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Area Rankings

125 pounds (Class 2A)

1. Levi Wolfensperger (Sr.), Denver/Tripoli; 2. Dakota Bauer (So.), Ballard; 3. Tyler Patten (Jr.), Webster City; 4. Darius Dutcher (Sr.), OA-BCIG; 5. Tre Rutz (Jr.), Humboldt; 6. Jake Marlin (Fr.), Creston; 7. Brandon Silbaugh (So.), JSPC; 8. Eric Lindsey (Sr.), Sergeant Bluff-Luton; 9. Dustin Harberts (Jr.), Chariton; 10. Kwinn Kraft (Jr.), RCL-SCAL.

189 pounds (Class 1A)

1. Taylor Kettman (Sr.), Don Bosco; 2. Andrew Nodtvedt (Jr.), Central Springs; 3. Bryan Martin (Sr.), South Hamilton; 4. Kyle Soderblom (Jr.), Lynnville-Sully; 5. Jordon Gerbracht (Sr.), East Buchanan; 6. Joey McCracken (Jr.), Aplington-Parkersburg; 7. Jayden Allen (Sr.), New London/Winfield-Mt. Union; 8. Bryce Olson (Sr.), Eagle Grove; 9. Craig Carlson (Sr.), Wapello; 10. Dalton Peterson (Jr.), Woodbine.

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WEBSTER CITY - Ted Larson isn't a rankings kind of a guy. He doesn't look at them and he puts absolutely no value on them.

But Larson, Webster City's head wrestling coach, also knows that he's in the minority. With the prep wrestling season less than a week away and the state's mat men on the tip of every fan's tongue, a look at the first set of rankings, which were released by The Predicament on Wednesday, adds even more intrigue to the scene.

Webster City and South Hamilton were both represented in the opening rankings. Lynx junior Tyler Patten sits at No. 3 at 125 pounds in Class 2A and Hawks' senior Bryan Martin is No. 3 at 189 in 1A.

Patten's spot in the hierarchy wasn't surprising. He owns a pair of third-place state tournament medals, but Larson says those medals and the number next to his name aren't going to win him any matches.

"Rankings just don't mean much, especially this time of the year, and really they don't mean much at any time, in my mind," Larson said. "If we went strictly on rankings then why wrestle the matches? So right now we're worried about just getting ourselves ready for the season."

The 2A 125-pound weight class appears to be loaded. Sitting in the No. 1 slot is Denver/Tripoli senior Levi Wolfensperger, a three-time state finalist and the 2009 champion at 119. Ballard sophomore Dakota Bauer also won a title last winter at 112, and he's second-rated at 125.

Behind Patten (64-12 in his career) at No. 4 and No. 5 are Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove senior Darius Dutcher, who was fifth at 119 last season and Humboldt junior Tre Rutz, a sixth-place finisher at 103 in 2008. Throw in talented freshman Jake Marlin of Creston at No. 6, and a case could be made that 125 is one of the deepest weights in the class.

That's if all of the ranked individuals remain at 125.

"Just because they're ranked there doesn't mean they'll stay there," Larson said. "But being behind Wolfensperger and Bauer, I'd say that Tyler's in pretty good company."

South Hamilton head coach Corey Klemp was genuinely surprised when he learned of his senior grappler's high standing in the 1A 189-pound weight class. Martin is coming off a 32-8 season in 2009 in which he went from a relative unknown to a seventh-place medal winner at the state tournament. But now Martin faces the prospect of being the wrestler that everyone wants to knock off.

"From a respect issue, he's obviously on everybody's radar," Klemp said of Martin. "The difference from last year to this year is that last year he was the surprise story and this year he's the expectation, so handling that pressure will be his biggest challenge."

But Klemp also thinks that Martin is ready for the spotlight.

"From what we've seen in the practice room so far this year, he's certainly that caliber of kid," he said.

Don Bosco senior Taylor Kettman is No. 1-ranked at 189. He was the state runner-up at 171 last year. The No. 2 position went to Central Springs junior Andrew Nodtvedt, last season's 2A 189-pound seventh-place finisher.