Monday, February 15, 2010

Wrestling brackets out this week

The team seeds for each wrestling section should be released as early as today. It looks as if Mankato West is on the fence between a No. 4 or 5 seed in Section 1AAA.

A No. 4 seed would mean the Scarlets get to host a first-round dual on Thursday. A No. 5 seed would send them on the road the same night.

I'm pulling for the 4 seed. Haven't been to a West meet since the beginning of the season and I'd like to get another look at Zach Lowe who's having an excellent year. In almost any previous year he'd be a shoo-in to make it to state but the Scarlets have been moved to Section 1AAA this season and that means they have to go up against the Albert Leas and Owatonnas of the world to make it to St. Paul.

We should know who's where in Section 1AAA by late Monday afternoon.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Heading to the wire for wrestlers

With slightly more than two weeks left before the start of section tournaments, the contenders have identified themselves while the pretenders have slipped away.

Not surprisingly, a lot of familiar schools are among the list of top area teams. Traditional powers such as Scott West and Windom/Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin are again listed with the premier teams from this area in Class AA, while Blue Earth Area and St. James are in the same positions in Class A.

A bit more surprising has been the arrival of some other schools. Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial began its ascent to the top of the Class A tier last year and has continued this season. The Knights are currently ranked eighth.

Sibley East, another team that hasn't had a strong wrestling tradition in recent years, has competed well and is rated ninth.

Two other teams that are relatively new to the discussion are United South Central and Waterville-Elysian-Morristown/Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton.  USC has been very competitive this year and is still receiving votes in the Class A poll. The WEM/JWP Grizzlies burst on to the Class AA scene last season as a first-year conglomerate and more than held their own. The Grizzlies continue to be tough this year as evidenced by Saturday's 34-26 win over Blue Earth Area.

Looking ahead, BEA and USC will have their hands full trying to knock off Jackson County Central in Section 2A. LCWM, St. James and Sibley East should battle it out for the Section 3A title. WEM/JWP will be hard-pressed to get by both Kasson-Mantorville and Plainview-Elgin-Millville in Section 1AA.

Watertown-Mayer may be Scott West's only serious challenger in Section 2AA. The WMLBO Cobras are in highly-competitive Section 3AA which includes 11th-ranked Dawson-Boyd, 12th-ranked Adrian and 14th-ranked Wabasso.  

Most section team tournaments will take place Feb. 19-20. Most individual tournaments take place the following weekend.