Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The start of the state wrestling tournament is less than a week away but before wrestlers can think about the state meet they must secure a spot in Des Moines.

That comes on Saturday with district meets taking place across the state in all three classes.

In Class 3A there are eight districts across the state with the top three qualifiers in each weight class at each district advancing to the 3A state meet schedule for February 14-17 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Before the action gets underway on Saturday morning we take a look at the two districts that feature teams from the Your Prep Sports area.

Class 3A, District 2

When: Saturday, 10 a.m.

Where: Bettendorf High School

Teams: City High; Clear Creek Amana; Bettendorf; Burlington; Davenport Central; Davenport West; Fort Madison; Muscatine

Ranked teams: No. 2 Bettendorf

What to Watch: City High and Clear Creek Amana each head to District 2 which is hosted by second-ranked Bettendorf.

The Bulldogs finished third at the state meet last season and are title contenders again with five ranked wrestlers including five wrestlers ranked in the top-five at their respective weight class.

City High and Clear Creek Amana will both be looking to push a significant number of wrestlers through to the state meet.
The Clippers have enjoyed an impressive season and would like nothing more than to match or exceed the eight state qualifiers it had last season.

Junior Cale Nash (42-3) enters ranked seventh at 120 pounds and junior Nolan Howell (36-13) is eighth at 138 pounds.

Ryker Jones (33-14) at 144 pounds, Jack Stevens (37-14) at 150 pounds, Benjamin Haughey (31-18) at 165 pounds, Ethan Williams (33-13) at 190 pounds and Carson Nash (31-18) at 215 pounds should all be in the hunt for top-three finishes.

City High is highlighted by the talented senior trio of Cale Seaton (27-0), Kael Kurtz (22-3) and Kael Voinovich (35-1).

Seaton is top-ranked at 132 pounds, Kurtz is third at 138 and Voinovich is top-ranked at 157.

Senior 144-pounder Jake Mitchell (24-10), junior 113-pounder Kendall Kurtz (26-10) and sophomore 120-pounder Chris Davis (20-14) were all state qualifiers a year ago and are seeking return trips.

Wrestler to Watch: City High senior Cale Seaton returned from a serious knee injury last season just in time to secure a spot at the state meet with a runner-up finish at the district meet.

After returning from injury Seaton went on to win his first state title a year ago and this season is healthy and looking to put the finishing touches on a brilliant prep career.

Seaton has been dominant from the outset this season.

His 27 wins have all come by fall, tech fall or forfeit and only four matches have reached the third period.

Seaton has five wins over Class 3A ranked opponents, four coming by fall including a second-period pin of second-ranked Southeast Polk sophomore Justis Jesuroga.

Seaton could face third-ranked Jayce Luna (37-3) of Bettendorf in the 132-pound title match on Saturday.

Weight Class to Watch: The lone weight class at the District 2 meet with three ranked wrestlers the 138-pound bracket should be one of the best and most exciting of the day.

City High senior Kael Kurtz (22-3), Clear Creek Amana junior Nolan Howell (36-13) and Bettendorf sophomore Cody Trevino (35-6) will all be vying for the top spot at 138.

Kurtz enters ranked third and riding a nine-match winning streak after a 5-2 win over fifth-ranked Wil Oberbroeckling of Southeast Polk in his last match.

The three losses for Kurtz are to second-ranked wrestlers Jase Jaspers of Mount Vernon and Koy Davidson of Fort Dodge by a combined six points.

Kurtz also won an 8-2 decision over Howell in the lone meeting between the two last month.

Eighth-ranked Howell was a state qualifier last season at 126 pounds while fourth-ranked Trevino finished fourth at the state meet at 126 pounds last season.

Ranked Wrestlers

106: No. 4 Braxton Hutchinson, Jr., Burlington

120: No. 2 Jake Knight, Soph., Bettendorf

120: No. 7 Cale Nash, Jr., Clear Creek Amana

126: No. 2 TJ Koester, Jr., Bettendorf

132: No. 1 Cale Seaton, Sr., City High

132: No. 3 Jayce Luna, Sr., Bettendorf

138: No. 3 Kael Kurtz, Sr., City High

138: No. 4 Cody Trevino, Soph., Bettendorf

138: No. 9 Nolan Howell, Jr., Clear Creek Amana

144: No. 9 Duncan Harn, Jr., Bettendorf

157: No. 1 Kael Voinovich, Sr., City High

157: No. 8 Nolan Riddle, Sr., Fort Madison

165: No. 2 Lincoln Jipp, Soph., Bettendorf

175: No. 11 Armon Williams, Soph., Bettendorf

175: No. 12 Andy Franke, Soph., Muscatine

190: No. 5 Brayden Koester, Fr., Bettendorf

190: No. 7 Isaac Thacher, Sr., Fort Madison

215: No. 9 Teague Smith, Sr., Fort Madison

215: No. 10 Evan Franke, Sr., Muscatine

Class 3A, District 8

When: Saturday, 10 a.m.

Where: Cedar Rapids Prairie High School

Teams: Liberty High; West High; Ankeny Centennial; Cedar Rapids Jefferson; Cedar Rapids Kennedy; Cedar Rapids Washington; Newton; Cedar Rapids Prairie

Ranked teams: No. 4 Ankeny Centennial

What to Watch: West High and Liberty High will each make the short trip to Cedar Rapids Prairie to take part in a strong field at District 8 that is headlined by fourth-ranked Ankeny Centennial.

West High had four state qualifiers a season ago but should surpass that number on Saturday as all four qualifiers from a season ago return.

Top-ranked sophomore 113-pounder Alexander Pierce (30-1) is a defending state champion and headlines the list of returning qualifiers for the Trojans.

Junior 150-pound Justin Avila (30-3) is ranked fourth and senior 175-pounder Kyler Scranton (31-5) is ranked seventh.

Senior 144-pounder Braden Doyle (18-10) is seeking a return trip to state while freshmen Charles Barnhouse (22-12) and Matthew Tran (25-8) will be attempting to earn their first trips to Liberty High also had four qualifiers a year ago and like West High all four qualifiers for Liberty High return this season.

Senior Vinny Lima (27-2) headlines the list of returning qualifiers along with senior 175 pounder Gavin Benton (26-7) and senior 144 pounder Tien Pham (7-5) along with sophomore 157-pounder Landon Bell (26-7)

Wrestler to Watch: Liberty High senior Vinny Lima will close his career as one of the most successful wrestlers in the young history of the Liberty High program.

Lima would like to add a state medal to his long list of career accomplishments before his career comes to an end.

Already a 100-match winner Lima won the 215-pound title at the Mississippi Valley Conference meet last month with back-to-back wins over No. 12 Jean Ngoma of Cedar Rapids Xavier and fourth-ranked Griffin Schultz of Linn-Mar.

Lima enters the postseason ranked third and riding a 10-match winning streak and could get a major test from eighth-ranked Ankeny Centennial junior Mitchell Grider (21-4).

Weight Class to Watch: Seven different weight classes at District 8 have at least two ranked wrestlers and two weights have three ranked wrestlers in what is a loaded district from top to bottom.

Perhaps the best bracket on Saturday is 150 pounds where three wrestlers enter ranked in the top eight headlined by top-ranked Ankeny Centennial senior Lucas Bruhl (15-0).

Bruhl placed third at 145 pounds at the state meet last season, has 12 pins in 15 matches this season and owns a 3-1 win over second-ranked Bas Diaz of Waverly-Shell Rock.

West High junior Justin Avila (30-3) enters ranked fourth and Cedar Rapids Prairie senior Casey Kelley is ranked eighth.

Avila brings a 20-match winning streak into the district meet with his lone two in-state losses coming to second-ranked Diaz and third-ranked Nolan Fellers of Bondurant-Farrar back in December.

Ranked Wrestlers

106: No. 5 Dylan Munson, Jr., Cedar Rapids Prairie

113: No. 1 Alexander Pierce, Fr., West High

113: No. 4 Cale Vandermark, Soph., Ankeny Centennial

120: No. 4 Cody Vandermark, Sr., Ankeny Centennial

120: No. 12 Matthew Tran, Fr., West High

126: No. 12 Ethan Sodergren, Fr., Ankeny Centennial

132: No. 9 Tyler Lee, Sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie

138: No. 10 Nick Foreman, Sr., Cedar Rapids Washington

144: No. 2 Maximus Dhabolt, Fr., Ankeny Centennial

144: No. 12 Alex Bumba, Sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie

150: No. 1 Lucas Bruhl, Sr., Ankeny Centennial

150: No. 4 Justin Avila, Jr., West High

150: No. 8 Casey Kelley, Sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie

157: No. 5 Isaac Bruhl, Jr., Ankeny Centennial

157: No. 7 Wyatt Vlasek, Sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie

165: No. 6 Ari Ehlts, Sr., Ankeny Centennial

165: No. 7 Collin Falck, Sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy

165: No. 12 Rigley Koch, Sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie

175: No. 7 Kyler Scranton, Sr., West High

215: No. 3 Vincenzo Lima, Sr., Liberty High

215: No. 8 Mitchell Grider, Jr., Ankeny Centennial

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