14 area wrestlers to compete at state

Hopefully everyone who wants to see great competition makes it through the teeth of a vicious Iowa winter to arrive safely at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines for the Iowa High School Athletic Union traditional state tournament Thursday through Saturday.

Washington sent five wrestlers to state while Highland has four, WACO two, then Mid-Prairie, Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union and Sigourney-Keota one each.

C/W-MU's Jarod Kadel, a senior, received the highest seed locally, taking No. 1 at 138 pounds. Kadel has a record of 39-0 and some unfinished business at state after losing his bid for a state title last year when he was called for stalling with one second remaining in his championship match. He will face Isaac Bryan (34-13) of Sergeant Bluff-Luton.

Washington senior Tristin Westphal-Edwards was slotted at No. 2 in the 182-pound bracket of Class 2A. He wrestles Beau Barncastle of Creston in the first round. Barncastle, a senior, has a 30-24 record. Westphal-Edwards is unbeaten in 39 matches. The top seed is Kyler Fisher of Southeast Valley, Gowrie. He is 25-0 after wrestling much of the season at 195, then dropping down to 182 for the postseason.

Seeding is new at the state tournament this year in the first round. The top eight wrestlers will be seeded with wrestlers nine through 16 being a random draw. Criteria used will include head-to-head competition, common opponents, state place winner, and state qualifier.

'Kyler Fisher and I used to be best friends,” Westphal-Edwards said. 'He lives quite a ways away from us so I haven't seen him as much. We were on some national teams together. He has never beat me and we have wrestled four times. He is a great wrestler. We wrestle alike. I have never wrestled somebody that wrestles exactly like me, so that will be a fun challenge if we meet up. I feel that I have the advantage right now and I definitely have the confidence.”

If they meet up, it would be in the finals for the chance to become state champion. That is what Westphal-Edwards is preparing for.

'I have to attack guys,” he said. 'I feel that I am an expert on my feet. I have to work on my shots, my attacks. I am just going to keep practicing the way I have been practicing. If you change something up, then that can throw you off. You can't change your routines when you have a certain ritual. Hopefully if I stick to what I know I will stay undefeated and become a state champ.”

Washington senior Logan Escher (30-4) is seeded eighth at 195. He wrestles Reid Walters (17-8) of Chariton.

'With state, I just plan to work my butt off and see how it goes,” Escher said. 'I will just have to take shots and see what happens. It doesn't matter to me who I face at state, I'll take them on.”

His possible second-round match is Julien Broderson (49-0) of Davenport Assumption.

Washington junior Dillan Sanders (30-5) will face sixth-seeded Max Babcock (43-6) of NH/TV at 145. Garrett Ikerd (27-6), a senior, will face fourth-seeded Chase McLaren (48-3) of Atlantic at 138. Walker Ikerd, a senior at 120, faces seventh seed Kyler Dunn (32-5) of Spirit Lake Park.

Mid-Prairie junior Isaac Boucher (38-7) wrestles his first-round match against third seed Dalton Chipp (39-2) of Hampton-Dumont.

In Class 1A, Highland has senior Brady Hahn (34-3) as the seventh seed at 145. He will wrestle Kaleb Baker (7-6) of Southeast Warren in the first round. Senior Cory Stewart (31-9) at 152 will tangle with the eighth seed in Kameron Black (44-2) of Newman Catholic. Senior Dan Burton (24-10) will square off with sixth seed Mason Griffin (37-6) of Emmetsburg. Senior Geoff Streb (16-19) will wrestle Easton Larson (22-5) of Don Bosco, seeded fourth, at 132.

Mason Dye (28-4), a junior for Sigourney-Keota, got the fourth seed at 113. He wrestles Mick Schroder (30-18) of Riverside.

WACO freshman Jonah Clark (33-9) faces the five seed in Jacob Moore (22-5) of Denver at 120. At 126, Jalen Collins (35-9) faces three seed Robert Avila (48-1) of Lisbon.