State champs start road to repeat

Four local state champions will take the first steps in their quest to defend their crowns Saturday.Alburnett duo Tyler Shulista and Christopher Halblom, North-Linn's Logan Mulnix in Class 1A and Williamsburg heavyweight Austin Blythe in 2A begin their march to Des Moines as prep wrestling programs across the state open the postseason with Iowa High School Athletic Association 1A and 2A sectional meets Saturday. Sectional meets start at noon.Halblom and Blythe will look to join the group of 41 Iowa wrestlers who are 4-time state finalists. Both have won two straight titles after finishing runner-up as freshmen. Halblom placed second at 103 pounds in 2A for Center Point-Urbana before winning titles at 112 and 119 for Alburnett. Blythe, who signed earlier this week to play football next year for the University of Iowa, was believed to be the first freshman heavyweight finalists and has won both titles at 285. Sixty-seven wrestlers in Iowa history have won three state titles before this season.Top-ranked Halblom will likely have a tough test early in the postseason with Lisbon's No. 2 Kolbi Kohl in the 125-pound bracket. Alburnett, which hosts the sectional and looking for its first sectional title, is ranked fifth and Lisbon is seventh. They are the two favored teams to claim the team trophy and earning regional duals berths to the sectional team champion and runner-up. Regional duals for 1A and 2A are Tuesday, Feb. 8.Shulista joined his teammate at the top of the state podium last year. Shulista, a junior, was third as a freshman. Last year he became just the second wrestler in school history to win a state crown.Mulnix, the Lynx 135-pound junior, is ranked No. 1 after claiming the 125-pound last year. Mulnix is attempting to become the second wrestler in North-Linn history to earn multiple state championships since Dan LeClere won four state titles from 2002-05.The top two individuals at each weight will advance to district competition Saturday, Feb. 12, vying for berths to the state tournament Feb. 16-19 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.