Aggregate HS Wrestling Team Rankings.

Wrestling season is here. With the new season comes a variety of different rankings. Experts all over the state have already compiled their rankings for this upcoming season. While preseason rankings definitely need to be taken with a grain of salt, they are fun to look at, especially later in the season.

You might remember my aggregate rankings from this past football season.. Well I thought it would be cool to do something similar for wrestling. However, this was much more difficult. To compile this "ranking", I relied on the rankings provided by the fine folks at both IAWrestle and the Predicament. Words cannot describe how much I appreciate the work they do and how much simpler it makes my life during wrestling season.

For these rankings, teams received 10 points for each individual they had ranked first, nine points for second and so on. It is not perfect system, but it gives us a good idea of which teams appear to have the most firepower.

The top ten teams in each class as well as all area times are listed below. Points are in parentheses. Area teams are in bold.

CLASS 1A Top Ten

1. Denver (123)

2. Don Bosco (85)

3. Woodbury Central (71)

4. Sioux Central (57)

5. Missouri Valley (50)

6. Lisbon (47)

7. Lake Mills (43)

8. Underwood (39)

8. I-35 (39)

10. Martensdale-St. Marys (38)

North Linn (38)

Newman Catholic (38)

MFL-Marmac (38)

OTHER AREA TEAMS

15. Mount Ayr (30)

18. AHSTW (28)

22. Bedford/Lenox (24)

34. Logan-Magnolia (16)

38 Southeast Warren (12)

46. Tri-Center (9)

50. Audubon (8)

52. Southwest Valley (7)

66. Riverside (3)

66. East Union (3)

72. Wayne (2)

THOUGHTS 

77 teams in Class 1A have at least one ranked wrestler. That number is the highest of all the classes and that makes sense given that there are more 1A schools than there is 2A or 3A. 1A has been dominated the past few years by the likes of Don Bosco, Lisbon, Alburnett and Denver. This year, Denver looks to be loaded and will for sure have its sights set on its first traditional team title since 2010 while Don Bosco is looking for their seventh in the past 14 seasons. Woodbury Central is led by a trio heavy hitters in Beau Klingensmith, Wade Mitchell and Garrett Arment, but they also have a handful of other capable performers that have received preseason love.

 Missouri Valley is the highest ranked area team and I have to be honest, I overlooked the Big Red coming into this season. They graduated Nathan Haynes and Tom Rief, but they return the likes of Connor Lange, Nick Haynes, Duke Kyle and Arron Olson. Coach Kiefer Jensen still has a really good squad. Underwood has just three wrestlers ranked in preseason polls, but they are three really good ones, Logan James, Blake Thomsen and Michael Baker. The Eagles are led by a few studs that should be able to score them lots of points in tournaments. The most interesting area team to me is Mount Ayr, the Raiders scored enough points in my system to rank 15th. Like Underwood, they also have just three ranked wrestlers, but they are three good ones.

CLASS 2A Top Ten

1. PCM, Monroe (81)

2. West Delaware (57)

3. Centerville (54)

Red Oak (54)

5. Monticello (52)

6. Union, LaPorte City (48)

7. Sergeant Bluff-Luton (46)

Clear Lake (46)

9. New Hampton/Turkey Valley (43)

10. Solon (40)

Other Area Teams 

18. Bishop Heelan (28)

37. Kuemper Catholic (18)

43. Atlantic/CAM (15)

49. Shenandoah (11)

Southwest Iowa (11)

63. Creston/OM (4)

THOUGHTS 

I don't think it's crazy to predict that PCM will be as good at wrestling as they were at football and they were really good at football. The Mustangs are led by the duo of Wes Cummings and Lucas Roland but they have a handful of dudes that will also hold their own. According to the IAHSAA archives, PCM has never won a team title, but this could be the year. 

When I decided to do this, I was really curious to see where Red Oak would wind up. I anticipated the Tigers to be around the fifth-to-seventh place range, but feared they could be lower. I'm glad to say I was wrong. The Tigers have five ranked wrestlers, all of which were state qualifiers last year, including two state place winners (Justin McCunn and Thomas Bentley) and this system does not account for a breakthrough wrestler that Coach Tiegen Podliska is most likely to have. There's a better chance than not that the Tigers place really high in Des Moines, perhaps higher than they ever have before. 

While these "rankings" might not support it, I do think Atlantic and Creston will be much better than said rankings. Both teams return some good pieces and will most likely have a wrestler or two that will catch us off-guard. 

CLASS 3A Top Ten

1. Southeast Polk (129)

2. Waverly-Shell Rock (110)

3. Fort Dodge (79)

4. Waukee (76)

5. Ankeny Centennial (60)

6. CR Kennedy (58)

7. Johnston (56)

8. Mason City (55)

9. Norwalk (54)

10. Bettendorf (53)

Area Teams

26. Lewis Central (18)

32. Sioux City North (13)

37. CB, Thomas Jefferson (9)

Glenwood (9)

45. Sioux City East (5)

                   THOUGHTS

This should come as no surprise, but Southeast Polk is considered the team to beat in Class 3A. The Rams have won four of the last six team titles and a fifth in seven years appears likely. The Rams will be led by the duo of Lance Runyon and Cade DeVos, but this lineup is stacked practically from top to bottom. If anyone is going to give the Rams a run it appears to be Waverly-Shell Rock. Fort Dodge returns some nice pieces from a state champion dual team and will be led by the beast that is Drake Ayala, but not having a Drew Bennett or Brody Teske in that lineup is a difference maker. Ankeny Centennial is a team that I will be keeping my eye on this season. I was pleasantly surprised to see the Jaguars ranked this high in these rankings, but I understand why they are. Five Centennial wrestlers have received preseason love and this could be a huge year for them.

Lewis Central could be an area team that surprises some people this year. The Titans have two ranked wrestlers, Tanner Wink and Caleb Kingery, but I wouldn't be surprised to see big things from Taber Dominguez or maybe even someone else. Glenwood comes into the season with just one ranked wrestler (Brett Mower), but I know better than to underestimate Coach Brad Asche. CB, Thomas Jefferson is hoping that Cameron Baker can make up for lost time after sitting out last season with an injury. Teammate Jacob Byers has also received some preseason recognition from both IAWrestle and the Predicament. This team could be another pleasant surprise.