Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet

When: Saturday, 10 a.m.

Where: Waterloo West High School

Last Year

2016 Top 5 – 1. Cedar Rapids Prairie; 2. Cedar Rapids Jefferson; 3. Cedar Rapids Kennedy; 4. Dubuque Hempstead; 5T. Linn-Mar; 5T. City High.

Ranked Teams

3A No. 5 Dubuque Hempstead

What to Watch

Cedar Rapids Prairie has won four straight Super Meet titles but will have to fend off a balanced field to claim a fifth crown.

Prairie and Hempstead each have five ranked wrestlers, the most among any conference team.

City High jumped from 10th in 2015 to a tie for fifth at last year’s Super Meet and looks for a similar step forward on Saturday.

West High was seventh last season after a top-three finish in 2015 and will try to inch closer to the top behind title contenders Nelson Brands and Carter Rohweder (35-6).

Who to Watch

The MVC Super Meet always seems to bring out the best in Brands. The West High junior has been voted most outstanding wrestler on his way to conference titles each of the past two seasons and is a heavy favorite to become the 15th three-time MVC champion on Saturday.

Brands (43-1) is unbeaten against Iowa competition this season and has won 38 matches by fall or tech fall.
 

Weight Class to Watch

The 182 and 220 pound brackets each feature half of the top-10 ranked wrestlers in 3A with five wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in 3A.

City High senior Brock Hunger (30-6) is a member of a crowed 182-pound field that is headlined by defending 170-pound champ and favorite Garrett Kubovec (27-3) of Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Hunger is 0-2 against the ranked wrestlers in the 182-pound bracket falling to Preston LaGrange of Cedar Rapids Prairie and Cedar Rapids Jefferson’s Tavian Rashed.

The 182 bracket has six ranked wrestlers as 2A sixth-ranked Boone McDermott of Dubuque Wahlert joins the five top-10 3A wrestlers.

220 is even more of a logjam with five wrestlers ranked between fourth and 10th.

City High senior Jordain Buckland (21-1) has missed time throughout the season with injury but should factor into the title hunt along with fourth-ranked Dylan Olson of Dubuque Hempstead. 

Ranked Wrestles

106 –   2. Dillon Gottschalk (Hempstead) Jr.

            *5. Conrad Braswell (Prairie) Soph.

            10. Hans vonRabenau (West High) Sr.

113 –   No. 10 Johnny Washburn (Prairie) Fr.

120 –   No. 3 Joe Pins (Hempstead) Soph.

            No. 8 Cam Shaver (CR Kennedy) Jr.

126 –   No. 4 Will Foreman (CR Washington) Jr.

132 –   No. 6 Trenton Wennermark (Prairie) Jr.

            No. 8 Alex Richard (Senior) Jr.

            No. 9 Joey Harney (City High) Jr.

138 –   No. 4 Nathan Feldman (Hempstead) Sr.

145 –   *No. 8 Josh Gerke (CR Xavier) Sr.

152 –   *No. 1 Nelson Brands (West High) Jr.

             No. 5 Alex Ward (Hempstead) Jr.

             No. 6 Jacob Wempen (Linn-Mar) Soph.

160 –   No. 3 Matt Culver (CR Jefferson) Sr.

            No. 4 Tyger Whitters (Prairie) Sr.

            No. 7 Carter Rohweder (West High) Sr.

            No. 8 Alex Streicher (Linn-Mar) Sr.

            2A No. 10 Kolton Bartow (Dubuque Wahlert) Jr.

170 –   No. 2. Ben Sarasin (CR Kennedy) Jr.

            No. 4. Bryce Pilcher (Cedar Falls) Sr.

182 –   *No. 4 Garrett Kubovec (CR Kennedy) Sr.

            No. 5 Tavian Rashed (CR Jefferson) Sr.

            No. 6 Tyrell Gordon (Waterloo East) Jr.

            No. 9 Preston LaGrange (Prairie) Sr.

            No. 10 Brock Hunger (City High) Sr.

            2A No. 6 Boone McDermott (Dubuque Wahlert) Jr.

195 –   No. 4 Jacob Dykes (City High) Jr.

            No. 8 Brayden Schultz (Linn-Mar) Sr.

            No. 10 Sam Pape (CR Kennedy) Sr.

220 –   No. 4 Dylan Olson (Hempstead) Jr.

            No. 5 Jordain Buckland (City High) Sr.

            No. 7 Sam Gerst (Waterloo West) Sr.

            No. 9 Payne Johnson (Waterloo East) Sr.

            No. 10 Alex Francois (CR Xavier) Sr.

285 –   No. 6 Omar Begic (Waterloo East) Sr.

            No. 10 David Bonner (Cedar Rapids Jefferson) Sr.

*-Denotes returning MVC Champ