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This is a fantastic year for wrestling in Class C. Some incredible teams will take the mats in Kearney this weekend. The unpredictability of the state dual tournament makes things extremely exciting. Logan View shook things up last year by immediately knocking off Valentine in the first round. Will we see something similar this year?

Overall in the second year of determining the state duals through regular season results the NSAA’s formula seems to have done well. It brought in eight out of our most recent top ten dual teams, so it worked out well for Class C this year. The top six teams from the dual rankings actually are the same top six teams below, but in a different order.

The Teams:

#1 Aquinas Monarchs (9-0)
106: Grady Romshek
113: Zander Kavan/Ethan Schmid
120: #3 Hunter Vandenberg
126: #5 Zach Zitek
132: Noah Scott
138: #2 Christopher Nickolite
145: Cameron Schrad
152: #5 Nolan Eller
160: Marcus Eickmeier/Michael Andel
170: Ben Kment/Paul Buresh
182: Reilly Miller
195: #5 Nolan Schultz
220: Coy Meysenburg
285: Owen Schramm

#2 Valentine Badgers (11-1)
106: Casey Miller
113: Cayden Lamb
120: Ashton Lurz
126: #1 Chris Williams/Cody Miller
132: #5 Tobin Olson
138: #1 Gage Krolikowski
145: #1 Morgan McGinley
152: Drake Janssen/Tagg Buechele
160: #1 Chase Olson
170: #4 Gunnar Battershaw
182: Ryan O’Keif
195: Sage Schrunk
220: Jayce Anderson
285: Steven Fullerton

#3 Conestoga (13-3)
106: Dawson Hardesty
113: Ethan Williams
120: #5 Braden Ruffner
126: #8 Keaghon Chini
132: #8 Cameron Williams
138: Jaemes or Carter Plowman
145: #7 Jacob Dragon
152: Justin Pick
160: Isaiah Parsons
170: Dillon Leffler
182: #5 Owen Snipes
195: #4 Hunter Thonen/Gage Totilas
220: Thonen/Totilas
285: OPEN

#4 Logan View Raiders (13-0)
106: #7 Jacob McGee
113: #8 Luis Hernandez/Ryder Keenan
120: Dru Mueller
126: Kayden Gregory
132: Camden Mueller/Alex Foust
138: #2 (132) Hunter McNulty/Jadin Beckwith
145: Baylor Kaup
152: Roberto Valdivia
160: Ty Miller
170: Dylan Silva
182: Zach McGee
195: #2 Logan Booth
220: #8 Andrew Cone
285: #4 Alex Miller

#5 Amherst Broncos (14-4)
106: Taleah Thomas
113: Ian Hughes
120: Creyton Cumpston
126: #6 Isaiah Shields
132: #1 Quentyn Frank
138: Josh Klingelhoefer
145: Morgan Shields
152: Sam Hollander/Jakob Graham
160: Hollander/Graham
170: Riley Gallaway
182: #3 Cole Stokebrand/Brody Bogard
195: Drew Bogard
220: #3 Jarin Potts
285: Jaxson Taubenheim

#6 David City Scouts (15-3)
106: #8 Zach Bongers
113: Simon Schindler
120: Ethan Zegers
126: Jesus Alonzo
132: #8 Clayton Harris
138: Zack Barlean
145: #6 Jacson Valentine
152: Harley Eickmeier
160: Tre Daro
170: #1 Dylan Vodicka
182: Spencer Allen
195: #3 James Escamilla
220: Wayne Moore
285: #3 Jake Ingwersen

#7 Battle Creek Braves (11-2)
106: Jaxson Hassler/Garret Finke
113: Hunter Kreikemeier
120: Carter King/Caden Meinke
126: Boston Reeves
132: #5(138) Owen Lade/Dylan Ahlman
138: Korbyn Battershaw
145: Kobe Thompson
152: Kaden Warneke
160: Traven Croghan
170: Kase Thompson
182: Preston Henn
195: Jacob Ottis
220: Dahlas Zlomke
285: OPEN

#8 Raymond Central Mustangs (21-6)
106: Cameron Shultz
113: Elijah Nacke/Brock Skeahan
120: #2 Mitch Albrecht
126: McKay Bryce
132: #3 Logan Bryce
138: Tucker Maxson/Travis Nelson
145: Jeremiah Karpov
152: #2 Conner Kreikemeier
160: John Karpov/Caleb Shultz
170: Gavin Soden/Jack Henry
182: Noah Thornburg/Soden
195: Thornburg
220: Skylar Sterns
285: OPEN

The Bracket:

The Predictions:

Quarterfinals:

#1 Aquinas vs #8 Raymond Central
Top ranked Aquinas really cemented themselves as a serious state duals title contender with their win over in town rival David City a few weeks ago. They made several savvy lineup moves and you can expect them to do the same during this tournament to give themselves the best opportunity to win. Raymond Central has been a fixture in the Class C rankings this season. The two teams met at the Wood River duals in early January with Aquinas winning 45-19. Raymond Central will likely circle 113 and 145 as matches they’d like to reverse the result of to get themselves in a position to pull off the upset. At 120 we’ll have #2 Albrecht for Raymond Central against #3 Vandenberg of Aquinas. At 152, #2 Kreikemeier vs #5 Eller was a close match when they met earlier in the season. Aquinas looks like they’ll win 8-10 of the matches and advance.

Projected Winner: Aquinas

#4 Logan View vs #5 Amherst
This should be an exciting first round dual that boils down to a few weights and perhaps bonus points. Logan View had an exciting dual win over Valentine last year to shake things up in the first round. Their lineup continues to change as the season progresses. It looks like #2 McNulty has moved up from 132 and will be competing at 138 this weekend and for districts/state. Amherst has made some moves of their own dropping Hollander to 152. We have a ranked matchup at 220 with #3 Potts and #8 Cone. On paper Logan View is favored in seven matches to Amherst’s five and we have 113 and 145 marked down as toss up matches. Give the slight edge to Logan View with minimal margin for error.

Projected Winner: Logan View

#3 Conestoga vs #6 David City
Out of all of the first round duals this one probably has the most potential close matches. 106, 113, 132, 145, 152, 160, 182 and 195 are all weights where we could see wins by decision. Ranked matches could occur at 132 with Williams and Harris and 195 with Escamilla and Thonen. We’ll see if any of the teams make lineup adjustments. Ultimately It looks like David City holds the edge in enough of of the close matches and most of the upper weights and that should propel them to a first round win.

Projected Winner: David City

#2 Valentine vs #7 Battle Creek
A rematch of the 2017 state duals final won by Valentine. Valentine has been the top ranked dual team this year, while Battle Creek has slowly emerged as a solid dual team as the season has progressed. The Braves appear to have their lineup set with some recent weight drops that make them even stronger yet. Valentine has the luxury of having multiple solid guys at several weights, which gives them some nice lineup flexibility in duals. Both teams were at the Norm Manstedt Invite, although Battle Creek didn’t have their whole group there. 132 should be a good match to watch with #5 Olson and #5(138) Lade. Valentine is just too strong in this dual and should advance into the semifinals.

Projected Winner: Valentine

Semifinals:

#1 Aquinas vs #4 Logan View
It’s been since mid-December since these two teams have seen each other. Aquinas finished 17.5 points ahead of Logan View which is relatively close. Both teams have solid wrestlers at nearly every weight. Aquinas looks like they match up pretty well against Logan View. 120 is a battle of state medalists with #3 Vandenberg and Mueller. 138 should pit #2 Nickolite against #2(132) McNulty. Aquinas 145 Schrad has almost made 138 this season and flipped with Nickolite in duals so we could see them make that change if they deem it necessary. 195 will be #2 Booth of Logan View vs #5 Schultz. Logan View really needs to pull those three matches out and maybe get some bonus points if they’re going to knock off the top seeded team in Aquinas.

Projected Winner: Aquinas

#2 Valentine vs #6 David City
Valentine and David City have see each other on two occasions at tournaments this season already, with Valentine finishing ahead of David City on both occasions. As far as duals go though, this one is going to be very close. Valentine should have the edge in the middleweights, where David City will need to pick up wins at 106-113 and 170 on up to stay in the dual. Fully expect Valentine to have Battershaw go to 182 to wrestle Allen. Ranked matches at 132 between #5 Olson and #7 Harris, 145 with #1 McGinley and #6 Valentine (9-7 in first meeting), and possibly 170 with #1 Vodicka and #4 Battershaw. 113 is interesting as Schindler and Lamb have split two meetings this year. Right now it looks like this dual could be split with seven wins each. We’ll give Valentine the edge on bonus points thanks to their #1 guys. If McGinley isn’t wrestling for Valentine that could potentially flip the result of this dual. It will be interesting to see what changes are made in lineups for this one as well.

Projected Winner: Valentine

Finals

#1 Aquinas vs #2 Valentine
Plenty of matches to look forward to if it is indeed these two teams that make the finals. Aquinas was runner-up a year ago and would love to improve on that finish. The Monarchs are a great bet to get to this point as they do have a decent edge on paper in their first two duals. Assuming Valentine survives the test against David City in the semifinals, they’ll have their work cut out for them again. The 126 match between #1 Williams and #5 Zitek is a rematch of the 2019 state finals match in Omaha. Williams won that one by a narrow margin and will be a must win for the Badgers. #1 Krolikowski and #2 Nickolite could match up at 138. Like we mentioned earlier, state medalist Schrad could also get the nod at 138 and perhaps they go with Nickolite against #1 McGinley at 145. We’ll see if Valentine moves Olson and Battershaw up a weight. We’ve seen Aquinas move their 170 Kment up to 182 and that’s what effectively won them the dual against David City during the regular season. This dual is so even it’s hard to even guess which team will win. 113 and 220 are unranked matches, but could be the deciding matches of this dual. It’s almost pointless to pick a winner from this one as they are two very evenly matched teams. But we’ll give the edge to Valentine here as they have the potential negate some of Aquinas’s big guns at 126 and 138.

Projected 2020 Class C State Dual Champions: Valentine Badgers

Projected Top Eight:
1. Aquinas
2. Valentine
3. David City
4. Logan View
5. Conestoga
6. Amherst
T7. Battle Creek
T7. Raymond Central