The postseason arrives several weeks early for the Iowa Central wrestling team.
The ninth-ranked Tritons join the rest of the ICCAC at the North Central District Championships hosted by Iowa Western in Council Bluffs on Sunday.
Along with Iowa Central and the host Reivers, who are fifth, No. 7 North Iowa Area, 12th-ranked Indian Hills, No. 13 Iowa Lakes and Ellsworth will be in action. Wrestling begins at 10 a.m.
"We are one of the few still having a meet like this," Iowa Central head coach Luke Moffitt said. "The importance of it will be for nationals and seedings. With dual meets having guys in and out of the lineup, this is a chance to kind of show what you can do."
Ranked wrestlers for the Tritons include Aidan Harris (No. 7, 133 pounds), Bret Minor (No. 8, 141), Phil Smith Jr. (No. 6, 149), Andrew Gamble (No. 6, 157), Keaton Geerts (No. 5, 165), Jose Rodriguez (No. 3, 174) and Jorden Pryor (No. 4, 285).
A few weights are still being determined through matches leading up to the event. Chad Klein, Nolan Miller-Johnston, Aiden Carr, Jesus Gutierrez, Reese Hood, Devon McSorley, Hugo Harp and Trevion Sample are among those in the running for a spot in the lineup.
"We've got some things we are still working to figure out," Moffitt said. "Time will tell for us. Our focus, as it has always been, is to peak at the right time and that is nationals."
NIACC features Clarence Lee-Green (No. 4, 125), Christian Minto (No. 1, 165), Chase McCleisch (No. 5, 184) and Jose Valdez (No. 3, 184) while Indian Hills includes Chris Busutil (No. 6, 125), Caleb Meekins (No. 5, 133), Destin Jones (No. 8, 149), Justin Grant (No. 8, 174) and Khris Walton (No. 6, 197).
Iowa Western's lineup has Creighton Baughman (No. 5, 141), Isaiah Crosby (No. 1, 157), Michael Aguirre (No. 6, 174) and Dillyn Miller (No. 5, 285) and Iowa Lakes has Massoma Endene (No. 7, 174), Logan Koedam (No. 8, 184) and Mitchell Williamson (No. 3, 285) in the latest rankings.
Last year, the Reivers ended a six-year run at the top of districts by Iowa Central, winning their first-ever title. Since 2011, only Ellsworth in 2013 allowed a championship to get away from the Tritons.
The NJCAA Wrestling Championships will allow each team to enter one wrestler per weight class this season due to COVID-19 issues. The meet is set for April 21-22 in Council Bluffs.
-By Dana Becker
