Previewing the Hawkeye Ten Wrestling Tournament

The journey to the 2019 Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament is now in full stride. In a little over two weeks, we will trim Iowa's field of wrestlers to just 672. There is just one more week until postseason wrestling begins and it's a big one. The Hawkeye Ten Conference Tournament is always a fun one that displays many high caliber matches. There have been many years where multiple state champions have come from this class and even a few instances (i.e. last year) where state champions met in the finals. 13 wrestlers will come into Saturday's ranked, but four others have been ranked at some point this season. 

The Hawkeye Ten has a rich history dating way-back to 1973 and the people running the Hawkeye Ten are awesome enough to provide a highly thorough media guide for the upcoming tournament. So let's dive into some of the history of the Hawkeye Ten Tournament.

Last Ten Team Champions

2009: Lewis Central

2010: Lewis Central

2011: Lewis Central

2012: Creston/OM

2013: Creston/OM

2014: Creston/OM

2015: Creston/OM

2016: Creston/OM

2017: Atlantic/CAM

2018: Glenwood 

Looking to become a four-time conference champion (1): Chase McLaren (Atlantic/CAM)

Six Wrestlers are looking for their second conference championship, they are: Benjamin Schmitz (Kuemper Catholic), Jonathan Erp (Red Oak), Taber Dominguez (Lewis Central), Ethan Lemon (Harlan), Caleb Kingery (Lewis Central) and Carter Maynes (Red Oak)

         Total Individual Championships by School

1. Lewis Central (147)

2. Creston (109)

3. Glenwood (98)

4. Harlan (66)

5. Atlantic/CAM (49)

6. Clarinda (45)

7. Shenandoah (37)

8. Red Oak (20)
9. Kuemper Catholic (9)

10. Denison-Schleswig (4)

11. St. Albert (1) 

Each Schools most recent individual championship

Atlantic/CAM-John McConkey, 2018

Glenwood-Isaac Bales, 2018

Harlan-Nick Foss, 2018

Red Oak-Carter Maynes, 2018

Lewis Central-William Waugh, 2018

Clarinda-Austin Gutknecht, 2018

Kuemper Catholic-Benjamin Schmitz, 2018

Creston/OM-Kadon Hulett, 2017

St. Albert-Wyatt Lewis, 2014

Denison-Schleswig-Jesse Preul, 2010

Shenandoah-Carrol Heitshusen, 2010

Now I'll end the history lesson and give you what you really want. A weight-by-weight breakdown of the action set to take place this Saturday in Shenandoah.

106 Pounds

Ranked Wrestlers (1): 3A No. 8 Tanner Wink (Lewis Central) 

The lightweight classes tend to give us a good idea of who is going to be a name to keep an eye on over the next couple years. This season is no different. Wink-who is just a sophomore is currently 29-9 on the season and is coming off a championship at last weeks' Heelan Invite where he won both of his matches by first period fall. 

Wink, however has not faced anyone in the Hawkeye 10 this season outside of Garrett McLaren (Atlantic-CAM). McLaren is coming off a third-place showing at last weeks' John J. Harris Invitational and will be looking to avenge a pinfall loss to Wink. 

113 Pounds

Ranked Wrestlers (1): 2A No. 3 Benjamin Schmitz (Kuemper Catholic)

Schmitz came out of nowhere as a sophomore, but took the state by storm, advancing to the semifinals and taking home a third-place medal. He has been wrestling at a high level this year and his sets sight on a second consecutive Hawkeye Ten title, as well as some bigger goals. 

Assuming he gets to the finals, Schmitz will most likely run into Aybren Moore (Atlantic/CAM) or Jonathan Erp (Red Oak). Schmitz is a combined 3-0 against them, but has not pinned them this season. Erp and Moore have met each other twice. Erp won the first by fall and Moore beat Erp by 6-1 decision at the Rollin Dyer.

120 Pounds

There are no ranked wrestlers in this weight class and only five tournament teams have had a wrestler at this weight class at a tournament since Christmas. So this could be a pretty short bracket. I think the favorite almost certainly has to be Joe Weaver (Atlantic/CAM). Weaver had a wild Saturday at John J, pinning 1A No. 10 Connor Atkisson (Tri-Center) in the semis despite trailing with 20-seconds left. Weaver that got a takedown on 1A No. 9 Blaine Beeler (ACGC) with just one second remaining to win his finals match. 

That type of weekend could be a massive boost of confidence and give him a ton of momentum in this big stretch. Weaver will most likely joined in the finals by either Luke Musich (Harlan) or Kaden Bolton (Creston-OM), who have not wrestled each other this season.

126 Pounds 

Another weight class with no ranked wrestlers, but a deeper one, or at least I think so. 126 pounds consists of two former tournament champions, Taber Dominguez (Lewis Central) and Ethan Lemon (Harlan). Those two have yet to face off this season, so it's tough to predict what will happen if they do. 

The wildcard in this weight class is Steele McLaren (Atlantic/CAM). Last week McLaren upset 1A No. 9 Trae Ehlen (Mount Ayr) en route to a runner-up finish at John J. McLaren has defeated Dominguez by a five-point decision in both of their previous matches, but he also dropped a 6-2 decision to Lemon in their only meeting of the season and lost to Lemon by 4-1 decision in the tournament finals last year. Talk about motivation. 

132 Pounds

This might be the toughest weight class to gauge not only because there's no ranked wrestlers, but also because this class does not appear to very deep. Based on recent tournament results, only five wrestlers have been at this weight in tournaments recently. However, I could possibly see two additions this weekend. 

One of those additions is Shea Parkis (Kuemper Catholic) who has bounced between 126 and 132 this season. Parkis has wrestled five contested matches against Hawkeye Ten foes this year and he's won all five of them including a win last week over Wyatt Obrecht (Harlan). Garon Wurster (Creston/OM) is coming off a fourth-place finish last week at John J. but has not wrestled either Parkis or Obrecht this season. 

138 Pounds

Ranked Wrestlers (1): 2A No. 6 Chase McLaren (Atlantic/CAM)

McLaren comes into this tournament with a chance to make history in three different ways. If McLaren wins the tournament title, he will- 1. Become the 19th different different-four time Hawkeye Ten Tournament Champion. 2. Become Atlantic/CAM's first-four-time conference champion. 3. Perhaps, most impressive of all, assuming he wrestles at 138, McLaren will be the eighth different wrestler to win his four championships in four different weight classes. Those other seven? They all won state championships in their senior year. So history is on McLaren's side if can join their name (which he will be favored to do).

Only five other schools have had a wrestler at 138 and there's no clear cut favorite to dethrone McLaren (which won't be easy). If I had to guess, I would say that gallant attempt will come from Tanner Higgins (Lewis Central) who McLaren pinned in 3:58 on December 13th. 

145 Pounds

Ranked Wrestlers (1): 2A No. 10 Oscar Olmos (Harlan)

One year ago, the 145-pound bracket tournament consisted of three eventual state place winners; Trevor Anderson (Glenwood), Gabe Kjeldgaard (Lewis Central) and Mitchel Swank (Creston/OM), but unfortunately all three have graduated. 

Olmos has himself a quietly good season, amassing a 30-4 record thus far. Olmos has had a solid career to this point, but two things have eluded him; a Hawkeye Ten title and a state placement medal. He's on a mission to get both of those this year and he will definitely be the favorite to win the Hawkeye Ten this year, but I think Kadin Stutzman (Atlantic/CAM) is going to be someone to keep an eye on this weekend as he looks to avenge a major-decision loss to Olmos earlier this year.

152 Pounds

This weight class features zero ranked wrestlers, but one that was ranked to start the year in Connor Pellett (Atlantic/CAM). Pellett, a state qualifier last year, recently bumped down from 160. He's coming off a runner-up performance in which he nearly beat 1A No. 6 Connor Lange (Missouri Valley). Pellett is a very tactical wrestler that is incredibly fun to watch when he's clicking.

Collin Wiederin (Kuemper Catholic) will also have his sights set on a tourney title Wiederin has lost just five matches this season including two to Lange. He has yet to wrestle Pellett this season. I also would not be surprised to see Bruce Lukehart (Red Oak) give Pellett and Wiederin a run for their money.

160 Pounds

Ranked Wrestlers: 2A No. 6 Justin McCunn (Red Oak), 3A No. 10 Caleb Kingery (Lewis Central)

There's a very good chance this years' final match is a rematch of last years' 152-pound championship. Last year, it was Kingery who picked up a 5-1 decision over McCunn in front of the Lewis Central faithful to claim his first conference title. Both wrestlers have bumped up a class, but they have maintained the dominance they had this this time last year. McCunn is coming off just his second loss of the season---a wild 9-8 loss to Drew Venteicher (Bedford-Lenox). 

Kingery has a stellar senior campaign, losing just four times. Three of those defeats came to out-of-state opponents. The other loss? A 3-2 decision to McCunn on January 3rd. Assuming these two make it to the finals, this could be the match of the day. 

170 Pounds

Ranked Wrestlers: 2A No. 6 Carter Maynes (Red Oak), 2A No 7 Jakson Kinsella (Creston/OM)

This is another bracket that looks like it could be a ton of fun. I don't think anyone had a more impressive John J. performance than Kinsella, who defeated Maynes and 1A No. 3 Nick Haynes en route to the title. Last year was the first time Creston/OM did not have a Hawkeye Ten champion since 1996. Kinsella will have his sights set on creating a new streak. 

Maynes is looking to not only avenge a loss to Kinsella, but he's also looking to win his second consecutive Hawkeye Ten title and it would be foolish of me to count out the basketball/wrestling multitasker that is Chase Mullenix (Atlantic/CAM). Mullenix dropped to Haynes in the semifinals, but pinned Maynes to capture third place. Mullenix has yet to wrestle Kinsella this year, but it would be ridiculous for anyone to doubt what Mullenix can do. 

182 Pounds

Ranked Wrestlers: 3A No. 2 Brett Mower (Glenwood), 3A No. 8 Ryan Higgins (Lewis Central)

Mower might be the best wrestler in the area that nobody is talking about. Mower kicked off his year with a runner-up finish at the talent laden Council Bluffs Classic. Mower has just two losses this season and is primed to make a deep postseason run. Higgins, his potential finals' counter-part is another wrestler who has flown under the radar and into the state rankings, but dropped a 15-7 major decision to Mower earlier this season. 

Another name to keep an eye on this weekend is Red Oak's Hunter McMann. McMann is a neat story that is easy to root for. He had never wrestled before joining Coach Tiegen Podliska's squad last season and this year is a John J. champion. I would not be surprised to see McMann ride last week's momentum into this week and perhaps into a trip to Des Moines much like his teammate Thomas Bentley did two years ago.

195 Pounds

Ranked Wrestler: 2A No. 8 Sam Chapman (Creston/OM)

There's actually two ranked wrestlers in this weight class, but I can confirm that Red Oak's Thomas Bentley is out until sectionals. The status on Chapman is also unknown since he did not wrestle at John J. last week. 

Assuming Chapman does not wrestle this week, I think Crew Howard (Clarinda) is the man to beat. Heck--Howard might be the man to beat even if Chapman does wrestle Saturday. The sophomore pinned three dudes on his way to the title. Howard has just three losses this season, one of which was a 9-3 decision at the hands of Chapman. 

220 Pounds

Ranked Wrestlers: 2A No. 10 Cale Roller (Atlantic/CAM)

Roller is another wrestler who is coming off a John J. championship. Roller has his sights set on accomplishing the conference championship that always eluded his big brother, Drake. Roller will most likely be the number one seed, his top competitor looks to be Colton Kinnison (Red Oak)--who Roller beat by 10-0 major decision in the finals last week in Corning.

The ultimate wildcard here is the status of Tyler Courtier (Shenandoah). Courtier was ranked as high as No. 8 early in the season, but he's battling injuries as of late and his status for this week is unknown. If Courtier is unable to go, it will mark the second straight year he's missed out on a chance to win a conference title after illness sidelined him last year. If Courtier does wrestle Saturday, he'll have to fend off Roller--who he has never wrestled and Kinnison--who he beat twice last year, but lost to at districts. 

285 Pounds

Ranked Wrestlers: 2A No. 5 Derec Weyer (Harlan)
This class no longer holds claim to state champions John McConkey (Atlantic/CAM) and Caleb Sanders (Glenwood). Last year, those guys put on a classic match that ended with McConkey winning on a stall call in overtime. This year the path is paved for Weyer to impose the same dominance that he has inflicted all season. Weyer is 37-2 on the season with one of those losses coming last week to Nebraska Class B No. 6 Trevor Nielsen (Plattsmouth). 

If I had to guess who will be joining Weyer in the finals, I would say probably Storm Howard (Clarinda). Howard has been wrestling really as of late behind a third-place John J. finish and took 1A No. 3 Arron Olson (Missouri Valley) to ultimate-tie-breaker recently. The Howard brothers--Crew and Storm are wrestling really well at the right time. Could they be the first pair of brothers to win Hawkeye 10 in the same year since Darrian and Brad Schwenke did so in 2011, or will the McLaren brothers beat them to it? 

TEAM RACE

Everything that could go right for Atlantic/CAM last week did. Don't get me wrong, luck is not why the Trojans won John J, but it definitely was on their side. I expect the Trojans to be the favorite to win their second conference title in three years. Lewis Central, Harlan and Creston/OM will certainly be factors too. It's just a matter of how many wrestlers each of them brings and if they can win the toss-up matches that Atlantic always finds a way to win come tournament time. Red Oak could potentially play spoiler if their hammers (Maynes and McCunn) come through along with some help from the likes of Erp, McMann and Kinnison. If I had to predict the team standings I would say: 1) Atlantic/CAM 2) Lewis Central 3) Creston/OM 4) Red Oak 5) Harlan. I could be dead wrong, so don't hold me to this.