Related: 2010 IIAC Championship Recap | Championship Webpage
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) will crown a wrestling champion for the 59th time Friday, February 25, as Simpson College hosts the Conference’s annual mat conclave inside Cowles Fieldhouse in Indianola. Varsity matches begin at 10:30 a.m. The Championship finals are set to begin at 7:05 p.m. following the Grand March at 6:45 p.m.
Iowa Public Television (IPTV) will televise the Championship finals live statewide beginning at 7:00 p.m. Friday, February 25. Tim Johnson will provide the play-by-play with legendary University of Iowa wrestling coach Dan Gable providing analysis. For local IPTV stations, visit IPTV’s web site at www.iptv.org.
Today, the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will crown a team champion in wrestling for the 59th time. The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Wrestling Championships serves as a qualifying tournament for the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships. Thirty-five IIAC wrestlers will qualify for the NCAA Championship field of 170 – the top three in each weight class plus three at-large selections to be tabbed by the coaches once the championship match-ups have been determined. Two additional individuals will be selected by the NCAA Division III Wrestling Committee once this weekend’s qualifying tournaments are completed. The 2011 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships will be hosted by University of Wisconsin-La Crosse at La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wis., March 11-12.
National Polls: At least one Iowa Conference wrestler is ranked in nine of the 10 weight classes. The lone exception is at 174 pounds, while there are five weights with at least two ranked wrestlers. Five wrestlers are ranked at 125 pounds, while three are ranked at both 157 pounds and 165 pounds. Two wrestlers each are ranked at 197 pounds and heavyweight. Wartburg has wrestlers ranked at nine of 10 weights with the lone exception being at 174. Coe has four ranked wrestlers, Dubuque and Buena Vista have two apiece, and Luther and Cornell have one each.
There are five returning Iowa Conference Champions in the field. Coe’s Clayton Rush (125), Cornell’s Kevin Donahue (141) and Nicholas Loughlin (157), Dubuque's Josh Terrell (165), and Wartburg’s Byron Tate (197) will all attempt to defend their titles from a year ago. Wartburg’s Matt Kelly (141) and John Helgerson (heavyweight) will attempt to recapture past glory. Rush and Terrell are each looking for their third consecutive titles. Kelly is looking to regain the 141-pound title he won in 2008, while Helgerson is seeking his second heavyweight title in three year.
Twenty-one of the Conference’s 33 national qualifiers, and 12 of 19 All-Americans from 2010 – including national champions Rush and Tate – return to their teams’ lineups in 2011. A trio of three-time All-Americans – Rush, Terrell, and Kelly – are after a fourth trip to nationals. Rush placed second in 2008 and fifth in 2009 before taking the crown last season. Terrell has finishes of fourth (2008), sixth (2009), and third (2010) at 165 pounds to his credit. Kelly placed fifth at 141 in 2008, third at 133 in 2009, and third again in 2010, this time back at 141. Donahue, Helgerson and teammates Mark Kist and Adam Weber, along with Coe’s Seth Rehn and Loras’ Erik Hanson are each looking for their third trip to nationals. Donahue and Helgerson are two-time All-Americans. Wartburg lists eight returning national qualifiers on its list of probable wrestlers for the 2011 Championships, while Coe has six. Buena Vista, Cornell, and Dubuque have two apiece and Loras and Luther each have one.
Five schools crowned two individual champions at the 2010 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Wrestling Championships, but No. 2-ranked Wartburg College advanced eight wrestlers to the finals and held off No. 3 Coe, 176.5-167, to win its 18th consecutive title Tuesday at Buena Vista University. The Knights collected their 28th title overall. Cornell, with 120 points, edged Luther (115), and Dubuque (113.5) for third place. The 9.5-point margin was the closest since Central edged Buena Vista 138.5-135 for the title in 1989.
Four Iowa Conference schools and 19 individuals are ranked in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association/Brute-Adidas poll released February 8. Ranked teams are Wartburg (1st), Coe (5th), Cornell (19th), and Dubuque (26th).
Weight-by-Weight Preview
125 — The lowest weight class might also be the most competitive at this year’s championships as five of eight probable wrestlers are currently ranked and a sixth was ranked in the middle of the season. Coe’s Clayton Rush, the defending NCAA champion and two-time defending IIAC Champion, is the top-ranked wrestler at 125 pounds. Rush, a three-time All-American has lost only once this season, in November, to defending NCAA Division I champion Matt McDonough of Iowa. Wartburg’s Mark Kist, the IIAC runner-up each of the past two years and a two-time national qualifier, has been ranked in the top-five all season, as has Buena Vista’s Austin Mogg. Mogg, who finished fifth at last year’s IIAC Championship validated the coaches’ decision to award him an at-large berth by earning All-America honors with a fifth-place national finish. Kist is ranked second, Mogg fifth. Luther freshman Daniel Mendoza is rated eighth, followed by Dubuque senior Andre Taylor in tenth. Taylor finished fourth as a freshman in 2008 before transferring to Oklahoma State. Cornell’s Tim Hood, who took fourth at last year’s meet, has also spent time in the rankings. Loras’ Pat Pfantz also has IIAC Tournament experience, finishing sixth a year ago.
133 — This weight could be wide open as only Coe’s Drew Hinschberger, last year’s third-place finisher and an NCAA qualifier, is the only returning wrestler from 2010. The IIAC’s only rated wrestler at this weight, Mike Kremer of Wartburg (sixth), is not listed among the probables. The Knights will go with sophomore Tommy Mirocha. Hinschberger opened the year ranked ninth nationally, but soon fell out of the polls. The weight is not completely devoid of IIAC Tournament experience, though. Two of Dubuque’s probables have taken to the mats at the league meet before – Chris Sokol placed sixth at 125 in 2009, while Derek Smith was eighth at 141 last season. Like Smith, Loras’ Matt Holmes wrestled at 141 last year, placing fifth.
141 — Three of the listed probables have appeared in the rankings this season, led currently by Wartburg’s Matt Kelly at No. 5. A three-time All-American, Kelly won the 2008 title at 141, before placing second at 133 in 2009. He returned to 141 last season, placing third at both the IIAC and NCAA Championships. Two-time All-American Kevin Donahue of Cornell is the defending league champion, though, steadily climbing from fifth in 2008 to third in 2009 before capturing the crown a year ago. He was ranked as high as fourth during the season. Coe’s Chris LeClere, last year’s IIAC runner-up and an NCAA qualifier, has been ranked has high as No. 6. Luther’s Kevin Bokoski and Buena Vista’s Tim Vore both have IIAC tournament experience. Bokoski has logged back-to-back fourth-place finishes and was a national qualifier last season. Vore finished ninth wrestling in front of the home crowd last season.
149 — Wartburg’s Jacob Groth, the 2010 IIAC runner-up and an NCAA qualifier, is currently the only ranked IIAC wrestler at the weight at No. 8. Coe’s James Locke has spent time in the NWCA rankings this season, peaking at No. 6 in December. Cornell’s Jacob Schwebke, Central’s Joe Atwell, Dubuque’s AJ Knoll, and Simpson’s Caleb Brus both have IIAC tournament experience. Knoll finished fourth, while Schwebke beat Atwell for fifth place. Brus moves up a weight after competing at the last three Championships at 141 pounds where he finished fifth in 2009 and sixth in both 2008 and 2010.
157 — Five of the nine probables have been ranked at some point this season with three listed in the pre-Championship rankings. Wartburg’s Carrington Banks, the IIAC runner-up and an All-American at 165 pounds last season, has moved down a class and has been ranked in the top-three all season with some time spent at No. 1. Cornell’s Nicholas Loughlin is the defending IIAC champion and is ranked eighth. Fifth-ranked Dale Handley of Coe finished fourth a year ago and was an NCAA qualifier. 2010 IIAC runner-up and NCAA qualifier Ryan Warcynski and Loras’ Erik Hanson have both spent time in the rankings this season, both peaking at No. 10. Hanson, the IIAC runner-up in 2008 and 2009, returns to the Duhawk lineup after missing last season. Buena Vista’s Codey Schultz competed in the IIACs last season at 149 pounds, finishing ninth, while Central’s Josh Atwell took seventh at 141. Simpson’s Calvin Barber placed fifth at 149 in 2009.
165 — This weight also features three ranked wrestlers, led by two-time defending IIAC Champion and three-time All-American Josh Terrell of Dubuque at No. 2. Coe’s Nick LeClere, third at the IIAC meet and a fourth-place finisher at the NCAA meet, is No. 3. Wartburg’s Adam Weber, the 2007 IIAC runner-up at 149 and a third-place finisher at 157 last season, is the final ranked IIAC wrestler at No. 10. Weber is a two-time national qualifier who earned All-America honors last season. In addition, the weight class is littered with wrestlers who have Iowa Conference Championship experience. Central’s Reid Imerman finished ninth at 157 in 2009. Cornell’s Joe Hambleton finished fifth at 174 a year ago. Loras’ Mitch Gansen finished eight at 149 in 2009 and sixth at 157 last season. Simpson’s Cory Stratton took eighth a year ago. Luther’s Lance Serbousek has back-to-back fifth-place finishes – at 165 in 2009 and at 157 last year.
174 — 174 will be wide open as five of the probables are freshmen and, of the four wrestlers that wrestled here at the 2010 Championships, only one returns. Central’s Tommy Van Renterghem placed sixth at 165 in 2009, but injury forced him to miss the 2010 Championships. Simpson’s Jordy Ammons placed eighth as both a freshman and a sophomore before jumping up to sixth place at last year’s Championships. Wartburg’s Bradley Banks was a 2010 NJCAA national champion at 165 pounds while competing for Iowa Central Community College.
184 — Wartburg’s Dylan Azinger, the IIAC runner-up and a fifth-place NCAA finisher at 174 pounds last season, is the only ranked IIAC wrestler at this weight. He has been at No. 5 since bumping up from 174 early in the season. Coe’s Seth Rehn, a third-place finisher here in 2009 and at 174 in 2010, was ranked as high as No. 5, but has since fallen out of the rankings. Rehn also earned All-America honors with a seventh-place NCAA finish at 174 last season. Cornell’s Andrew Roberts took fifth last season and was also fifth at 197 in 2009. Loras’ Tiegen Podliska also has Iowa Conference Championship experience, finishing seventh at 165 last season.
197 — Defending IIAC and NCAA champion Byron Tate of Wartburg is the top-ranked wrestler at this weight class. The only blemish on his sparkling 35-1 record is a 5-4 loss to Pitt’s Matt Wilps in the championship match at the Midlands Championships. Buena Vista’s Brian Broll, third at last year’s IIAC Championships and an NCAA qualifier, has been ranked all season and currently sits at No. 6 nationally. Dubuque’s Sam Johnson has IIAC Championship experience, placing fifth last season, while Luther’s Bradon Reyerson took sixth at 174 in 2009.
Heavyweight — This weight currently has two IIAC wrestlers in the national rankings. Wartburg’s John Helgerson, the 2009 IIAC Champion and defending NCAA runner-up, is currently atop the rankings, while Coe’s Alex Burkle is fifth. Three other listed probables have Iowa Conference Championship experience – Loras’ Jeremy Klein, Cornell’s Robert Widmer, and Central’s Ted Dirkx. Klein took fifth in both 2008 and 2010. Widmer was sixth at 197 a year ago following fifth-place finishes at heavyweight in 2009 and at 197 in 2008. Dirkx placed eighth at heavyweight in both 2008 and 2009.
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