City High

Coach: Cory Connell (5th season)

Assistant coaches: Morgan DePrenger, John Osterhout, Patrick Darby, Josh Marin

Last year dual record: 20-12

Last year state tournament finish: 34th in 3A with 12 points

Returning state qualifers: Jordain Buckland, Sr., 220; Jacob Dykes, Jr., 195.

Other returning letterwinners: Brock Hunger, Sr., 182; Alex Kooker, Sr., 145; Joey Harney, Jr., 132/138; Lance Bormann, Jr., 126; Kyle Hefley, Soph., 152; Joe Ring, Soph., 160; Jacob Murry, Soph., 285; Ryan Ceynar, Soph., 120; Bryan Berg, Sr., 138; Max DePrenger, Soph., 132/138.

Newcomers to watch: Michael Sontoro, Soph., 113; Brandon Lalla, Soph., 170; Ethan Wood-Finley, Fr., 106; Garrett Bormann, Fr., 106.

Headliner: Senior Jordain Buckland was 30-10 and reached the state meet last season at 220 pounds.

Keep an eye on: Junior Jacob Dykes posted a 21-4 mark last season at 170 pounds including a 1-2 performance at the state meet.

Home Tournament: Jan. 21 (Decorah, Keokuk, Muscatine, Oskaloosa, Cedar Rapids Xavier).

Outlook: City High took a big step forward last season. After finishing 10th at the Mississippi Valley Conference meet and failing to qualify a wrestler for state in 2015 the Little Hawks placed fifth at the MVC supermeet and sent four wrestlers to the state meet last season.

Two of those state qualifiers return this season for the Little Hawks which bring back the second most points for last year’s MVC meet.

The Little Hawks open the season with three ranked wrestlers. Dykes is sixth at 195, Buckland is seventh at 220 and junior Joey Harney is 10th at 132 in the IAwrestle rankings.

West High

Coach: Mark Reiland (18th season)

Last year dual record: 15-14, 5-4 MVC

Last year state tournament finish: 13th in Class 3A with 45 points

Returning state qualifiers: Nelson Brands, Jr., 152; Carter Rohweder, Sr., 160; Hans von Rabenau, Jr., 106.

Other returning letterwinners: Hunter Davis, Jr., 126; Guy Snow, Jr., 220; Keaton Speicher, Soph., 113; Tyler Yoerger, Sr., 170; Ashton Stumpf, Jr., 170; Miguel Parades, Jr., 132; Joe Briddle, Jr., 195; Tom Adolph, Jr., 182; Alex Aguiree, Sr., 120.

Newcomers to watch: Will Hoeft, Fr., 145.

Headliner: Junior Nelson Brands is after a second straight state title after winning the 138-pound crown last season as a sophomore.

Keep an eye on: Senior Carter Rohweder posted a 38-17 record last season and finished seventh at the state meet at 160 pounds.

Home tournament: Jan. 7. (Albia, Alburnett, Blue Springs, Fort Dodge, Lewis Central, Pleasant Valley, Quincy).

Outlook: The Trojans return three state qualifiers and a pair of state place winners from last year’s team that placed 13th at the Class 3A state meet.

Junior Nelson Brands leads the charge after going 54-3 last season on his what to a state title at 138 pounds. Senior Carter Rohweder placed seventh at state last season at 160 pounds while junior Hans von Rabenau was a state qualifier at 106.

All three of the Trojans’ returning state qualifiers open the season ranked at their respective weights. Brands is atop the 152 pound rankings by IAwrestle while von Rabeneau is sixth at 106 and Rohwder is seventh at 160.

Regina

Coach: Adam Martensen (4th season)

Last year dual record: 8-9, 7-5 RVC

Last year state tournament finish: 24th in Class 1A with 26 points

Returning state qualifiers: Jared Brinkman, Sr., 285.

Other returning letterwinners: Mason Simpson, Sr., 182; Tanner Rios, Sr., 132; Ryan Schott, Jr., 160; Nick Milder, Soph., 170; Scott Blondin, Soph., 126.

Newcomers to watch: Henry May, Fr., 113; Rowan Udell, Fr., 195.

Headliner: Senior heavyweight Jared Brinkman is out to duplicate his impressive junior season when he went 42-0 on his way to the 1A state title.

Keep an eye on: Sophomore Nick Milder will try to build on a freshman season that saw him post a 32-7 record that included 15 pins and a River Valley Conference title.

Home Tournament: Dec. 17. (Columbus, Davenport West, Fairfield, Lone Tree, Marshalltown, Mount Pleasant, North Cedar, Pekin, Sigourney-Keota, Tipton, West Branch).

Outlook: Jared Brinkman headlines a solid group of returners for the Regals after winning a state title last season at 285 pounds and enters the season ranked No. 1 by IAwrestle.

A 2015 RVC runner-up, senior Mason Simpson returns after missing last season with an injury while junior Ryan Schott (37-10) and sophomore Nick Milder (32-7) are both back after winning more than 30 matches last season.

Solon

Coach: Blake Williams (2nd season)

Assistant coaches: TJ Bevans, Aaron Hadenfeldt, Jake Munson, Andy Gnida, Jason Roethler.

Last year dual record: 16-5

Last year state tournament finish: 21st in Class 2A with 29 points

Returning state qualifiers: Ben Carr, Sr., 126; Trevor Nelson, Sr., 160; Dillon Diltz, Sr., 170;

Other returning letterwinners: Aidan Dall, Soph., 106; Christian Haight, Jr., 113; Andy Brokaw, Soph., 120; Zack Bevans, Soph., 132; Mike Hoyle, Soph., 138; Graeson Dall, Sr., 152; Kendrick Harris, Jr., 182; Zach Wegmann, Jr., 195; Bo Black, Sr., 220; Tyler Linderbaum, Jr., 285; Ryan Geistkemper, Soph., 145; Joe Lovan, Sr., 138.

Newcomers to watch: Bryce West, Sr., 120/126; Drew West, Sr., 120/126; Zeb Gnida, Fr., 106; Jax Flynn, Fr., 145; Cael O’Neill, Fr., 113.

Headliner: Senior Trevor Nelson will try to end his career with a state title after finishing as the 160 pound runner-up a year ago.

Keep an eye on: Twin brothers Bryce and Drew West transferred to Solon for their senior seasons after combining for a 304-4 record, six top-three state finishes and three state titles in three seasons at Highland.

Home tournament: Jan. 14 (Albia, Center Point-Urbana, Clear Creek Amana, Iowa Valley, Lisbon, North Cedar, Vinton-Shellsburg, Wapello, Washington, West Branch, West Liberty).

Outlook: Solon is in line for a breakthrough in the second season of Blake Williams’ return to Solon with five state qualifiers returning.

Trevor Nelson is coming off a junior season in which he went 47-4 and was runner-up and 160 pounds while senior Ben Carr placed seventh at state last year at 126 pounds. The addition of Bryce and Drew West give the Spartans a pair of wrestlers with state titles under their belts while senior Dillon Diltz was a state qualifier last year at 170 pounds.

West Branch

Coach: Chris Paulus (2nd season)

Last year dual record: 5-11

Last year state tournament finish: 38th in Class 1A with 18 points

Returning starters: Nick Madsen, Sr.; Cale Donovan, Sr.; Jacob Graves, Jr.; Tyler Siemen, Soph.

Headliner: Senior Cale Donovan went 23-13 last season as a junior at 160 pounds.

Keep an eye on: Sophomore Tyler Siemen was 22-22 in his first season of varsity wrestling last year at 106 pounds.

Circle the date: Jan. 19 vs. Regina (Senior night).

Outlook: The Bears bring back four full-time starters in the second season under head coach Chris Paulus.

Seniors Cale Donovan and Nick Madsen will lead the way while junior Jacob Graves returns after winning 10 matches last year at 145 pounds. Sophomore Tyler Siemen will look to build on a 22-win freshman season.