WOODWARD — A senior making a return engagement, a junior who came on strong to earn his first trip, and a freshman just beginning a career filled with promise.
Those are the scenarios encompassing Woodward-Granger’s Tanner Vermaas, Austin Scharlau and Cody Fisher as the trio prepares to compete Thursday in the opening day of the Class 2A State Wrestling Tournament in Des Moines.
“All three of these young men are on a mission,” Hawk head coach Dave Smeltzer said. “They are physically and mentally ready — their heads are in the right place at this point of the season.”
Vermaas, owner of 154 career victories, would love nothing more than to end his prep career on the 182-pound podium. Scharlau would love to cement his recent rise with a placing as well while Madrid’s Fisher (Tiger matmen grapple for W-G in a sharing agreement) doubtless sees this as first of what he hopes are numerous opportunities for glory at the biggest state wrestling tournament in the United States. The former competes at 152 pounds, the latter at 195.
The Iowa state tourney podium expanded from six spots to eight several years ago, but the method of earning a spot somewhere on the medal stand has not changed — win at least twice before suffering a second loss.
The Class 2A tournament begins with Session 3 Thursday at 6 p.m. with first round and first round consolation matches. Those who win their opening bout and those who rebound for a loss with a win in the consolation bracket will move on to Friday’s Session 5, which begins at 9 a.m. The 2A semifinals and third round consolation matches will be held Friday in Session 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s Session 7 opens at 10 a.m. and features consolation semifinals and finals (third, fifth and seventh place matches). Session 8 begins at 5:45 p.m. Saturday and features awards, the Grand March and championship matches in all classes.
In a radical change from the past, anyone not having DISH or DirecTV will not be able to watch Saturday’s championships on television or by live streaming.
The journey to the podium for Scharlau (40-16) begins against eighth-ranked Trey Van Weelden (Washington, 26-5, Sr.), with 10th-rated Derek Fox (Osage, 25-5, Sr.) facing Logan Koedam (MOC-Floyd Valley, 37-6, So.) in the other paired bracket. Winners will face each other Friday in the quarterfinals, while the losing pair will battle later in Session 2 to stay alive and return Friday.
“I’m excited to see what ‘Mr. Calm’ (Scharlau) brings to the mat Thursday,” Smeltzer said. “I believe in hard work, and this kid’s work ethic this year has been awesome. He is doing all the extras it takes to be successful in this sport. Even though this is his first trip to state I feel he is going to pick them off one by one and make the awards stand.”
Vermaas has 45 wins this season, with both of his losses to Logan Schumacher of Martensdale-St. Mary’s the top-ranked wrestler in 1A. The W-G standout opens against South Tama County’s Dalton Rosenburg (34-11, Jr.), with the opposite bracket pairing seventh-ranked Austin Angle (Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, 44-10, Sr.) against top-rated Chase Shiltz (Creston/Orient-Macksburg, 52-0, Sr.)
Shiltz is, as the cliche goes, “all that.” Second as a freshman at 145, he won the 160 pound title as a sophomore and was the 170-pound champion last season. He sports a 177-6 career mark, and Vermaas will almost certainly present his toughest challenge.
“Tanner has been down this road before, but this year he has beaten some of the best in the state and is wrestling really smart and knows what needs to be done,” Smeltzer remarked. “His leadership for his younger teammates is what I ask of our team captain. I feel this is his year.”
No road through the state tournament brackets is ever easy, but Fisher, at least on paper, will face fewer challenges, at least at the start. If he can advance, only three ranked wrestlers are in the bottom half of the bracket, and two will face each other, as district competition eliminated grapplers ranked sixth, eighth, ninth and 10th.
“What can I say about Cody?” Smeltzer asked. “This kid is fun to both watch and coach.”
Fisher (43-5) is one of only two underclassmen competing at 195 in 2A. Among all three classes (48 state qualifiers) at 195 pounds, 26 are seniors, 17 are juniors, four are sophomores and Fisher is the lone freshman. He opens against Christian Harder (Gilbert, 35-6, Sr.), with fourth-ranked Jackson Mikkelsen (Creston/Orient-Macksburg, 43-9, Sr.) to battle Trevor Trende (Creston, 36-12, Sr.) in the other pairing.
“Cody is very good at staying in position and capitalizing on guys getting out of position — if they do he is going to put the hammer down,” Smeltzer concluded. “He has the skills and mindset to go all the way as a freshman — I am excited for his future!”
