The road to the state tournament in Des Moines starts this afternoon at Mediapolis High School for three area wrestling teams. Wrestlers from the Washington Demons, the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks, and the Columbus/W-MU Wildcats will open postseason competition in the Class 2A Section 7 tournament. The other schools a part of the sectional include the Mediapolis Bulldogs, the Fairfield Trojans, and West Burlington/Notre Dame/Danville.

Thirteen wrestlers ranked in the recent the Perdicament individual poll will vie for spots in next week’s district tournament. Multiple ranked wrestlers will battle in three weight classes today. The 113 pound weight class includes Columbus senior Josh Keller (No. 2; 34-0 overall) and Mid-Prairie junior Duncan McCain (No. 6; 37-0 overall). The 132 pound bracket features Mediapols senior Shea Swafford (No. 3; 29-2 overall) and Washington junior Kyle Anderson (No. 8; 35-7 overall). Finally, the 195 bracket contains Mid-Prairie senior Visouth Peterschmidt (No. 7; 34-2 overall), Mediapolis senior Ethan Timmerman (No. 8; 33-2 overall) and Fairfield junior Michael Fritz (No. 10; 31-4).

The top two wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the district tournament next weekend. The two teams with the most points at the end of the day today will move onto the regional duals Tuesday evening. Washington High School is one of the eight host schools for the regional duals, the event to qualify for dual state. Both Washington and Mid-Prairie have never qualified for the regional duals tournament.

First grapples of the Class 2A Section 7 tournament will begin at noon today at Mediapolis High School. Tune into Monday’s sports page for results from the sectional tournament.