By Anthony Robinson

Senior Trojan wrestlers Josh Perkins and Brad Schwenke will compete for state championships Saturday night.  Both were able to get past tough semifinal match-ups to earn spots in their respective class 2A weight classes.

According to assistant coach Nick Hackman, the last champion for the Trojans was

Tyler Blum in 2005.  Hackman also noted that the Trojans have never had two wrestlers in the finals in the same year.

The championships matches at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines are scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. starting with the 103 pound weight class.

Perkins (38-8), the only Trojan in program history to qualify for the state tournament all four years during his high

school career, goes into the finals looking for the crown at 130 pounds. In Perkins’ three previous trips to state, his best finish was eighth a year ago at 119 pounds.  Perkins will square-off against the Brandon Sorensen (46-2) from Denver-Tripoli.  Sorensen is the returning champion and the top-ranked wrestler at 130 pounds.

Schwenke, in the 140-pound championship match, upset number 2 ranked Tyler Walz of South Tama in the semifinals to advance to the championship round, and is looking for the same result Saturday night.  Schwenke (44-4) looks to surprise Kyle Risher (No. 10) from Centerville.  Schwenke finished in eighth place last year at the state championships.

Head coach Tim Duff commented on both Perkins’ and Schwenke’s performances in an interview with KSOM sports director Tom Robinson:   “I’m real proud of both of them…they were probably over looked by 99 percent of the state.  Coming into the tournament, neither were ranked…the rankings don’t matter. What matters is what you believe and how hard you work.”

The Trojans also have two wrestlers competing for medals during the afternoon session.

At 103 pounds, freshman Darrian Schwenke (43-6) wrestles for third place against Derek Miller (40-9) of Winterset.

At 189 pounds, junior Tyler Doll (35-12) wrestles Tyler Walls (34-4) from Clear Creek-Amana for seventh place.

The afternoon session is scheduled to begin at 12:00 Saturday afternoon.

The State Championships can been seen on the Iowa High School Sports Network.  Coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. live from Des Moines.

AHSneedle.com photographer Branden Ballinger will post live from the Wells Fargo Arena on Twitter.