Border Battle scheduled for March 9 at Crestwood High School

CRESCO - The top senior wrestlers from northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota who have completed outstanding high school careers will face off in the 17th annual all-star “Border Battle” dual meet at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 9 at the Crestwood High School.

“Things are still up in the air as far as who will be wrestling for Minnesota,” said Dennis Meirick, president of the hosting Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame. “Minnesota just finished their state tournament this weekend and will be putting their team together in the next few days.”

Meirick noted wrestlers from Crestwood, New Hampton, Waukon, South Winn, MFL-MM, Postville, and Riceville will wrestle for the Iowa squad. Minnesota won last year’s Border Battle to even the record between the squads at 8-8.

“We’re expecting some real headliners from both states to be here. Right  now Iowa has two state champions committed and southeast Minnesota is the hotbed in Minnesota wrestling” Meirick stated.

“People who watch northeast Iowa wrestlers closely will see that a  couple of state champions and other top place finishers are missing from our squad. They were invited but had schedule conflicts, We’re disappointed they aren’t with us, but it’s a busy time for athletes,” he added.

This year’s Border Battle will also feature its first bout between highly ranked women wrestlers. Iowa will be represented by South Winn’s Felicity Taylor. Taylor is a three-time Upper Iowa Conference  champion at 106 pounds. In Flowrestling’s first-ever national rankings of women this past summer Taylor was ranked No. 7 in the nation. She is a state AAU champion and this past summer she placed fifth at the Junior Womens’ National Championships in Fargo. Taylor completed her high school  record of 105-45.

“Minnesota is trying to find a match for Felicity. If they can’t find someone we may have to have her wrestle an exhibition. We’re here to promote wrestling and Felecity represents wrestling very well,” Meirick said. “We’re pleased to offer this up-and-coming sport here.”

Two Iowa state champions will headline the Iowa squad this year. Ryan Steffen won the state title at 145 pounds this year to become Cresco’s 66th state champion. Steffen is a four-time state semifinalist and had  a 152-37 career record. Chance Throndson of Riceville will also compete on March 9 after winning his state title in 2017.

Other Iowa wrestlers who have already committed include: Uvaldo Camarillo, Postville; Brady Olson, MFL; Tanner Tollefsrud, South Winn; Chris Guest, Crestwood; Cale Reicks, New Hampton-Turkey Valley; Noah Glasser, New Hampton-Turkey Valley; Tristan Hansmeier, Waukon; Manning Kuboushek, South Winn; Gabe Kipp, South Winn; Areon Day; New Hampton/Turkey Valley; Jacob Knutson, Crestwood; and Jackson Lukes, South Winn.

“We have to thank the coaches from both Iowa and Minnesota who make this happen every year,” Meirick said. “We really have to scramble to make this happen but it’s always worth it because we do this to honor our seniors who have given so much to our sport. It’s always exciting.”

Tickets for the event are $6.00 and $5.00 for students and will be sold at the door at Crestwood.

On Saturday, March 10, Ryan Steffen will wrestle against Cooper Siebrecht of Lisbon at the “War at West Gym” held at the University of Northern Iowa’s West Gym in Cedar Falls. Siebrecht won a title in Class 1A in 2018.

Fans can purchase tickets at the door, but they are encouraged to buy in advance on EventBrite. The ticket price is $10.