State wrestling begins Wednesday

DES MOINES — The 2023 state wrestling tournament is here, and it’s going to be a busy week for the Union area matmen.

In all, the Union area has 32 athletes chasing their dreams for state tournament gold. All of them will be in action on Wednesday as the first round kicks off bright and early.

The majority of the 32 reside in Class 1A, and that’s the class kicking things off on Wednesday morning. The first matches begin at 9 a.m.

Six of those Class 1A wrestlers are from Siogurney-Keota. One of which is Reanah Utterback, the only girl in the entire field.

Utterback, a sophomore comes in as the No. 8 seed in the Clsas 1A bracket, and the last to get a bye. She will face off with either Erik Flores of Clayton Ridge or Avery Vacek of Underwood in the second round of the tournament.

Also wrestling for the Cobras are Brady Clark at 126, Dante McLaughlin at 132, Reid Molyneaux at 152, Jake Moore at 160, and senior Jack Clarahan, who enters the 170-pound bracket as the No. 3 seed. Clarahan will face a junior in the second round, either Owen Hoover of Cam or Regan Witt of Saint Ansgar.

Just two matches down on the 170-pound bracket is Michael Raines of New London. Raines will take on senior Kaden Stites in the first round. Clarahan and Raines could face off if both advance to the quarterfinals.

The biggest name for New London, however, is senior Dominic Lopez. Lopez has 218 career wins, one away from the state record, and is a three-time state semifinalist, still looking for his first title.

The currently 54-0 Lopez is the No. 2 seed at 1A-160. Like Utterback and Clarahan, Lopez will get a first-round bye before facing off with either junior Rory Prazak of Central Springs or freshman Eli Kalainoff of Nashua-Plainfield.

Other Tigers in the brackets are Gage Burden, at 126 pounds, and Trent Wilkerson, at 195.

WACO will bring three wrestlers into the state tournament, including fourth-seeded sophomore Louden Huisenga, who just happens to be on the other side of the 106-pound bracket in Class 1A.

Huisenga is not only a potential name to face Lopez or Moore in the later rounds, but he’s also a recipient of another first-round bye. He will face either junior Ben Hansen of Missouri Valley or junior Ryan Sommerlot of Pocahontas in the second round.

Other Warriors include Gage Samo at 113 pounds and Drew Diers at 195 pounds.

Also wrestling in Class 1A is Highland senior Carlos Valenzuela, who is seeded No. 3 in the 1A-132 pound bracket. Valenzuela will either take on freshman Dustin Van Oort of West Sioux or junior Easton Krall of Wapsie Valley in the second round.

Others wrestling in Class 1A include Highland’s Luke Guseman at 120 and Jack Peiffer at 138, Pekin’s Blake Juhl at 182 and Cardinal’s Isaac Cox at 285.

Class 2A will begin at 1:30 p.m., and that’s when Washington sophomore Aaron Boone will make his debut at 120 pounds. Boone will take on Carter Liston, a sophomore from AP-GC.

Other Demons in the bracket are Caden Greiner at 132, Chase Greiner at 160 and Curtis Stender at 195.

Making his state debut at Class 2A 113 pounds is Cael McCabe. The freshman gets a first-round bye as the No. 7 seed, and will take on Jonah Luensman of Monticello or Cory Saxton of Woodward-Granger in the Round of 16.

Others representing Fairfield include returning state qualifier Cason Miller at 145 pounds, Dre Smithburg at 220 pounds and Brandon Brinkschroeder at 285 pounds.

Columbus/Winfield-Mount Union will sent five into the fray. Included in that is senior Kai Malone, who will be involved in an All-Union first-round matchup. Malone, the No. 17 seed takes on Fairfield’s Smithburg in the first 2A-220 match on the bracket.

The winner of the Smithburg-Malone battle will get to try his chances against unbeaten and top-seeded Nick Reinicke, the state favorite from Dike-New Hartford.

The tournament will last four days, all leading up to Saturday’s grand finals, which will begin at 5:15 p.m.