (37-8) of Don Bosco. If Gacke wins there, the quarterfinal foe would be Logan Faucher (40-7) of Guthrie Center or Matt Fassbinder (34-4) of Valley (Elgin). In the other quarter, No. 5 Cody Benjamin (23-3) of Twin River Valley and ninth-ranked Ben Shivers (29-3) of Bondurant-Farrar are first round foes. The winner likely gets No. 8 Josh Allen (40-4) of New London/WMU in the quarters.

Predicament's Finals Predictions: MP - Marshall Barney vs. Jordan Gacke; JT - Cory Ferguson vs. Gacke; WS - Barney vs. Gacke

171 - (7 ranked wrestlers made the State Tournament)
Top half - A first round bout between No. 4 Daniel Mikels (41-4) of Logan-Magnolia and No. 7 Tyler Wagner (35-6) of AGWSR just may decide the finalist from this side of the draw. However, the winner here may have to get through No. 10 Scott Eben (34-4) of Central Lyon in the quarters. All Eben did at Districts was upset the No. 2 wrestler in the state. Josh Reis (10-0) of Coon Rapids-Bayard has been out of the lineup most of the season and could be a darkhorse on this side of the draw.

Bottom half - No. 3 Jake Hoffman (33-3) of Graettinger-Terril and previously-ranked Tyler Hosfield (26-3) of Mount Ayr meet in a solid first round match. The winner could meet Kyle DeMoss (34-6) of Ogden in the quarters. The other quarter on this half is loaded. No. 1 Cole Heimer (46-0) will likely be waiting in the quarterfinals for the winner of a great match between No. 2 Isaiah Corbin (39-5) of Kingsley-Pierson and No. 8 B.J. King (40-6) of Tipton. Heimer is out for a title after finishing second last year and may be unstoppable in his quest.

Predicament's Finals Predictions: MP - Daniel Mikels vs. Cole Heimer; JT - Mikels vs. Heimer; WS - Mikels vs. Heimer

189 - (9 ranked wrestlers made the State Tournament)
Top half - The top quarter on this side is absolutely loaded. No. 2 Adam Martensen (40-1) and No. 10 Taylor Halstead (42-10) of Coon Rapids-Bayard meet in the first round. Martensen's lone loss of the year came to top-ranked Grant Gambrall of 3A's Iowa City West. If Martensen gets past Halstead, he will face either No. 4 Sam Baier (46-3) of Alburnett or No. 5 David Hecht (45-1) of Akron-Westfield in the quarters. In the other quarter, No. 8 Chris Wilkens (38-6) of Logan-Magnolia and No. 7 David Smith (34-3) of St. Ansgar could be headed for a quarterfinal match.

Bottom half - Two wrestlers with a combined 66-1 record appear to be headed towards a semifinal clash. No. 2 Jared Enderton (26-0) of Graettinger-Terril is definitely the man to beat in the bottom quarter, while No. 3 Trent VanDorin (40-1) of Eddyville-Blakesburg is favored in the top quarter, although a possible quarterfinal match against No. 6 Mitch Blythe (27-6) of Central City would be tricky. VanDorin's lone loss of the season came to an excellent grappler from Missouri.

Predicament's Finals Predictions: MP - Adam Martensen vs. Jared Enderton; JT - Martensen vs. Enderton; WS - Martensen vs. Trent VanDorin

215 - (9 ranked wrestlers made the State Tournament)
Top half - Two good bouts make up the opening round of the top quarter here. Scott Modder (29-2) of George-Little Rock meets No. 4 Colton Harms (22-9) of West Hancock in the first round, while Ryan Hughes (33-8) of Bedford and No. 9 Colton Peebles (46-4) of Griswold also meet. In the other quarter, No. 6 Jadd Dithmart (39-1) of Ogden and No. 10 Adam Gudenkauf (35-7) of Midland face off. Dithmart just may be the man to beat on this half of the draw. He was leading Harms 5-1 early in the season, but fell apart in the third period and lost. Dithmart could get a rematch in the semis.

Bottom half - This half of the draw is brutal. No. 1 Dillon Heesch (38-0) of Southeast Webster and No. 2 Colton White (43-2) of Tri-Center could meet in the quarterfinals. In the other quarter, a great first round match between No. 5 Robert Widmer (40-1) of Montezuma and No. 7 Matt O'Donnell (39-3) of Tipton takes place. Widmer's lone loss came to Dithmart in Districts, while all of O'Donnell's defeats are close losses to ranked 2A wrestlers. The winner of that match gets No. 8 Alex Burkle (37-3) of North Linn or Ryan Schares (21-2) of Don Bosco in the quarters. The Burkle-Schares match could prove to be huge in the team race.

Predicament's Finals Predictions: MP - Jadd Dithmart vs. Dillon Heesch; JT - Dithmart vs. Heesch; WS - Dithmart vs. Heesch

285 - (All 10 ranked wrestlers made the State Tournament)
Top half - A pair of matches between ranked foes highlight this half of the draw. No. 4 Levi Morris (36-4) of Nodaway Valley and No. 7 Chad McKenzie (25-6) of West Lyon meet in an interesting first round bout. The winner probably faces No. 2 Evan Capper (39-1) of Aplington-Parkersburg in the quarters. In the other quarter, No. 3 Kyle Kober (38-1) of West Branch and No. 6 Jake Brown (30-4) of Graettinger-Terril meet right off the bat. The winner could meet No. 10 James Driver (38-6) of Tri-Center in the quarters.

Bottom half - A first round match between No. 5 John Bunch (31-3) of Martensdale-St. Marys and No. 9 David Ericson (38-5) of Akron-Westfield appears to be the best of the lot. The winner will be favored to reach the semis. Waiting for that person just may be top-ranked and the defending State Champ Donovan Grove (30-1) of Southeast Webster. He should have little trouble in the first round, but may have to get past No. 8 Justin Gochenour (23-2) of Logan-Magnolia in the quarters. Gochenour has lost two close matches to Morris and a very tough Nebraska heavyweight, for his onle two defeats. 

Predicament's Finals Predictions: MP - Evan Capper vs. Donovan Grove; JT - Capper vs. Grove; WS - Capper vs. Grove