Registration begins for
2010 Preseason Nationals
Registration is now open for the third annual USA Wrestling Preseason Nationals, which will be held Oct. 30 at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

This big preseason event is even bigger this year, with a grade school division added to the competition.

For all the information you need and to register, visit the official website.

Excel Wrestling set to kick off
fifth season in Central Iowa
Excel Wrestling, official US Junior Olympic Program for USA Wrestling, kicks off it’s year in Iowa, Colorado and Wyoming. The Iowa Junior Olympic Program begins next month in the greater Des Moines area. The program runs from September thru May with practices held at Waukee High School on the west side of town and Grand View University on the east. 

Click here to view article

2010 Cadet/Junior Nationals
Ballweg and Moore claim Junior Freestyle titles
A pair of Iowans finished off their high school careers in style Saturday in Fargo, N.D. Jake Ballweg of Waverly-Shell Rock (right) and Nick Moore of Iowa City West earned Junior Freestyle National titles as the 2010 Cadet/Junior Nationals wrapped up after six tough days of action.

Two other Iowans, Matthew Riley at 189 and Cody Krumwiede at 215, fell short in their title bids and took home silver medals. Nine other Iowans finished off the long week with All-American honors.

Read what Ballweg and Moore had to say about their title match wins and what some of the other All-Americans thought about their tournaments in our coverage area.

Click here to go to The Predicament's
Cadet/Junior Nationals coverage page

Laux takes home gold in Cadet freestyle action
Phillip Laux of Pekin had to wait through a video review during his match and a protest afterward, but both came out in his favor as the Iowa wrestler claimed the 98-pound Cadet freestyle National title Friday afternoon in Fargo, N.D. Laux countered a takedown attempt in the clinch in the first period (pictured) on his way to the gold medal.

Two other Iowans, Jack Hathaway at 112 and 135-pounder Brandon Sorensen, finished second. Six other Iowans earned hardware on Friday.

Check out our coverage page for a Full Access article from the finals and read what many of the All-Americans had to say about their tournaments. You can also view complete Cadet freestyle results and we will also be posting medal match photos later in the day.

Sullivan captures Junior Greco-Roman title!
Elijah Sullivan of Council Bluffs Lewis Central made his dream a reality Tuesday night in Fargo, as he dominated Jesse Baldazo of California to win the 140-pound Junior Greco-Roman championship.

Sullivan went undefeated over the two days and finished his tournament with a 6-0, 2-0 victory for the gold.

Three other Iowans - Cory Clark at 112, Jay Hildreth at 135 and 152-pounder Justin Koethe, also earned All-American honors.

Go to our event coverage page to read about the action and see the results for all the Iowa wrestlers.

The Cadet freestyle wrestlers are in action beginning Wednesday morning.

Hathaway wins Cadet Greco-Roman gold!
Jack Hathaway of Iowa City West (pictured in blue) reached the top of the Cadet Greco-Roman podium Monday afternoon at 112 pounds with a dominating title match victory. The National title is the first in Fargo for Hathaway, who was runner-up in Junior freestyle last season. Read what he had to say about his championship in our Full Access article from Monday's action.

Five other Iowans medaled Monday. Andras Lukacs-Farkas at 160 and Mickey Pelfrey at 189 placed third, Phillip Laux finished fourth at 98 and Sam Phillips at 84 and 145-pounder Jake Marlin placed seventh.

In Junior Greco-Roman action, nine Iowans are still alive in the tournament and look to earn All-American honors Tuesday.

See all the Iowa wrestler's results and read about the first two days of action in our special coverage area. Photos from the tournament will be uploaded throughout the week.

Former State champ Travis Taylor
injured in swimming accident
Former Prairie Valley (Gowrie) star wrestler Travis Taylor recently underwent surgery in Des Moines after breaking his neck in a swimming accident.

Taylor was a three-time State finalist and one-time champ for Prairie Valley.

You can visit Travis' CarePage by clicking here. You may have to sign up for a free account to view the page, which has photos and updates of Travis' condition.

Iowa second at Junior National Duals
A squad of some of the top high school wrestlers in the state made it to the finals in Oklahoma City, Okla. before falling to a team from Illinois, 38-24.

Click here for article

Upcoming summer wrestling events
There are plenty of upcoming opportunities for wrestlers to hone their skills during the summer months. Check out our Camps/Clinics page to see our list of upcoming camps and clinics around the state. There are many offered, including our newest additions at Boone and Jefferson. Both are in July and boast former and current Iowa State Cyclones as instructors.

Also coming up are the 2010 Iowa Games. Check out our youth tournament calendar for information on this annual event.

Don't wait until next season starts to work on your technique and wrestle matches. This is a great time to pick up some great tips to help you reach your winter goals.

NCAA Championships coming to Iowa!
The NCAA has released the sites for the 2013 and 2014 NCAA Div. I National Championships.

The 2013 tournament will be held at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, with Iowa State University serving as hosts. The championships will be held in Oklahoma City the following year.

Championship sites selected

Long gone at Iowa State
For the second time this off-season, an NCAA Div. I National runner-up has been kicked off a team from the state of Iowa.

Andrew Long of Creston, the 2010 NCAA runner-up at 125 pounds for Iowa State, has been removed from the team for multiple violations of team rules, head coach Kevin Jackson announced Wednesday.

“I have met with Andrew and informed him of our decision that he is no longer part of the Iowa State wrestling program,” Jackson said. “We have had previous discussions and Andrew understood what kind of conduct is expected of an Iowa State student-athlete. I deeply regret that this decision was necessary.”

This decision comes a month and a half after 141-pound national runner-up Montell Marion was dismissed from the University of Iowa wrestling team.

32nd Annual North/South All Star Meet
The annual event in Charles City took place Saturday night. Below are results from matches between between some of the top high school seniors in the state.
2010 North South All Star Meet results
119 Bradley McDermott, Dav. Assumption dec. Zach Buch, Belle Plaine 6-4
130 Levi Wolfensperger, Denver/Tripoli md. Tyler Endres, Independence 13-4
135 Tanner Schmidt, Charles City pinned Jake Rizzio, Cedar Rapids Prairie 0:32
145 Michael Jensen, Graet.-Ter. pinned Matthew Dettmer, Nashua-Plainfield 3:59
285 Caleb Wilken, Nashua-Plainfield dec. Mark Tiedemann, Charles City 8-2
285 Adam Praska, Cresco dec. Ryan Fank, Independence 3-0
140 Brode Hills, Louisa-Muscatine dec. Brent Blaser, Osage 6-5
145 Jimmie Schuessler, North Polk pinned Cole Clarken, Fort Dodge 4:35 OT
171 Noah Minikus, Denver Tripoli dec. Trevor Pisney, Cresco 5-1
189 Sam Upah, East Marshall pinned Dalton Schutjer, Charles City 3:45
130 Tanner Schmidt, Charles City dec. Bradley McDermott, Dav. Assumption 4-2
135 Jake Rizzio, Cedar Rapids Prairie dec. Tyler Endres, Indepndence  3-1
152 Blake Sorenson, Denver-Tripoli dec. Michael Jensen, Graettinger-Terril 9-6
285 Ryan Fank, Independence dec. Caleb Wilken, Nashua Plainfield 7-0

Academic Excellence
The Predicament has released the 2010 Academic All-State Teams.

Those honored excelled on the mat and in the classroom this past season. There are 14 first and second team members and 16 more tabbed honorable mention. The teams, along with mug shots of the first and second team honorees, will be in the June issue of The Predicament.

Five State champions are among those honored, including Jake Ballweg of Waverly-Shell Rock, who had a perfect 4.0 GPA at the time nominations were collected.

Click here to view the Academic All-State squads

National Wrestler of the Year:
Nick Moore of Iowa City West
Iowa City West four-time State champion Nick Moore has been named National Senior Wrestler of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholastic Board of Directors. There were eight finalists for the award from eight regions and Moore was chosen as the top senior in the nation.

Moore finished his career with a 183-1 record with 110 falls and won his final 147 matches. He became the 19th four-time State champ in Iowa High School wrestling history in February.

Waverly-Shell Rock head coach Rick Caldwell was one of eight finalists for National Coach of the Year, an award won by Jim Morgan of Tennessee. Ray Fox of Don Bosco was one of eight finalists for Assistant Coach of the Year. All three finalists from Region 4 were from Iowa.

Click here for complete press release.

Schwab named ninth UNI head coach
The University of Northern Iowa introduced Osage native Doug Schwab as the ninth head coach in program history at a press conference Thursday afternoon in Cedar Falls.

Schwab was a one-time State champ at Osage, an NCAA Champion at the University of Iowa and had been an assistant coach under Tom Brands at Virginia Tech and the University of Iowa.

UNI press release

Marion out at Iowa
If Montell Marion, a 2010 NCAA Div. I runner-up at 141, wants to continue his collegiate wrestling career, it will have to be somewhere other than the University of Iowa. Marion was arrested for DUI earlier this week and was kicked off the team today.

Marion was a four-time State Tournament finalist and two-time champion wrestling for West Des Moines Valley and Des Moines Roosevelt.

Click here for U of Iowa press release

2010 U.S. Open and Fila Nationals
Click here for TheMat.com's coverage from the U.S. Open and Fila Junior Nationals being competed this weekend in Cleveland, Ohio.

Weight classes to stay the same
After several different options were thrown around for weight class changes starting next season in high school wrestling, it was decided to keep them the same.

Click here for news from the NFHS Wrestling Rules Committee meeting

Des Moines among five finalists for 2013
or 2014 NCAA Div. I Nationals
And wrestling fans from other programs thought there was a large amount of fans from the three in-state schools this year in Omaha, Neb. It may be a case of you ain't seen nothing yet.

It was recently announced that Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines is among the five finalists to host either the 2013 or 2014 NCAA Div. I National Championships. A decision should be made by the end of this month.

Link to Kansas City Star article

Penrith out as UNI coach
Just weeks after completing his 10th season as head coach at Northern Iowa, Brad Penrith is out as head man of the Panthers.

UNI finished 10-12 in duals this past season and placed 46th at the NCAA Championships with one All-American, Cedar Rapids Kennedy product Jarion Beets at 174. Penrith, a former multiple All-American wrestler for the University of Iowa, had just completed the first of a three-year extension he signed after last season.

A solid recruiting class will now have to wait and see who is picked as his replacement. Among that group are two-time State champs Brock Weatherman of Ballard, Seth Noble of Columbus Junction and Levi Wolfensperger of Denver-Tripoli.

Click here for Waterloo Courier article

Contact Information:
Matt Pfiffner (Publisher/Advertising/Web Page)
pfiffner@thepredicament.com
Phone: 641-414-1962
Fax: 641-342-1558
Wyatt Schultz (Photographer)
gwyatt@thepredicament.com