EAGLE GROVE - The 70th annual Eagle Grove Invitational will open another season of tournament wrestling.
Seven varsity wrestling squads will take to the mat for their first tournament action this season.
Weigh-ins begin at 9 a.m. with action to start at 11 a.m. in the Eagle Grove gym. Finals will start at approximately 3 p.m.
After snow and ice cancelled last year's action, teams are ready to kick start their season in a solid field that boasts 28 ranked wrestlers in action and two-ranked squads.
Defending state champion and current No. 1 in Class 2A Ballard-Huxley, brings 10 ranked wrestlers to the action. Joining the top-ranked Bombers will be fifth-ranked Fort Dodge (3A) and their six rated wrestlers.
Also in the field will be host Eagle Grove, Emmetsburg, Algona, Oskaloosa and Ankeny.
Fact Box
BREAKDOWN
Teams: Eagle Grove, Fort Dodge, Emmetsburg, Algona, Ankeny, Ballard, Oskaloosa, JV All-Stars.
Place: Eagle Grove.
Time: 11 a.m.
RANKED
WRESTLERS
112 - 6. Dakota Bauer, fr., Ballard (2A); 8. Monty Arends, jr., Fort Dodge (3A).
119 - 8. Willie Miklus, fr., Ballard (2A).
125 - 2. Tyler Grask, sr., Ballard (2A); 4. Casey Sledge, sr., Ankeny (3A).
130 - 4. Kaleb Brown, jr., Oskaloosa (3A).
135 - 1. Tanner Weatherman, so., Ballard (2A); 6. Jordan Cody, sr., Emmetsburg (2A); 10. Ben Robinson, sr., Ankeny (3A).
140 - 2. Tanner Hiatt, so., Ballard (2A); 4. Keaton Lunn, sr., Fort Dodge (3A); 5. Brent Sams, jr., Oskaloosa (3A).
145 - 4. Taylor Eichinger, jr., Ballard (2A); 9. Cody Marsh, sr., Fort Dodge (3A).
152 - 1. Trent Weatherman, sr., Ballard (2A); 3. Nate Halverson, sr., Fort Dodge (3A); 4. Joey Naig, jr., Emmetsburg (2A).
160 - 2. T.J. Hiatt, sr., Ballard (2A); 5. Landon Ludwig, sr., Algona (2A); 9. Trevor Cook, sr., Fort Dodge (3A).
171 - 1. Brock Weatherman, jr., Ballard (2A); 5. Nick Larson, sr., Algona (2A); 6. Joe Rasmussen, sr., Ankeny (3A).
189 - 4. Tyler Wingerson, sr., Fort Dodge (3A); 5. Jake Morris, jr., Emmetsburg (2A).
215 - 6. Kris Curry, sr., Oskaloosa (3A); 8. Adam Leuer, sr., Emmetsburg (2A).
285 - 5. Chris Schaudt, sr., Ballard (2A).
DODGER PROBABLES
103 - Matt Birnbaum, so., (1-0); 112 - Monty Arends, jr., (0-1); 119 - Open; 125 - Open; 130 - Keegan Nelson, jr., (0-1); 135 - Open; 140 - Keaton Lunn, sr., (0-1); 145 - Nate Halverson, sr., (1-0); 152 - Cody Marsh, sr., (1-0); 160 - Trevor Cook, sr., (1-0); 171 - Open; 189 - Tyler Wingerson, sr., (1-0); 215 - Open; 285 - Sean Springer, sr., (0-1).
''This is a great tournament,'' said Fort Dodge head coach Bobby Thompson. "You get to see some of the teams you don't get to see much during the season. Ballard has 10 ranked individuals and they're extremely tough.
''Oskaloosa, Algona, Ankeny and Emmetsburg has a lot of tradition. You throw in Eagle Grove, who always puts on a strong tournament - it's a good way to start the season.
The Dodgers are coming off a disappointing 48-30 loss to Ankeny on Thursday, will be depleted with only eight or nine guys in the lineup, are looking to work on individual showings.
''It'll be tough to win this thing with eight or nine guys, especially with Ballard,'' Thompson said. ''Our goal is to get our nine guys in the top four and get as many guys in the finals that we can.''
The Dodgers are hoping to get some solid points out of ranked seniors Keaton Lunn (4th at 140), Cody Marsh (9th at 145), Nate Halverson (No. 3 at 152), Trevor Cook (No. 9 at 160) and Tyler Wingerson (No. 4 at 189). Also ranked is junior Monty Arends (No. 8 at 112).
"This tournament is good for us to judge where we are at,'' Thompson said. "It helps us to see what we need to work on.''
With 10 ranked wrestlers, the Bombers bring a potent attack that puts them as one of the elite teams in the state of Iowa.
Ballard's three top-ranked wrestlers, Tanner Weatherman (135), Trent Weatherman (152) and Brock Watherman (171) have the Bombers seeking another state championship this season.
They also bring three second-ranked wrestlers in Tyler Grask (125), Tanner Hiatt (140) and T.J. Hiatt (160).
''Ballard and Ankeny are probably the top two teams,'' said Eagle Grove head coach Dave Morgan. "Ballard is one of the best teams in the state. They're just a level above everybody else.''
Morgan is just hoping his guys can go out and wrestle to the best of their abilities.
''We really don't gauge much on this tournament,'' Morgan said. "We just want to get better through out the course of the year. It's good to go out and get hammered on the mat, everybody needs that to build on as they go.''
Emmetsburg enters the field with rated wrestlers Jordan Cody (No. 6 at 135), Joey Naig (No. 4 at 152), Jake Morris (No. 5 at 189) and Adam Leuer (No. 8 at 215).
Ranked wrestlers for Algona are Landon Ludwig (No. 5 at 160) and Nick Larson (No. 5 at 171)
Contact Chris Johnson at (515) 573-2141 or by e-mail at sports@messengernews.net