This week in preps: Wrestlers hit mats for two big events in Rochester

Starting Friday, and for approximately a two-week stretch, Rochester becomes the epicenter of the Minnesota high school wrestling landscape.

Thirty-three teams representing four states will come together Friday and Saturday at the Rochester Community and Technical College University Center for the Minnesota Christmas Tournament, one of the longest-running and most revered tournaments of the season. This will be the 27th year for the tournament, which annually brings together many of the state's top programs, as well as a few worthy representatives from neighboring states, in an invitational format.

Among the teams competing this year are the top three teams in the most recent theguillotine.com's Class 3A state rankings — Apple Valley, St. Michael-Albertville and Hastings — and the top five teams in Class 2A: Simley, Totino-Grace, Kasson-Mantorville, Albert Lea and Scott West.

The first two rounds of competition will take place Friday beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday, the quarterfinals and semifinals will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the finals taking place at 4:30 p.m.

The University Center will host an even bigger meet on Jan. 2 and 3. Bigger, at least, in terms of national prestige.

The Clash Duals, considered one of the nation's premier high school wrestling events, also calls RCTC home. Many of the best wrestling programs from across the country converge for two days of elite-level high school wrestling. This season's lineup brings together teams from nine states: Minnesota, California, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Dakota and Utah.

According to The Clash website (clashmn.com), 25 of the 32 teams are ranked among the top 10 in their respective states, six of them holding a No. 1 ranking.

The round-robin format features the same four teams every year. The daily schedule is as follows:

Thursday: Elk River vs. Eden Prairie and Grand Rapids vs. Edina.

Friday: Eden Prairie vs. Grand Rapids and Edina vs. Elk River.

Saturday: Grand Rapids vs. Elk River and Edina vs. Eden Prairie.