The regional dual team sites and assignments for wrestling have been announced by the Iowa High School Athletic Association. Regional duals will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 6 for Class 3A.
The top 24 ranked Class 3A schools, according to the mid-January IWCOA rankings, will compete in eight regional dual team meets with the highest ranked teams hosting, if possible. The top ranked team at each site will receive a bye during the first round.
Third-ranked Ankeny Centennial (17-0) will be one of the host schools. The Jaguars will face the winner of No. 14 Johnston (11-5) and No. 18 Dowling Catholic (10-7) for the right to advance to the state dual team tournament on Feb. 13 at Wells Fargo Arena.
Centennial, which is seeking its first trip to the state dual tournament, already defeated both of those teams en route to winning the CIML Central Conference title. The Jaguars posted a 50-17 victory at Dowling on Jan. 3 and then rolled past the Dragons, 44-24, on Jan. 17.
Centennial and Johnston could meet in the regional final for the second straight year. The Dragons won last year’s meeting, 35-30.
No. 16 Ankeny (8-6), meanwhile, will face No. 17 Des Moines East (12-6) in a regional dual at Southeast Polk. The winner will meet the top-ranked Rams (11-0) in the final.
Ankeny and East will collide in the opening round for the second straight year. The Hawks posted a 45-28 victory last season before falling to Fort Dodge, 58-18, in the final.
With a win over East, the Hawks would get a chance to avenge a 54-14 loss to Southeast Polk on Dec. 6 at Des Moines Lincoln.