Iowa Class 1A Preview: Don Bosco Looks To Defend Title

Iowa Class 1A Preview: Don Bosco Looks To Defend Title

In Iowa 1A, Don Bosco is looking to defend a title while two individuals are hunting for their fourth straight titles.

Nov 14, 2019 by Kolton Jensen
Iowa Class 1A Preview: Don Bosco Looks To Defend Title
The Iowa high school wrestling season gets underway on December 2, and Class 1A will have plenty to look forward to. There will be a competitive team race, a couple of guys chasing a fourth title, and some noteworthy sophomores looking to build on phenomenal freshman seasons. 

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The Iowa high school wrestling season gets underway on December 2, and Class 1A will have plenty to look forward to. There will be a competitive team race, a couple of guys chasing a fourth title, and some noteworthy sophomores looking to build on phenomenal freshman seasons. 

Team race: Don Bosco mount a title defense

Three teams sit atop class 1A as the early favorites. The defending champions, Don Bosco, will have to fight off Lisbon and Underwood, among others. 

Don Bosco finished last season with 10 state placers, including four finalists, to defeat Lisbon by nearly 50 points. Seven of those placers return this year, which makes them the clear frontrunners. They will lean heavily on returning finalists Carson Tenold and Thomas Even. After coming up short last year, both will be looking for their first state title. You can also expect a big season from Cael Rahnavardi as he settles into a more natural weight of 145, where he’s currently ranked third, after taking fourth at 170 last year.

Check out the 1A Iowa high school rankings

While the Dons will have a talented and balanced lineup from top to bottom, Lisbon will lean on top-tier firepower and bonus points. The Lions have two returning champions who bonused in seven of their eight matches on their way to titles last year. Cael Happel and Robert Avila Jr. should be finalists again, but Lisbon will need their other four returning state qualifiers to make big jumps this year. All four were one match away from the podium and will need to make it there in order to unseat the Dons. The Lions have also added a 2A state qualifier in Lincoln Holub as well as Nevada state placer Marshall Hauck. 

Underwood will lead a couple of western Iowa teams that look to push the eastern powers, but the question still remains as to whether or not they will be able to topple the Dons. The Eagles will be led by seniors Logan James and Blake Thomsen, who are ranked second and third, respectively. A talented core of underclassmen that includes state runner-ups Stevie Barnes and Nick Hamilton will be a major key to their success. Talented freshman Gable Porter is coming off a good summer, where he was one match away from being a Fargo All-American, and is expected to be an impact in the Eagles’ lineup. 

West Sioux and Denver round out the top five in the preseason rankings and will have solid lineups capable of pushing the aforementioned teams.

When a team race is this tight, a lot of factors can play a role in who comes out on top. At the end of the day, I expect Don Bosco to finish this year just like they did last year: as champions. They have the most proven guys and are capable of scoring a lot of bonus points. 

Wrestlers on pace for 4 state titles

Twenty-seven individuals have won four Iowa state wrestling titles. Two more wrestlers will look to add their names to that prestigious list during the 2019-20 season. The first is West Sioux’s Adam Allard. Allard won his titles at 106, 113, and 120, and hasn’t lost a match since his freshman year of high school. A UNI commit, Allard will be at 126 this year. The other athlete chasing title No. 4 is Allard’s future UNI teammate, Cael Happel. Happel won his first three titles at 113, 120, and 132. He had an undefeated season last year and will be at 138 for his senior season. Cael looks to join his brother Carter who accomplished the feat; they would be only the second set of brothers to both win four state titles. 

There were two freshmen who started their high school careers off on the right track to be four-timers last year. Marcel Lopez of New London and Robert Avila Jr. of Lisbon both capped spectacular freshman seasons off with state titles. They will be the preseason favorites at 113 and 132, respectively.