Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Postseason wrestling is here.

The road to the state meet at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines starts on Saturday with sectional meets across in the state in Class 1A and 2A.

Area wrestlers will hit the mat on Saturday with the goal of moving one spot closer to the state meet February 17-19 in Des Moines by securing a spot at district meets.

Here are a few things to watch on Saturday with Your Prep Sports area wrestlers.

Back in Action

A pair of ranked area wrestlers missed the River Valley Conference meet last week as Regina senior Aidan Udell and West Branch sophomore Lincoln Edwards both opted for rest over a potential RVC title.

Both could face stiff tests from familiar opponents in their return to action.

A sophomore 113-pounder, Edwards (27-2) is ranked seventh and faces a potential rematch with fifth-ranked Brody Brisker (40-1) of Wilton in the 1A, Sectional 2 meet in Wilton.

Brisker handed Edwards his first loss of the season via second-period pin back on January 6.

Already a two-time state qualifier, third-ranked Udell (31-1) could face second-ranked Lisbon senior Max Kohl in the 1A, Sectional 13 meet at English Valleys.

Round 3?

All the point toward a Udell vs. Kohl matchup in the 170-pound finals of the Sectional 13 meet on Saturday.

If that matchup materializes it would be the among the highlights of the Sectional 13 finals lineup and the third post-season meeting between the two returning state qualifiers in two years.

Kohl (34-3) is ranked second in 2A with his lone loss to an in-state foe coming to Iowa recruit Mickey Griffith of Des Moines Lincoln.

Kohl won both postseason matches with Udell last season, winning a 7-4 decision at the district meet and pinning Udell in the consolation final of the 2021 state tournament.

Moving Up

Sam Aitchison and Ronan Poynton each made their state meet debuts last season combining to go 1-4 in five matches at Wells Fargo Arena.

This season both Poynton and Aitchison have taken things to another level and the Regina duo is seeking return trips to the state meet with more on their minds than just appearing at state.

Poynton (30-5) is ranked 10^th at 220 pounds and is coming off a third-place finish at the RVC meet at 195 pounds last week.

Aitchison (32-4) is ranked ninth at 152 pounds and posted a runner-up finish at 160 pounds at the RVC meet a week ago.

Marty on Mission

Few wrestlers anywhere in the state are wrestling any better than Solon senior heavyweight Gage Marty over the past several weeks.

Marty has won 10 consecutive matches since a loss to 3A top-ranked Jake Walker of Waverly-Shell Rock in the finals of the Ed Hadenfeldt Invite on January 15 with a win over top-ranked and previously unbeaten Iowa recruit Easton Fleshman of West Lyon in that winning streak.

During his current 10-match winning streak Marty (41-2) has five pins, a tech fall and has had just one match go the entire six minutes.

Already a two-time state placewinner, Marty opens the Class 2A, Sectional 16 meet at Solon on Saturday atop the Class 2A 285-pound rankings.

Keeping it Rolling

While Udell and Edwards rested last week at the RVC meet and Poynton and Aitchison both came up short of conference crowns West Branch sophomore 220-pounder Logan Wright rolls in the postseason looking to keep the momentum going.

Wright (41-6) won his first RVC title last weekend posting a pair of first-period pins and a 3-0 decision over Regina senior Caden Shetler en route to the conference title.

Wright is ranked ninth in Class 1A and seeking his first trip to a district meet.

Tough Brackets For Bears

A couple of West Branch wrestlers drew challenging sectional brackets with sophomore Luke Guseman and senior Dylan Olson each joining a pair of ranked wrestlers at their respective weights.

Guseman (28-9) will likely be paired with ninth-ranked Ethan Gast of Durant and No. 11 Blaine McGraw of Alburnett at 126 pounds while Olson (31-14) joins sixth-ranked Preston Klosterman of Alburnett and seventh-ranked Wilton freshman Jordan Dusenberry at 120 pounds.

The top two finishers from Sectional 2 advance to the 1A, District 1 meet next week at Cascade.

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