(Corning, IA) — Southwest Valley High School will host the 71st annual John J. Harris Boys Wrestling Tournament tonight, coverage on KSOM and KS 95.
27 teams will be competing on four different mats in two different gyms: AC/GC, Atlantic, Bedford, CAM, Centerville, Central Decatur, Clarinda, Clarke, Creston, Denison Schleswig, Earlham, East Mills, Griswold, Lenox, Missouri Valley, Mount Ayr, Nodaway Valley, Panorama, Red Oak, Riverside, Shenandoah, Southwest Iowa, Southwest Valley, Tri Center, Washington, Wayne, and Winterset.
Pre tournament favorites include Nodaway Valley who is ranked #5 in Class 1A; Riverside is ranked #7 in 1A; Atlantic is the defending champion and Winterset finished 2nd last year. There will be 34 ranked wrestlers competing in the event with each weight class having at least one ranked competitor. 165 pounds will be stacked with 5 of the top 10 in Class 1A plus 2 of the top 5 in Class 2A. Jacob McGargill of Shenandoah is ranked #2 in 2A. There are two number one ranked wrestlers that will be on the mat — Drew Anderson for Riverside at 138 and Ashton Honnold for Nodaway Valley at 285 who is a two time state champion.
Southwest Valley Head Coach Cody Konechne says the community has embraced the tournament for a long time
The weather outside will be cold but Konechne says that is expected every time this tournament comes around
AC/GC Head Coach Lane Rumelhart believes he will have a full roster for the first time this year and likes facing tough competition
Nodaway Valley Head Coach Brad Honnold uses this tournament as a starting point to prepare for big tournaments down the road
First round actions starts at 4 pm tonight, updates on KSOM and KS 95 throughout the evening and video coverage on You Tube and Western Iowa Today TV. The championships will be broadcast live tomorrow on KS 95 starting around 3:30 pm.
Complete Interview with Southwest Valley Head Coach Cody Konechne
