The Predicament.com-your ultimate Iowa wrestling source

BY MATT PFIFFNER
Five ranked teams and 26 rated individuals is just part of the reason why this weekend's 32nd Annual Bobcat "Jerry Eckenrod" Invitational at Benton Community in Van Horne is one of the best in the state.

The Bobcat Invite boasts a very tough 14-team field and the winner of each weight class definitely earns his gold medal every year.

Teams involved in the tournament this season are Anamosa, Belle Plaine, Benton Community, Cedar Rapids Washington, Center Point-Urbana, Centerville, Davenport Assumption, Independence, Maquoketa, North Linn, Union, Wapello, West Delaware and Williamsburg.

North Linn comes in ranked fifth in Class 1A in the most recent State Tournament Team rankings by the Predicament, while Belle Plaine is ranked eighth. Centerville is the third-ranked team in 2A. Independence is rated sixth on that list and West Delaware is right behind them in seventh.

Of the 26 rated individuals, eight come from 1A, 17 from 2A schools and there is one representative from the 3A rankings.

Three of those ranked wrestlers are attempting to defend State championships this season. T.J. Sebolt of Centerville is gunning for his fourth title, while Nick Pickerell of Centerville and Ben Lehman of Independence are both looking to finish their careers with State title No. 2.

2005 State runner-up finishers Tony Lovstuen of Centerville and Brady Jacobi of Belle Plaine are also in the field.

In last season's Bobcat Invite, 13 State finalists and six eventual State champions were in the field. This year's group of wrestlers should produce similar results.

Here is a look at the ranked wrestlers involved in each weight class.

103 - Class 2A seventh ranked freshman Nathan Vaske of West Delaware is the lone ranked individual and should be the early favorite to take this weight. North Linn's Ben Morrow is one to watch out for.

112 - A pair of juniors could battle for the title here. Elijah Rivera of Cedar Rapids Washington, ranked fourth in 3A, could face 2A's 10th-ranked Casey Stuart of Maquoketa.

119 - Sean Schafbuch of Belle Plaine, ranked sixth in 1A, is the favorite here.

125 - A pair fourth-rated individuals could meet to decide the title at 125. 1A's Brady Jacobi of Belle Plaine, the State runner-up at 112 last season, could very well meet Zach Williams of 2A LaPorte City Union. Keep your eye on North Linn freshman Chris LeClere.

130 - This is definitely the weight class of the tournament if all of the wrestlers ranked at this weight compete. Possible four-time State champ Sebolt of Centerville is the prohibitive favorite, but the battle behind him should be outstanding.

Zach McCool of West Delaware, ranked second in 2A behind Sebolt, could get his shot at the three-time State champ. Landon Tweeton of Center Point-Urbana is ranked seventh in 2A, while a pair of 1A ranked grapplers will also look to make some noise. Ryan Mulnix of North Linn is rated fifth and Tyler Weeda of Belle Plaine sits in the No. 8 spot.

135 - A pair of highly-rated 2A wrestlers should battle for the title here. Pickerell, a State champ at Albia last season, is ranked second behind another returning State champ, Luke Satern of Humboldt. Pickerell could face Casey Watts of LaPorte City Union in the finals at Benton. Watts is ranked fourth in 2A.

140 - Centerville will put another favorite out on the mat at this weight class in 2A's eighth-ranked Jordan Neer.

145 - This could very well be a fourth-straight weight class for Centerville if all goes right for the Big Reds. Third-ranked Tony Lovstuen will be favored to win here, but he will probably have to go through 1A's third-ranked Nick LeClere of North Linn to do so. This could be one of the top championship matches of the day if it does happen.

152 - A pair of second-ranked seniors should decide the winner here. Tyler Burkle of North Linn is the No. 2 man in 1A, while Dustin Jaeger of West Delaware holds that position in 2A. Like 145, this should be an outstanding battle for the gold medal.

160 - This will be one of the two most wide open weights at the tournament, as there are no ranked individuals.

171 - Class 2A's top-ranked Andy O'Loughlin of Independence is the big favorite here, but he will more than likely have to go through another rated wrestler to win. Holdon Blythe of Williamsburg is ranked seventh in 2a, while Wyatt Drahos of Belle Plaine has the No. 8 position in 1A.

189 - As is the case at 160, there are no ranked wrestlers here. Teams in the race for the title will be looking at 160 and 189 to make some noise without there being a big favorite to take the weight class.

215 - Top-ranked Ben Lehman of Class 2a Independence may or may not be here. He has bounced back and forth between 215 and heavyweight the first half of the season, but let's assume this is where he will be. Lehman could face a very tough test, as 2A's fourth-ranked Jared Carder of Williamsburg is also in the field.

275 - If Lehman decides to go to heavyweight for the tournament, that will make a tough weight class and incredible one. Without him, there are still three ranked wrestlers in the field.

Justin Pierce of Belle Plaine, ranked fifth in 1A, will be one of the favorites. He is joined by 2A's fifth-ranked Joey Hill of Davenport Assumption and ninth-rated Mike McNamara of Center Point-Urbana.

In an interesting note, four of the head coaches at the tournament and two assistants wrestled for the late Coach Jerry Eckenrod. The head coaches who wrestled at Benton Community for Eckenrod are his son, Grant Eckenrod of Williamsburg, Brad Bridgewater of North Linn, Wade King of Davenport Assumption and Shawn Pfiffner of Benton.