Here are the top Iowa City-area storylines to watch at the Iowa state wrestling tournament
Another state wrestling tournament, another year where the Iowa City area is expected to make tons of noise.
There are heavy hitters looking to cap decorated prep careers with one more raised hand. There are darkhorses fighting through loaded brackets for a chance to claim that coveted title. And can Iowa City get involved in the team race as well? We'll find out this week at Wells Fargo Arena.
With that, here are a few Iowa City-area storylines to monitor ahead of the state tournament.
These three individuals are likely vying for an Iowa high school state wrestling title
For Iowa City High's Ben Kueter and Iowa City West's dynamic duo of Hunter Garvin and Robert Avila Jr., there's only one outcome all three will accept this week.
And for good reason.
Avila, who announced his transfer from Lisbon to West last July, is gunning for his fourth state title in as many trips — this one at 145 pounds. Kueter and Garvin are both going for their third title, at 220 and 152 pounds respectively. Kueter and Garvin are a combined 77-0 this season, having faced little resistance along the way.
All three have Division I futures ahead — Avila at Virginia, Kueter at Iowa and Garvin at Stanford. Big wrestling moments are undoubtedly up ahead for this trio, but for now, leaving Wells Fargo Arena with another championship is priority No. 1.
MORE: Here is every single first-round matchup at the Iowa state wrestling tournament
Can Gage Marty navigate a deep Class 2A heavyweight bracket?
The Solon standout sits perched atop the Class 2A heavyweight bracket as the favorite. But claiming this title won't be easy. A deep and talented field below him awaits.
We'll look first at Marty, who's been Solon's main weapon following the departure of Hayden Taylor. The Spartans senior enters the week 45-2 and hasn't been challenged much of late. A celebratory Saturday could certainly be in store.
Elsewhere, though, are several wrestlers who also haven't stumbled much this year. West Lyon's Easton Fleshman is 43-1. Clarinda's Logan Green is 38-1. Iowa football signee Aaron Graves is 26-1. Just to name a few.
Emerging on top will require a near-flawless week from Marty, but the talent is definitely there to do so.
MORE: Iowa state wrestling 2022: Team rankings, undefeated wrestlers, cool names
What does West Liberty's Jahsiah Galvan have in store this week at Wells Fargo Arena?
The West Liberty football standout and future Northern Iowa Panther has delivered a solid wrestling season, going 34-7 to qualify at 195 pounds in 2A. He'll get Ballard's Henry Christensen to start.
The road significantly toughens from there. Likely awaiting in the quarterfinals is West Delaware's Wyatt Voelker, who's undefeated in the final run of a dominant high school tenure. If Galvan gets there, it'll be quite interesting to see how he handles the veteran Voelker.
MORE: Meet the top 15 football recruits competing at the state wrestling tournament
Can Iowa City West make some noise in the team race?
Ranked 10th in 3A according to IAWrestle, the Trojans have qualified eight for this week. That's fifth most among 3A teams in the poll.
It'll be an uphill battle to mess with Waverly-Shell Rock, Southeast Polk or Waukee Northwest, which qualified a combined 37 wrestlers. But if Garvin and Avila handle their business as expected — and the remaining reinforcements deliver strong outings all week — West could sneak into the top five when everything is said and done.
That would be a nice capper for the year.
MORE: How Waverly-Shell Rock became Iowa's premier wrestling program
Other key names to watch
Iowa City Regina's Aidan Udell (33-3): Class 1A, 170 pounds
City High's Kael Kurtz (35-4): Class 3A, 126 pounds
City High's Cale Seaton (38-2): Class 3A, 120 pounds
Dargan Southard covers Iowa and UNI athletics, recruiting and preps for the Des Moines Register, HawkCentral.com and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City-area storylines to watch at 2022 state wrestling tournament
