WOODWARD — The first steps of a march toward the podium at the Class 2A State Wrestling Tournament were unveiled Sunday, with W-G big men Cody Fisher and Tyler Lawrenson discovering who will be in their respective four-man mini-brackets to open competition.
Top-ranked Fisher (40-1), a junior, begins his quest for a championship at 220 pounds against junior Cale Zoller (42-9) of Atlantic. Hampton-Dumont senior Wyatt Folkerts (30-12) will face New Hampton-Turkey Valley senior Carter Reicks (38-7) in the other pairing.
The Class 2A tourney begins at 6 p.m. Thursday. First round winners will face the winner of the other match in their bracket at 2:30 p.m. Friday, with the first round losers battling later Thursday evening to stay alive and move to Friday afternoon.
Junior heavyweight Lawrenson (36-7) must battle second-ranked junior Kobe Clayborne (34-1) of Bishop Heelan. The opposing bracket will witness third-rated Justin Jones (39-3), a senior from Humboldt, against Clarinda senior Steven Howard (31-13).
Lawrenson is making his first appearance at the state tourney for head coach Dave Smeltzer’s squad, while Fisher returns to the big stage for the third consecutive season. Fisher, who will wrestle for Iowa State, was the state runner-up at 195 pounds as both a freshman and a sophomore.
