COUNCIL BLUFFS - Over the years, one constant has remained for the Iowa Central wrestling team: compete for a national championship.
The Tritons will begin their quest to add another title to the collection here Wednesday at the NJCAA Championships from the Mid-America Center.
Aidan Harris, Yoseph Yilma, Bret Minor, Phil Smith Jr., Andrew Gamble, Keaton Geerts, Jose Rodriguez, Jesus Gutierrez, Hugo Harp and Jorden Pryor will all be in action.
Smith earned the No. 3 seed at 149 pounds with Rodriguez, a former All-American, securing the top-seed at 174 pounds.
Under head coach Luke Moffitt, Iowa Central has finished in the Top-8 at nationals 16 consecutive times, a run that includes 11 Top-3 finishes and seven national championships. They also have claimed 30 individual national championships and had 97 wrestlers earn All-American honors.
"We always want to be at our best this time of year," Moffitt said. "Obviously, with the changes to the schedule, we've never had this much time between our last match and nationals, but the guys have done a good job of preparing and getting better each and every single day in the room."
The Tritons had a strong finish to the regular season, winning each of their last three duals following a runner-up performance at the North Central District Championship. Smith, Gamble and Rodriguez all earned titles at districts, which featured numerous ranked wrestlers. Harris and Pryor were runners-up.
"Our league prepares us for nationals each and every year," Moffitt said. "We see some of the top guys and best teams out there, so I feel like we should be ready for anybody."
The first session runs from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. with doors opening at 8:30 a.m. The second is set for 6-9 p.m. with 5 p.m. for doors opening. On Thursday, wrestling begins at 10:30 a.m. through noon with doors opening at 9:30 a.m.
The fourth and final session begins at 6:30 p.m. with doors opening an hour before for the crowning of national champions.
Spectators will be allowed with state and local guidelines continuing to be monitored. Face masks are required for everyone and must be worn at all times.
-By Dana Becker