The John J. Harris Invitational in Corning is one of my favorite sporting events in all of high school sports. Being a graduate of Southwest Valley, The 2014 edition of John J was the first wrestling tournament I ever covered. I will try not to bore you with a ton of details, but let's just say I did play by play of the entire tournament despite knowing just about nothing about wrestling. I've learned a lot about wrestling since then, but John J. has always maintained a special place near and dear to my heart.
With that being said, John J. also always consists of very tough competition, perhaps the toughest tournament in this quadrant of the state with the exception of the Council Bluffs Classic and maybe the Hawkeye Ten Tournament. Many classes will feature at least two ranked wrestlers, some have three or four. There will also be 23 teams in attendance tomorrow. They are; Adair Casey/Guthrie Center, Atlantic/CAM, Bedford/Lenox, Central Decatur, Chariton, Clarinda, Clarinda Academy, Clarke, Creston/OM, East Mills, Griswold, Missouri Valley, Mount Ayr, Nodaway Valley, Panorama, Red Oak, Riverside, Shenandoah, Southwest Iowa, Southwest Valley, Tri-Center, Wayne and Winterset.
Lets take a look at each weight class that will participate this weekend.
106 Pounds: This weight class could be a ton of fun. Last year, New Hampton's Dylan Robinson dominated, but this year's bracket will feature two wrestlers who are currently ranked. Connor Atkisson (Tri-Center) is ranked No. 7 in Class 1A, and Trey Allen (Winterset) is ranked No. 10 in Class 2A. Three other wrestlers in this weight class have been ranked at some point this season; Joe Weaver (Atlantic/CAM), Bryce Shaha (Mount Ayr) and Jonathan Erp (Red Oak). Weaver is coming off a strong second place showing last week at the Lloyd Shaffer Invitational in Marion, Shaha went 8-0 last week when Mount Ayr hosted the Ron Scott Duals and Erp is the reigning Hawkeye Ten Conference champion at this weight.This class is going to be a ton of fun.
113 Pounds: Wyatt Dale (Central Decatur) is the lone ranked wrestler, coming in at No. 10 in Class 1A. After that this class is wide open. Trey Ehlen (Mount Ayr) has had a solid season at 23-10. Ehlen took home the title in Pride of Iowa Tournament and went 7-1 last week at the Ron Scott Duals. His one loss? An 11-4 decision to Dale. Aybren Moore (Atlantic/CAM) has been a pleasant surprise for the Trojans and should also be expected to contend for a spot on the medal stand. Also don't count out Blaine Beeler (ACGC), who is 28-6 on the season and finished fifth at the tourney last year.
120 Pounds: Last year this weight class featured four ranked wrestlers, Carter Cox (Atlantic/CAM) defeated Jared Hensley (Bedford/Lenox) in a classic final, however both them have graduated and this year's weight class only has one ranked grappler, Bryce Hatten (Winterset). Last year, Hatten came home in the runner-up spot at 106 pounds, so you have to assume he is favored to redeem himself. Carter Wilken (Clarke) has a record of 14-4 on the season and could find himself in the finals with Hatten. The rest of this class it totally up in the air.
126 Pounds: This is another one to keep an eye on. Only one wrestler is ranked, Teagan Lundquist (Southwest Valley), Lundquist is 29-1 on the season and ranked No. 4 in Class 1A. Lundquist hopes to be Southwest Valley's first champ at their home tournament since Kallan Schmelzer in 2014. Atlantic/CAM's Kole Hansen will most likely wrestle in this weight class, although he's bounced around weights this season, wrestling as heavy as 138 pounds. Also keep an eye on freshman Kolby Hulett (Creston/OM) who is 21-7 on the season. Wouldn't it be a shocker if a Hulett won John J? It wouldn't be considering his older brother Kadon did it the last three years, and I'm guessing brother Keaton did it as well.
132 Pounds: This weight class features three ranked wrestlers; Gabe Ruepke (Chariton) at No. 5 in Class 2A, Chase McLaren (Atlantic/CAM) at No.8 in Class 2A and Jack West (Winterset) at No. 7 in Class 2A. Last year, Ruepke beat McLaren in the semi-finals, will the result be the same this year? Will the matchup even happen? Also keep an eye on Colton Hauschild (Southwest Iowa) who comes into the tournament with a record of 15-9.
138 Pounds:This one might be the worth the price of admission. Three wrestlers are ranked; Connor Lange (Missouri Valley) is ranked No. 4 in Class 1A, Austin Gutknecht (Clarinda) is ranked No. 6 in Class 1A and Kruise Kiburz (Winterset) is ranked No. 9 in Class 2A. Gutknecht is looking to give Clarinda it's first champion since J.J. Clark did it in 2016. Chariton's Dylan Harbirts has also been ranked most of the year and could find himself in the finals.
145 Pounds:I'm not sure how many wrestlers have won John J. three times, but I'm guessing there's not very many. Well Mitchel Swank (Creston/OM) has the chance to add his name to that list. Swank has been pretty darn impressive the last two years at John J and comes in ranked No. 3 in Class 2A. Swank most certainly has to be the favorite to capture his third title, however don't count out Duke Kyle (Missouri Valley) who is ranked No. 8 in Class 1A.
160 Pounds: This is one of only two classes that does not feature at least one wrestler ranked by the Predicament. Marcus Daughton (Mount Ayr) is ranked No. 10 by IAWrestle. Daughton's big brother Cal came very close to winning the tournament last year, can little brother get it done this year?. Senior Dylan Dalton (Southwest Valley) has had a solid season, amassing a record of 20-8. The last Timberwolf to win John J also did it at 160 pounds.
170 Pounds: Two years ago, Nathan Haynes (Missouri Valley) won the tournament as a sophomore. Last year Haynes came into the tournament as the top seed, but was upset in the quarterfinals. This year, Haynes finds himself ranked No. 2 in Class 1A, but picking up his second tournament championship will be no easy task. Gunnar Grunsted (Panorama) comes in ranked No. 6 in Class 1A. Kyle Owens (Shenandoah), who is ranked No. 10 in Class 2A looks to give the Mustangs their first John J. champ in quite some time.
182 Pounds: This is the weight class, that I'm the most excited to watch. I mean excited to see all of them, but this one especially. Three wrestlers are ranked in this class. Sophomore Nick Haynes (Missouri Valley) would love to have the same success that his big brother Nathan had at John J his sophomore year. Remember how I said that Nathan Haynes was upset last year? Well it was Thomas Bentley (Red Oak) who upset him. Now Bentley is at 182 pounds and ranked No. 5 in Class 2A. Bentley has been a takedown machine this year, but a recent hand injury has put him in a cast and made his offense a bit more difficult to execute. Derek Venteicher (Bedford/Lenox) has beat Bentley the last three times they've met, including an impressive pinfall victory just a few weeks ago. Venteicher is ranked No. 7 in Class 1A and has to be hungry to end his last John J. on a dominant note. I'm glad I did not bet money on this class, because I would not feel confident. Such a toss up.
195 Pounds: This is the other weight class that features zero ranked wrestlers. Brenden Christiansen (Bedford/Lenox) is 18-1 on the season and could very well be the top seed this weekend. Dalton Holmes (Panorama) has a record of 20-4 on the season and Cole Nebel (Shenandoah) has been solid for the Mustangs this season and could find himself on the podium and perhaps contending for the gold.
220 Pounds: For as long as I can remember, the 220 pound class has always been one of the more competitive in the tournaments. This years, tournament will feature the No. 1 in Class 1A, Tom Rief (Missouri Valley). Last year Rief came into the tournament ranked No. 1 and earned the top seed, but he lost to Kadon Hulett in the finals. Rief has got to feel hungry to get the tournament crown in his final shot. Chance Strough (Bedford/Lenox) finds himself ranked No. 8 in Class 1A and would love to have a shot at Reif in the semi-finals or finals. Tyler Courtier (Shenandoah) has been a pleasant surprise for the Mustangs, the sophomore is ranked No. 8 in Class 2A and is 31-1 on the season. A strong tournament from Courtier could give him some monstrous momentum heading into Hawkeye Ten, sectionals and districts.
285 Pounds: John McConkey (Atlantic/CAM) looks to win his third straight John J title. The future UNI Panther is ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, and No. 9 nationally. McConkey has been dominant this season. His lone loss came in the semi-finals of the Council Bluffs Classic to Class 3A top ranked Caleb Sanders (Glenwood). Bradley Tolley (Winterset) recently earned his way into the Predicament's ranking as the No. 10 heavyweight in Class 2A. Arron Olson (Missouri Valley) has also had a strong season and is currently ranked No. 8 in Class 1A by IAWrestle.
Team Race: One would assume that Missouri Valley would be the favorite to take home the tournament team title. The Big Red are loaded this year, with six ranked wrestlers. However don't count out Winterset, who bolsters a handful of ranked wrestlers themselves. This isn't your typical Creston/OM team, but the Panthers have always had an uncanny ability to wrestle extremely well in tournaments, maybe this will be the case. Bedford/Lenox might lack depth, but they have four or five wrestlers that are capable of getting them some serious points. Two years ago, East Mills finished fifth despite only having five wrestlers, the Bullgers (I think that's what they call them) have the potential to do that this year. The home team Southwest Valley, hopes to hold their own in front of their own fans. I think that's a strong possibility for the Timberwolves who are wrestling solid as a team at just the right time and who knows, maybe someone will surprise
This should be fun.
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