UPDATED: Sports Calendar: February 20
10:45 a.m. update: Tanner Mertz will wrestle in the semifinals tonight. He will take on Max Thomsen of Union. Mertz defeated Kade Steuhm 3-2 in the quarterfinals this morning.
It's another busy day of sports for athletes around the area.
In Des Moines, Day 2 of the state wrestling tournament kicks off in a few minutes with the 3A and 2A quarterfinals.
Red Oak wrestler Tanner Mertz (145 lbs.) will be in action later this morning when he takes on Kade Steuhm (sixth ranked in the final Predicament rankings) of Solon. Mertz reached the 2A quarterfinals when he defeated Keagan Putnam of Sergeant-Bluff Luton via a 2-0 decision. Steuhm meanwhile defeated Waukon's Adam Benzing via a 9-2 decision.
Should Mertz win, he'd face a potential roadblock in the semifinals later this evening against Max Thomsen of Union. Thomsen is undefeated and has won three state titles in his high school career.
Thomsen pinned Wyatt Rhoads of Gilbert Thursday to start his tournament. He'll face Blake Lawless of Albion in the quarterfinals this morning.
The other area wrestler still in the championship bracket is Griswold's Hadley Ogg. He's still in the 120 lbs. 1A tournament after his 8-6 decision win over Chase McLaughlin of Lisbon Thursday night.
Ogg will take on Cole Needham of West Marshall in the quarterfinals this afternoon. Needham defeated Shane Funk of Woodbury Central via a technical fall. Both Ogg (ninth) and Needham (fourth) are ranked in the final Predicament High School rankings.
East Mills' Josh Hopkins (152 lbs.) meanwhile awaits his opponent on the consolation side. Hopkins lost his second match of the year Thursday night when he fell in a 3-2 decision to Alburnett's Bryce Paul. In the first round of consolation, Hopkins defeated Jared Johnson of West Marshall via a 6-2 decision.
Hopkins will face the loser of the Brady Schmidt-Dakota Drenth quarterfinal match later this afternoon.
You can follow along with the state tournament online at trackwrestling.com.
Elsewhere, the 1A regional semifinals will take place in girls basketball tonight.
The Essex Trojanettes will face off against Fremont-Mills for the fourth time this season. This time, a spot in the regional final is on the line.
Essex will travel to Tabor as they try and get a win against a team that has beaten them three times this season.
The Trojanettes enter tonight's game with an eight game winning streak. They defeated Nishnabotna 49-30 in the quarterfinals Tuesday night.
A lot has changed since Essex's last meeting with Fremont-Mills, which was the Corner Conference tournament championship game Jan. 23.
The biggest change has been Jescenia Mosley, who has been a significant player for the Trojanettes as of late. Mosley leads the team in scoring, averaging 12 points per game.
Essex will have its challenges ahead as they have to stop the trio of Fremont-Mills scorers in Macy Williams, Andrea McClary and Taryn Williams.
Of the three, Macy Williams is the tough one for opposing teams to handle. The senior guard is averaging 17.2 points per game this season.
The game starts at 7 p.m.
The other semifinal in 1A-Region 8 features Adair-Casey hosting Ankeny Christian.
Adair-Casey defeated Stanton Tuesday night by a 63-28 score. Ankeny Christian meanwhile held off Orient-Macksburg to win 53-48.
The winners of both semifinal games will face off Monday night in Red Oak.