WAMAC Conference Meet

When: Saturday, 10 a.m.

Where: Williamsburg High School

Last Year

2016 Top 5 – 1. Western Dubuque; 2. Independence; 3. Mount Vernon; 4. Solon; 5. Williamsburg.

Ranked Teams

3A No. 4 Western Dubuque

2A No. 2 Solon

2A No. 10 South Tama

What to Watch

Western Dubuque pulled away from the field last year to cruise to the team title and has the firepower for a repeat performance.

The Class 3A fourth-ranked Bobcats have five ranked wrestlers including a pair of top-ranked, unbeaten seniors in Max Lyon (38-0) at 182 pounds and Aaron Costello (39-0) at 285.

Class 2A second-ranked Solon has its own high powered lineup and is the top threat to dethrone Western Dubuque.

Seniors Bryce and Drew West and Trevor Nelson all bring top-three rankings into Saturday.

Bryce West (41-1) is top-ranked at 120 pounds while Drew West (41-1) is ranked second at 126 and Nelson is third at 160.

Clear Creek Amana senior Quinn Murphy and sophomore Andrew Rohret could slide into the title hunt at their respective weight classes, each without a wrestler ranked above fifth.

Murphy is 32-9 at 138 pounds while Rohret is 29-12 at 145.

Who to Watch

Solon senior Trevor Nelson (30-5) and Beckman junior Luke Hageman (32-0) are on a collision course for a top-three rematch at 160 pounds.

Top-ranked Hageman won the first meeting between the two this season 5-3 in sudden victory at the North Linn Invite on December 17.

The defending 2A runner-up at 160 pounds, Nelson enters ranked third.

Weight Class to Watch

If you enjoy watching heavyweights this is your meet, with three of the best around on display.

The bracket features three top-five wrestlers but everyone is chasing defending WAMAC champ and Class 3A top-ranked Aaron Costello (39-0) of Western Dubuque.

Last year’s 3A state runner-up and an Iowa recruit, Costello is ranked the ninth best 285-pounder in the country by InterMat.

The top contenders to unseat Costello are Mount Vernon senior Tristan Wirfs (10-1) and Solon junior Tyler Linderbaum (38-6).

An Iowa football recruit, Wirfs is ranked fourth in Class 2A while Linderbaum is ranked fifth.

Linderbaum and Wirfs could meet for the second time in 48 hours after Wirfs won a 3-2 decision over Linderbaum in a dual meet on Thursday.

Ranked Wrestlers

106 –   2A No. 1 Grayson Kesterson (Williamsburg) Jr.

            2A No. 6 Carter Weeks (Vinton-Shellsburg) Jr.

            2A No. 8 Keegan Scheeler (Center Point-Urbana) Fr.          

            2A No. 10 Jack Streicher (Mount Vernon) Jr.

113 –   *2A No. 5 Caleb Fuessley (Center Point-Urbana) Soph.

            *3A No. 5 Jacob Close (Western Dubuque) Sr.

120 –   2A No. 1 Bryce West (Solon) Sr.

126 –   2A No. 2 Drew West (Solon) Sr.

            2A No. 5 Brady Fritz (South Tama) Jr.

132 –   *3A No. 3 Bradan Birt (Western Dubuque) Sr.

138 –   2A No. 5 Colton Vest (South Tama) Jr.

            2A No. 8 Ben Carr (Solon) Sr.

145 –   2A No. 7 Mitchel Mangold (West Delaware) Soph.

            3A No. 7 Caleb Conway (Marion) Sr.

152 –   *2A No. 2 Isaac Judge (South Tama) Jr.

             2A No. 7 Graeson Dall (Solon) Sr.

            3A No. 8 Colin Conway (Marion) Sr.

160 –   2A No. 1 Luke Hageman (Dyersville Beckman) Jr.

            2A No. 3 Trevor Nelson (Solon) Sr.

170 –   2A No. 8 Ira Kuehn (Central DeWitt) Sr.

            3A No. 9 Brady Bartz (Marion) Jr.

182 –   *3A No. 1 Max Lyon (Western Dubuque) Sr.

            2A No. 7 Harrison Goebel (West Delaware) Jr.

             2A No. 9 Dillon Diltz (Solon) Sr.

195 –   *3A No. 5 Luke Kluesner (Western Dubuque) Sr.

            2A No. 8 Sam Moore (Mount Vernon) Sr.

            2A No. 9 Reece Westphal (Central DeWitt) Sr.

220 –   2A No. 7 Jack Cochrane (Mount Vernon) Sr.

            2A No. 8 Nick Smith (Central DeWitt) Jr.

            2A No. 9 Blade Durbala (Benton) Sr.

285 –   *3A No. 1 Aaron Costello (Western Dubuque) Sr.

            2A No. 4 Tristan Wirfs (Mount Vernon) Sr.

            2A No. 5 Tyler Linderbaum (Solon) Jr.

*-Denote returning WAMAC Champion