The Predicament.com-your ultimate Iowa wrestling source

BY MATT PFIFFNER
Some high school tournaments are lucky to have seven ranked wrestlers in their entire field. How about a tournament with seven ranked wrestlers at one weight class and the possibility of six weights where there are at least three rated grapplers?

That's the situation this weekend at the two-day, 23-team Battle Creek-Ida Grove/Odebolt Arthur Tournament in Ida Grove. The action starts at 4:30 p.m. Friday and runs through the quarterfinals and picks up again Saturday morning at 10 a.m.

The tournament has always been one of the toughest in the state, but this year may be the toughest it has ever been, BCIG/O-A Coach Tony Spradin said.

The normal lineup is in attendance, but added to the mix this year are Class 2A fourth-ranked Spirit Lake Park, a very solid Cherokee squad, a young and up-and-coming team from Akron-Westfield and the newly-consolidated Rockwell City-Lytton/Southern Cal program.

The other teams entered this year are Audubon, Aurelia/Galva-Holstein, BCIG/OA, Denison-Schleswig, Class 1A #3 Kingsley-Pierson, Lawton-Bronson, Okoboji, Pocahontas Area, Prairie Valley, Schaller-Crestland, Sgt. Bluff-Luton, Storm Lake, Twin River Valley, Wall Lake View Auburn, West Harrison, West Lyon, Westwood, Woodbine and Woodbury Central.

This two-day extravaganza is all about endurance. Many weight classes will be a battle of attrition. Your quarterfinal match could be as tough or tougher than your bout in the finals, if you're lucky to make it that far. Some of the top wrestlers in the state won't even reach the finals at their weight class. It's that tough of a tournament.

Of course, there are some clear-cut favorites at many of the weight classes, but this tournament has been a breeding ground for upsets and surprises in the past and this year will be no different. Expect to see some big names wresting in the consolation round as early as Friday night.

Here is a brief look at all 14 weight classes. Check who the ranked wrestlers at each weight are and who just may be ready to surprise some people.

103
Freshman Derek Miner of Spirit Lake Park is the lone ranked wrestler at this weight, as he comes in at No. 10 in 2A. A pair of 1A wrestlers should make some noise. Freshman Seth Epling of Woodbury Central had just one loss on the season at last check and junior Joe Moore of Okoboji will be one to watch.

112
A trio of sophomores look to be the ones to beat at 112. Dillion Miner of Spirit Lake Park has climbed the 2A rankings to No. 2 in The Predicament's latest set. Behind him four spots at No. 6 is Mike Helle of Rockwell City-Lytton/Southern Cal. Another solid 2A sophomore, Adam Parker of Aurelia/Galva-Holstein, could be capable of a deep run in the tournament.

119
This is the first of several spectacular weight classes. Three of the top four rated individuals in 2A and a highly-ranked 1A wrestler will battle for the title. Expect the semifinals to be just as good as the championship match at this weight class.

2A top-ranked Tyler Halverson of Cherokee was the State champ at 103 last season and has made a successful jump to 119. No. 3 Ben Knight of Sergeant Bluff-Luton has split a pair of matches with Halverson so far and they could meet for a third time this weekend. Fourth-ranked Brad Gustafson of AGH will have something to say about that, as will Travis Taylor of Prairie Valley, who is ranked sixth in 1A after an undefeated start to his sophomore season.

125
It looks like a rematch of an excellent bout from earlier in the season could happen here. Marshall Koethe of Akron-Westfield and Tim Culler of Kingsley-Pierson met at 130 last month, with Koethe taking a 7-5 victory. Koethe is ranked No. 1 at 125 since dropping down. Culler currently sits in the No. 4 spot at 125, but could move up a great deal if he can meet Koethe and reverse the previous outcome. This weight could get a lot more interesting if previous No. 1 Jordan Hasenkamp of Twin River valley is back down at 125, but it appears he may be at 130 the remainder of the season.

130
Hasenkamp, if in fact he is here, would be the slight favorite at a very strong weight class. He is currently ranked third in 1A with his lone loss to K-P's Culler. Todd Linden of Woodbury Central is ranked ninth in 1A and Daniel Hiserote of Sergeant Bluff-Luton comes in as the fourth-ranked 130-pounder in 2A. Okoboji senior Mike Jones is one to keep an eye on in the tournament.

135
At least one ranked wrestler from each Class is represented here. Daniel Higgins of Storm Lake is ranked 10th in 3A and is the lone rated wrestler in Iowa's biggest Class in the tournament. Mike Sandy of Spirit Lake Park is rated fifth in 2A and will be one of the favorites. From Class 1A Kirk Landon of Audubon is ranked second and Brody Verschoor is eighth. Landon did not wrestle last weekend, so hopefully he will be ready to go this Friday.

140
This is the best weight class in the tournament, and that's saying a lot. Seven ranked wrestlers will be in action at 140. Three of them are ranked first or second in their respective Classes.

The man to beat may be top-ranked 1A grappler Brandon Bohlke of Kingsley-Pierson. The senior has yet to be tested this season, as he looks to regain the State title he won as a freshman. A pair of second-ranked wrestlers should provide the stiffest competition for Bohlke. Chris Sandy of Spirit Lake Park is No. 2 in 2A, while Tim Poyzer of Pocahontas Area holds that spot in 1A. But those three are far from the only talent at this weight. Also included in the draw should be 2A's No. 9 Nick Loughlin of Cherokee and No. 10 Devin Bresnahan of BC-IG/O-A and 1A's ninth-ranked Jesse Worrell of Westwood and No. 10 Cody Williams of Audubon.

If anyone bumps off one of these rated wrestlers early in the tournament, it just may be Jon Sievert of Akron-Westfield or Chris Mikos of AGH.

145
After going through the 140-pound weight class, 145 seems like a step back with only four ranked wrestlers and two others who have been ranked at some point in the season.

Rafael Munoz of SB-Luton, ranked sixth in 2A, may be the slight favorite going in. He has a pair of wins in the past two weeks over 2A's eighth-ranked Spencer Neal of Cherokee. 1A also brings a pair of rated wrestlers to the dance. Mark Cirks of Twin River Valley is No. 7, while Jeff Engle of Kingsley-Pierson carries the No. 10 rating. Aaron Kerkhoff of Audubon and talented freshman Chad Moorehead of Akron-Westfield were rated earlier in the season in 1A and will provide stiff competition for whoever they run into.

152
This weight class may come down to a showdown between a veteran of this tournament and a newcomer to the two-day event. Brett Rose, ranked No. 3 in 1A for Woodbury Central, has seemingly wrestled at this tournament the past 10 years, but it has only been four. The senior will look to leave his last BCIG Tournament on top, but he will have some competition. One of the main threats to Rose appears to be freshman sensation Nate Tool of Twin River Valley, who is ranked ninth in 1A. The old veteran versus the rookie could make for a very entertaining bout.

160
Class 1A No. 6 Isaiah Corbin of Kingsley-Pierson and 10th-ranked Cody Benjamin of Twin River Valley are a pair of solid sophomores who very well could decide the championship at 160. Another wrestler to watch out for is Cody Bates of RCL/SCAL.

171
Collin Clark of Spirit Lake Park, ranked third in 2A, appears to be the heavy favorite at this weight. Names to keep an eye on for possible opponents for Clark include Kelan Richardson of RCL/SCAL, Dylan Titterington of Okoboji and Adam Jergens of Twin River Valley.

189
This should be one of the more entertaining weight classes of the tournament. There appears to be five or six possible champions in this group, with no clear-cut favorite.

From Class 2A, Robbie Conley of RCL-SCAL is ranked seventh and Daniel Borchers of AGH holds the No. 9 ranking. Alan Leekley of Kingsley-Pierson is the sixth-ranked man in 1A, while Jake Brinkman of Pocahontas Area is right behind him at No. 7. Tim Smith of Woodbury Central was in the 1A rankings earlier in the season and is capable of beating anyone in the field. Kane Thompson of Woodbine is another solid wrestler who could find himself in the 1A rankings with a deep tournament run.

215
Ben Winkler of Pocahontas Area, ranked eighth in 1A, is the lone ranked wrestler at this weight. He is the favorite, but there are at least two wrestlers to watch out for. Bo Thomas of Woodbury Central was undefeated until a week and a half ago, when he ran into Dustin Collins of Kingsley-Pierson in the K-P Invitational finals. Collins won that match by fall. Expect Thomas to be looking for revenge if he gets another shot at Collins. If those two meet, they could be deciding who faces Winkler in the finals.

275
A quartet of very solid 1A heavyweights lead the way in the final weight class. Austin Dickinson of Woodbine has had an excellent start to his senior season and is ranked sixth in the latest set. Derek Kohrt of West Lyon is a couple steps behind his at No. 8. Two other 1A heavyweights who have had good first halves of the season are Michael Webber of Schaller-Crestland and David Ericson of Akron-Westfield.