A busy week of high school wrestling inside Guthrie County begins today in Panora. The Panorama Panthers varsity wrestling squad starts their 2018-19 dual season tonight at home against three nonconference foes in Coon Rapids-Bayard, Manson NW Webster, and Southeast Valley. The Raccoon Valley Radio Network had Panorama wrestling coach Jason Kirtley as one of our guests on last night’s Wahl McAtee Tire and Service Center Guthrie County PM Sports Page to promote tonight’s event. Kirtley says his athletes are ready to open the season tonight. “There’s no rivalry there, there’s no conference foe there, but at the same time, it’s the first dual of the season,” Kirtley said, “They got a lot of energy to get out, so they go out and go hard.”

Kirtley added his team will forfeit some lower weight matches this evening while athletes are still trying to make weight. He believes some of the more competitive matches tonight will come from the middleweights. Manson NW Webster comes in as IAWrestle’s 10th ranked squad in Class 1A, featuring ranked wrestlers at 106 and 120 pounds. Panorama sophomore Wyatt Appleseth is the Panthers lone ranked wrestler to begin the season, rated No. 6 at 138 pounds. Coon Rapids-Bayard and Southeast Valley enter tonight’s event with no preseason ranked wrestlers. First duals start around 5:30 p.m. tonight from Panorama High School.