The Mid-Prairie wrestling team is back on the mat Thursday when they travel to Tipton to begin the River Valley Conference slate.

Mid-Prairie started the season on Tuesday in non-conference action at English Valleys. At the quad meet the Hawks got a win over Wapello, but fell to the Bears and Eddyville-Blakesburg. This is the season opener for both the Bears and the Tigers. Mid-Prairie head coach Justin Garvey spoke this week about what he expects in the triangular. “West Branch is a team that’s down right now numbers-wise. Tipton has some talented kids and a very good freshman class. These are some duals in the past that we have counted on as ‘W’s’ going in, but this year depending on how the weight classes fall things could be a dogfight. Our guys are going to have to be ready to go.”

A season ago, the Golden Hawks met the Tigers twice, splitting the two duals. Tipton beat Mid-Prairie 40-39 on criteria in December and Mid-Prairie got their revenge in January with a 45-24 win. Mid-Prairie beat West Branch in their only meeting a season ago 36-19. Action begins tonight at 6p.m. at Tipton High School.