North/South All-Star Meet Results

Below is a short story and results submitted Charles City Press Sports Editor Ryan Kronberg, including a summary of the event and match scores. Thanks, Ryan!

North/South All-Star meet this Saturday

The 21st Annual North/South All-Star Meet will be held this weekend and hosted by the Charles City Mat Club. Below is a press release about the yearly all-star dual and the lineups. Should be fun.

ISU wrestlers react to Sanderson leaving

Mitch Mueller made a bold decision when he chose Iowa State over other suitors, but that was when Cael Sanderson was an assistant coach there. Eric Thompson was the top heavyweight recruit in the nation when he committed to wrestle for Sanderson and the Cyclones.

Both were stunned, like many in the wrestling world, when Sanderson accepted the head wrestling coach position at Penn State, leaving his alma mater to reaplce recently resigned coach Troy Sunderland.

Who is THE best team in Iowa?

Now that the season is officially over and Waverly-Shell Rock, Ballard and Don Bosco all finished two consecutive sweeps (Don Bosco did it for the fourth straight year, actually). The question has been asked: Who wins a mini-tournament between these three and Iowa City West?

The overwhelming response from those in the wrestling community was Ballard during the State Duals wrestling tournament Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids.

“It’s all about match ups,” said Union Community Coach Pat Hogan, whose Knights fell victim to Ballard, 67-9, in the quarterfinals of the 2A tournament. “I wish they could have wrestled in The Clash and we wouldn’t have to decide.”

At the elite dual-team event held at Rochester, Minn., at the beginning of January. Ballard finished third, Don Bosco was 14th with Iowa City West beating Waverly-Shell Rock to finish 17th, one spot ahead of the  Go-Hawks. The Go-Hawks made their case over West, beating for the second time in three tries in the 3A finals – a dual that had plenty of opportunities for West to avoid a tie and loss on second criteria (Most matches won).

“These four teams are the cream of the crop dual meet wise,” said wrestling official and West athletics director Marv Reiland, who is also the father of Trojans Coach Mark Reiland. “It could be a thing where A beats B, B beats C, C beats D.”

Ballard already has a win over Waverly-Shell Rock this season. The Bombers won at the Prairie Duals in December. Don Bosco placed in front of Waverly-Shell Rock at the Keith Young in the opening weekend of the season, but didn’t dual this year. Go-Hawks Coach Rick Caldwell remained diplomatic about it.

“No comment,” Caldwell said with a laugh. “We’re not built real well for duals.”

Ballard and Don Bosco were very impressive in their title runs, especially in Des Moines. The Bombers had a record nine finalists in 2A with five champions. The Dons had eight finalists in 1A, crowning four champs. The Go-Hawks had five 3A finalists and three champs. A couple from the Don Bosco camp said they’d expect up five possible wins against Ballard.

Waterloo Courier sportswriter Jim Nelson, who has covered wrestling since 1994, sided with Ballard this year. Nelson said Ballard had the best team with “too much depth from top to bottom.” He posed a different scenario.

“The question is Ballard against last year’s Waverly-Shell Rock team,” Nelson said. “Those two teams are the most complete teams.”

Caldwell was a little more definitive in his statement about comparisons to the 2008 Go-Hawks.

“I think we were the best dual team Iowa’s ever seen,” said Caldwell, admitting similarities exist between the two powerhouses. “I think it’s true. There were no weak weight classes.”

It allows wrestling fans a chance to debate and discuss throughout the off-season, but many share the sentiments of Hogan, who happens to be a Don Bosco state champion, about a mini dual tournament.

“I’d like to see it,” Hogan said.

Class 3A State duals: Quaterfinals and semifinals match-by-match results

CLASS 3A

Quarterfinals
Iowa City West 60, Fort Dodge 12
125 pounds – Gradey Gambrall (ICW) won by forfeit; 130 – Tracy Bowers (ICW) pinned Keegan Nelson, 5:32; 135 – Justin Koethe (ICW) pinned Brandon Stewart, 3:12; 140 – Cole Clarken (FD) pinned AJ Bailey, 3:12; 145 – Dylan Carew (ICW) pinned Nate Halverson, :44; 152 – Nick Moore (ICW) pinned Cody Marsh, 1:35; 160 – Derek St. John (ICW) pinned Trevor Cook, 1:36; 171 – David Solis (ICW) pinned David Rogers, 2:33; 189 – Tyler Wingerson (FD) dec. Dexter Curry, 8-6; 215 – Matt Behnami (ICW) dec. Taylor Morrow, 3-2; 285 – Brandon Kuehl (ICW) dec. Sean Springer, 8-1; 103 – Jack Hathaway (ICW) pinned Matt Birnbaum, 1:04; 112 – Jon Skarda (ICW) pinned Monty Arends, 1:10; 119 – Chase Grove (FD) dec. Colin Lord, 6-0.West Des Moines Valley 34, Indianola 19
125 pounds – Stephen Hernandez (WDMV) pinned Tay Teasdale, 1:31; 130 – Tyler Davis (I) dec. Jacob Bell, 2-1; 135 – Zach Willimas (WDMV) dec. Josh Pirtle, 5-4; 140 – Austin Matter (WDMV) dec. Sean Callison, 5-4; 145 – Nick Pappas (WDMV) dec. Dan Reetz, 6-4; 152 – Spencer BeLieu (I) major dec. Joe McAndrew, 8-0; 160 – Meredith Meador (I) dec. Casey Young, 4-0; 171 – Jeremy Brand (I) dec. Michael Foster, 5-4; 189 – Brandon Abernathy (I) pinned Tarin Phillips, 3:01; 215 – Cody Redmond (WDMV) major dec. Kyle O’Mara, 10-2; 285 – Jakob Kirpes (WDMV) dec. Josh Webb, 6-0; 103 – Brandon Thomas (WDMV) pinned Jacob Putney, 2:29; 112 – Kyle Larson (WDMV) dec. Wade Edington, 11-5; 119 – Brandon Jones (WDMV) dec. Vinny Gomez, 7-3.

Waverly-Shell Rock 56,
Western Dubuque 21
130 pounds – Luke Pint (WSR) pinned Joe Gotto, 3:33; 135 – Pat Huff (WSR) pinned Nick Elsinger, 1:44; 140 – Jake Ballweg (WSR) pinned Cody Lawler, 3:51; 145 – Keenan Moore (WSR) pinned Michael Kluesner, 3:40; 152 – Anthony Walther (WSR) pinned Jesse Lawler, 1:36; 160 – Cody Schmitt (WD) pinned Shawn Miller, 2:43; 171 – Kyle Kramer (WD) dec. Roger Hoeper, 4-3; 189 – Chris Koch (WD) pinned Jordan Meier, 3:32; 215 – Cody Krumwiede (WSR) pinned Mike Wuertzer, 1:55; 285 – Brian Theisen (WD) pinned Jordan Hoeppner, :59; 103 – Tanner Werner (WSR) pinned Jake Gotto, :52; 112 – Eric DeVos (WSR) pinned Nick Steger, 1:11; 119 – Jordan Rinken (WSR) dec. Jim Gotto, 3-0; 125 – Cody Caldwell (WSR) tech. fall Josh Koorperich, 17-2, 3:02.

Southeast Polk 40, Bettendorf 21
125 pounds – Tyler German (SEP) won by forfeit; 130 – Alex Meyer (SEP) dec. David Lewis, 8-2; 135 – Bill Borseth (SEP) major dec. Bryan Levsen, 10-0; 140 – Shunichiro Uno (B) dec. Gary Smith, 8-2; 145 – Matt Vercillo (B) pinned Brian MacKendrick, 4:42; 152 – Joe Trizzino (B) dec. Cody Clark, 3-1; 160 – Anthony McBroom (SEP) dec. Keaton Jurevitz, 10-3; 171 – Taylor Bowie (SEP) dec. Alex Krist, 5-4; 189 – Nate Shaw (B) dec. Brian Johnson, 7-4; 215 – Ethan Bass (SEP) pinned Travis Ziegler, :47; 285 – Jacob Crawford (SEP) dec. Brody Berrie, 6-3; 103 – Cory Clark (SEP) pinned Drake Swarm, 2:46; 112 – Drew Stewart (SEP) pinned Richie Eikenberry, 5:33; 119 – Taylor Wickett (B) pinned Samuel German, 3:50.

Semifinals
Iowa City West 56,
West Des Moines Valley 13
130 pounds – G. Hathaway (ICW) dec. Bell, 5-3 (OT); 135 – Keothe (ICW) dec. Williams, 9-3; 140 – Bailey (ICW) pinned Matter, 2:24; 145 – Carew (ICW) pinned Pappas, 3:16; 152 – Moore (ICW) tech. fall McAndrew, 20-5, 4:23; 160 – St. John (ICW) pinned Young, :45; 171 – Solis (ICW) dec. Foster, 10-6; 189 – Redmond (WDMV) major dec. Curry, 11-2; 215 – Behnami (ICW) won by forfeit; 285 – Kuehl (ICW) pinned Kirpes, 1:05; 103 – J. Hathaway (ICW) pinned Tomas, 1:28; 112 – Larson (WDMV) pinned Weihe, 1:17; 119 – Jones (WDMV) dec. H. St. John, 7-5 (OT); 125 – Gambrall (ICW) pinned Hernandez, 3:03.

Waverly-Shell Rock 47, Southeast Polk 25
130 pounds – Pint (WS) dec. Meyer, 6-0; 135 – Huff (WS) major dec. Bouska, 10-0; 140 – Ballweg (WS) major dec. Borseth, 11-2; 145 – Moore (WS) pinned Smith, 1:24; 152 – Clark (SEP) pinned Creech, 1:54; 160 – Walther (WS) pinned McBroom, 2:43; 171 – Bowie (SEP) dec. Hoeper, 6-4; 189 – Johnson (SEP) major dec. Meier, 12-0; 215 – Krumwiede (WS) pinned Bass, 3:33; 285 – Crawford (SEP) pinned Epply, 1:34; 103 – Clark (SEP) pinned Werner, 4:37; 112 – DeVos pinned Stewart, 1:04; 119 – Rinken (WS) pinned German, 1:30; 125 – Cody Caldwell (WS) pinned German, 5:31.

State Duals Finals: Match-by-match results

CLASS 1A
Championship
Don Bosco 37, Nashua-Plainfield 25
135 pounds – Bart Reiter (DB) pinned Zach Holthaus, :36; 140 – Andy Glaser (NP) dec. Josh Becker, 14-12; 145 – Vance Ortner (DB) dec. Jesse Brown, 8-7; 152 – Clay Welter (DB) major dec. Matt Dettmer, 14-4; 160 – Jason Hoerman (NP) pinned Luke Breuer, 2:58; 171 – Marc Benning (NP) dec. Taylor Kettman, 3-0; 189 – Collin Sudol (NP) pinned Tony Becker, 1:43; 215 – Jake Thome (DB) pinned Scott Glaser, 1:05; 285 – Cory Becker (DB) dec. Caleb Wilken, 4-2; 103 – Brice Dietz (NP) major dec. Drew Mangrich, 12-2; 112 – Brandon Welter (DB) major dec. Garrett Bellinger, 11-0; 119 – Ben McMahon (DB) pinned Kyler Deutsch, 3:17; 125 – Cole Welter (DB) technical fall Zach Larson, 15-0; 130 – Taylor Wedeking (NP) dec. Mark Weber, 8-2. 

 

Consolation
Logan-Magnolia 41, Belle Plaine 29
135 pounds – Cameron Wagner (BP) pinned Dillon Lorentzen, :15; 140 – Colton Wagner (BP) dec. Marrick Loftus, 10-4; 145 – Brad Recker (BP) major dec. Travis Jones, 12-2; 152 – Kolton Kersten (LM) pinned Oz Camara, 2:37; 160 – Clayton Michael (LM) dec. Shane Rieck, 4-2; 171 – Adam Whisney (LM) major dec. Rokco Rhoades, 17-5; 189 – Ryan Gochemour (LM) pinned Daris Coover, 1:06; 215 – Shane Muxfeldt (LM) won by forfeit; 285 – Evan Mikels (LM) pinned Reed Peterson, :44; 103 – Zakk Buch (BP) pinned Eric Brosnahan, 3:39; 112 – Quinton Doiel (LM) pinned Trelys Mitchell, 5:22; 119 – Jack O’Brien (BP) major dec. Ryan Brosnahan, 21-7; 125 – Nolan Oviatt (LM) major dec. Cody Chekal, 15-3; 130 – Drew Hinschberger (BP) pinned Zach Hatcher, 3:31.

CLASS 2A
Championship
Ballard 51,
Denver/Tripoli 16
135 pounds – Tanner Weatherman (B) pinned Austin Broshar, 1:15; 140 – Tanner Hiatt (B) major dec. Oz Wolfensperger, 13-3; 145 – Blake Sorensen (DT) dec. Taylor Eichinger, 9-6; 152 – Trent Weatherman (B) pinned Noah Minikus, 1:30; 160 – T.J. Hiatt (B) tech. fall Zach Piehl, 4:46; 171 – Brock Weatherman (B) pinned Kody Waddell, 1:09; 189 – Wes Schweer (DT) dec. Clinton Eichinger, 5-2; 215 – Pierre Jones (B) pinned Tanner Klein, 2:25; 285 – Chris Schaudt (B) pinned Sawyer Smith, :46; 103 – Dylan Peters (DT) pinned Easton Bridgewater, 1:28; 112 – Dakota Bauer (B) dec. Gunner Wolfensperger, 9-3; 119 – Levi Wolfensperger (DT) major dec. Willie Miklus, 15-4; 125 – Tyler Grask (B) tech. fall Terry Stover, 5:56; 130 – Brad Mickelson (B) major dec. Blaze Shedenhelm, 10-2.

Consolation
Davenport Assumption 33,
Clear Lake 22
135 pounds – Brody Grothus (DA) pinned Joe Bieber, 2:47; 140 – Landon Williams (DA) dec. Jake Kopriva, 6-0; 145 – Tommy Argo (DA) dec. Steve Scarrow, 10-7; 152 – Christian Trebil (CL) dec. Andrew Riley, 11-5; 160 – Ryan Wilke (CL) major dec. Bradley Grothus, 16-5; 171 – Kevin Walsh (DA) dec. Jordan Dahl, 5-4; 189 – Sam Gervace (DA) pinned Nathan Higgins, 1:23; 215 – Patrick Kolker (CL) dec. Drew Sheeder, 6-4; 285 – Andrew Bush (DA) pinned Zach Lindquist, 5:44; 103 – Austin Horner (CL) dec. Alec Dalton, 8-5; 112 – Bradley McDermott (DA) dec. Jacob Colon, 14-7; 119 – Mundo Cadena (DA) dec. Brady Horner, 7-4; 125 – Joe Colon (CL) pinned Jeremy Felderman, 3:33; 130 – Tucker Weber (CL) dec. Tommy Riefe, 3-0.

CLASS 3A
Championship
Waverly-Shell Rock 32*,
Iowa City West 31
135 pounds – Jake Ballweg (WSR) dec. Justin Koethe, 9-3; 140 – Dylan Carew (ICW) pinned Pat Huff, 1:16; 145 – Keenan Moore (WSR) pinned AJ Bailey, 2:27; 152 – Nate Moore (ICW) major dec. Anthony Walther, 24-10; 160 – Derek St. John (ICW) pinned Collin Heideman, 1:09; 171 – David Solis (ICW) dec. Roger Hoeper, 6-5; 189 – Dexter Curry (ICW) pinned Jordan Meier, :37; 215 – Cody Krumwiede (WSR) dec. Matt Behnami, 6-0; 285 – Brandon Kuehl (ICW) pinned Jordan Hoeppner, :35; 103 – Tanner Werner (WSR) dec. Jack Hathaway, 9-2; 112 – Eric DeVos (WSR) tech, fall Jon Skarda, 17-0, 6:00; 119 – Hunter St. John (ICW) tech. fall Jordan Rinken, 24-9, 5:42; 125 – Cody Caldwell (WSR) dec. Gradey Gambrall, 5-3; 130 – Luke Pint (WSR) dec. Garrett Hathaway, 7-0.

*-Scored tied, 31-31. Waverly-Shell Rock receives point for winning criteria B, most matches won (8-6).

Consolation
West Des Moines Valley 32,
Southeast Polk 23
135 pounds – Bill Borseth (SEP) dec. Zach Williams, 5-3; 140 –
Austin Matter (WDMV) dec. Gary Smith, 8-3; 145 – Nik Pappas (WDMV) pinned Matt Knipp, 1:29; 152 –
Cody Clark (SEP) dec. Joe McAndrew, 5-3; 160 – Casey Young (WDMV)
dec. Anthony McBroom, 4-3; 171 – Michael Foster (WDMV) dec. Taylor Bowie, 9-3; 189 – Cody Redmond (WDMV) dec. Brian Johnson, 7-4; 215 – Ethan Bass (SEP) pinned Jacob Kirpes, 2:30; 285 – Jacob Crawford (SEP) pinned Derrick Large, 2:34; 103 – Cory Clark (SEP) pinned Brandon Thomas, 2:53; 112 – Kyle Larson (WDMV) major dec. Drew Stewart, 14-2; 119 – Brandon Jones (WDMV) dec. Sam German, 5-0; 125 – Stephen Hernandez (WDMV) major dec. Tyler German, 10-2; 130 – Jacob Bell (WDMV) dec. Alex Meyer, 7-4.

 

Class 3A team race up for grabs

CEDAR RAPIDS – The Class 3A field of the Iowa High School Athletic Association state dual wrestling tournament seems to be the only race in question today at the U.S. Cellular Center.
Don Bosco and Ballard are major favorites to win Class 1A and 2A, respectively. In the largest class, the question is whether balance will be enough to power Iowa City West to victory.
“We’ve wrestled five of the seven teams that are in there,” West Coach Mark Reiland said. “We’ve had some success. We’re 5-1 against the teams in it.”
Top-seeded West (26-2) and defending champion Waverly-Shell Rock (26-4) have won the last six dual titles. Reiland said he doesn’t seem to think it’s a two-team race.
“I really think the top five seeds are capable,” Reiland said referencing No. 3 Southeast Polk, No. 4 Indianola and fifth-seed West Des Moines Valley. “They’re pretty solid teams.”
Working in West’s favor is a balanced lineup with the top talent to match the Go-Hawks ultra-talented lower weights.
“You need 14 parts to be bigger than the whole,” Reiland said. “We think we have some pretty big guns, too. As far as balance goes, this is probably the most balanced team we’ve had.”
They’ve demonstrated a knack for bonus points as well. West has 233 pins this year, one shy of the team season record set last year. Every point will be valuable today.
“We’re able to score bonus points and able to hold down the bonus points,” Reiland said. “We have pinners on this team. We’ll have to come through in that aspect again.”
The Trojans and Go-Hawks have split two previous meetings. Waverly-Shell Rock won in December at the Five Seasons Duals with West winning at The Clash at Rochester, Minn., in January.
Waverly-Shell Rock won last week’s traditional tournament in Des Moines. In addition to state gold on the line, West has a chance to avenge losing to its rival.
“It’s kind of like a second chance,” Nick Moore said during the state finals where he won his third state title. “We’re going to take our second chance and hopefully run away with it.”

A few random thoughts from 2009 state finals

Here are a couple of miscellaneous items from Saturday night’s finals:

• With Jake Ballweg’s win at 135, Waverly-Shell Rock clinched its second straight Class 3A team title. The Go-Hawks made a three-for-one win, joining 2A champion Ballard and Don Bosco, the 1A team champ as repeat winners. It’s the first time all three champions successfully defended their crowns in the same season since the Iowa High School Association went to three classes in 1969.
• 13 defending state champions entered the tournament, but only nine finished with a second straight state title. Bart Reiter of Don Bosco, Nick Moore of Iowa City West, Waverly-Shell Rock’s Jake Ballweg, Des Moines Roosevelt’s John Nicholson, Urbandale’s Evan Knight, Trent and Brock Weatherman of Ballard, Mason City Newman’s Derric Thomas and Don Bosco’s Clay Welter all won for the second straight year.
• Reiter’s championship made him the 18th four-time state champion in Iowa history. He joined brother, Mack, who won titles for Don Bosco from 2000 to 2003, as the only brothers on the four-timer list.
• Moore’s title was his third, giving him the opportunity to be No. 19 if he wins again next year.
• Staying with the four-timer theme, New London/WMU’s Sawyer Farris (103 in 1A), Ballard’s Dakota Bauer (112 in 2A), Cory Clark of SE Polk (103 in 3A) and Des Moines Roosevelt’s John Meeks (119 in 3A) were freshmen champions giving them an opportunity to earn four state titles.
• Brandon Burrell entered the tournament ranked 10th, but battled the entire tournament, winning his final three matches in overtime and wrestling a little more than 24 minutes combined in those. The takedown attempt by Crawford in OT that he fought off, keeping in his whizzer and popping up to his knees was impressive for a big guy that late in a match. It’s hard to imagine he didn’t even garner MVC honors this year behind first-teamer Waterloo East’s Tray Pendleton, second-teamer Conner Herman of Cedar Rapids Jefferson and Dubuque Senior’s Scott Schlickman, who received honorable mention honors.
• This year was my worst year making individual predictions. Of the 42 champions, I pick only 23 correctly. I did have eight picks in the finals (31 picks reached the championship) and five other choices were third, losing their only match to the eventual champ. So, consolation prize is 36 of 42 won or lost their only match of the tournament to the champ.
• The team picks were a little better. I had the top 3 teams in all three class, but only had the right order in 1A. In 2A, I had Clear Lake and Denver-Tripoli reversed and in 3A, I had Waverly-Shell Rock and IC West switched with DM Roosevelt placing third.

For state tournament photo gallery:

http://pictopia.com/perl/gal?process=gallery&gallery_id=75663&provider_id=66

Moore, Carew win titles; Burrell ends Washington title woes

DES MOINES – Nick Moore anticipated the crowd’s reaction to Don Bosco’s Bart Reiter’s becoming the state’s 18th four-time state champion. So, while warming up for his title bout, he went to catch a glimpse.
“I saw everybody rise to their feet and cheer for him,” said Moore. “I want that. You keep pushing yourself to get what you want.”
Moore put himself in position for his own standing ovation by claiming his third state title with a tough 2-1 victory over Josiah South of Urbandale in the 152-pound final of the Class 3A state wrestling tournament last night at Wells Fargo Arena in front of 15,439 fans.
“It’s fun winning,” Moore said. “It’s a lot more fun dominating, but you do what you do to get it done.”
Moore wasn’t at his best, breaking a scoreless tie with a second-period reversal and riding out south in the third.
“It’s probably not my best performance this year,” said Moore, who won two of his last three matches by a point. “I can fix it. I’m happy that it’s minor.”
Now, how about that reaction possibly awaiting next year if he becomes the 19th four-timer?
“Oh God, yeah.” Moore said. “Just to imagine that I could even have the opportunity to be like that some time, that would be another goal on my list.”
West teammate Dylan Carew won his second state title after a two-year hiatus from the finals with a strong 12-3 major decision over Blake Meeks (16-3).
Top-ranked Carew, a four-time placewinner, hadn’t wrestled Saturday night since he won the 103-pound title as a freshmen.
“It felt amazing to walk in that Grand March again with my (wrestling) shoes on,” Carew said. “Warming up and looking around and seeing all the people here and knowing that I was part of the show again.”
Carew’s title wasn’t accompanied by large smiles and emotional outbursts. The Trojans senior held back tears of regret.
“Thinking back I wish I could have been there all four years,” Carew said. “It feels good to get two.”
Carew said he’ll enjoy the win more in time. He was dominant in his victory, scoring takedowns in each of the first two periods and breaking it open with a five-point throw in the second.
“I took him out of his game (by pressing the action),” Carew said. “I was in his face the entire time.”
By the time Carew took the mat, top-ranked Waverly-Shell Rock had its second straight team title in hand. The Go-Hawks got championships from Cody Caldwell (125), Jake Ballweg at 135 and Cody Krumwiede and scored 146 1/2 points. West was second for the second straight year, scoring 138 1/2.
West Des Moines Valley’s Brandon Jones doused some of Waverly-Shell Rock’s excitement with a 3-1 overtime win over the Go-Hawks’ top-ranked Eric DeVos at 112. Jones counter a bad takedown attempt and spun around behind for the winning move. DeVos transferred to Waverly-Shell Rock from Apple Valley, Minn., where he won varsity state titles as a seventh and eighth grader and attempting to become a six-time state champion.
“I kept waring him down and stayed in good position,” Jones said. “He took a bad shot and capitalized on it.”
Jones lost a controversial double-overtime match to DeVos at the Keith Young Invitational in December. That gave his psyche a boost, bu.
“It’s amazing,” Jones said. “Coming down here I was confident going into the match. I went in there knowing I could beat him,”
Brandon Burrell snapped a 21-year drought for Cedar Rapids Washington. Burrell won his third straight overtime match and topped Southeast Polk’s second-ranked Jacob Crawford, 2-1, in the fourth overtime at 285 pounds.
His coaches stress conditioning and it carried him through the tournament.
“It’s all a mental thing,” Burrell said. “You have to believe in yourself and just keep going.”
Burrell needed less than five seconds to get his second escape to win the match. Burrell’s name will be etched on the Warriors’ wrestling room wall right next to Jamie Byrne, who won the Warriors’ last state title in 1988.
“That’s awesome,” said Burrell, who said he hopes it inspires more wrestlers at the school. “Every day I was in the wrestling room I looked up at that wall. My goal from the beginning of the season was to be a state champion. It means a lot.”
Waverly-Shell Rock clinched its crown when Ballweg beat Cedar Rapids Prairie freshman Zach Witte, 11-0. Witte gave the Hawks an individual runner-up for the second straight year.
“It was very exciting to get a taste of what it’s actually like,” Witte said. “Also, I can come back next year and wrestle in it again.”
Top-ranked Ballweg (45-3) broke open the match with a cradle in the first. Witte (35-9) defeated three ranked foes to reach final, but the talented youngster wasn’t satisfied.
“I thought I did pretty decent,” Witte said. “I wish I could have done better.”
Prairie Coach Blake Williams was proud of the freshmen’s finish and said it could serve as a building block for the next few years.
“He has nothing to be disappointed about,” Williams said. “he had a great tournament and a great season.”
Waterloo East’s Kyven Gadson topped Cedar Rapids Jefferson’s Jason McCormick, 3-2, for the crown at 171. Gadson used a double-leg takedown with 14 seconds left after the two exchanged escapes.
McCormick (30-3), who became the first J-Hawk finalist since Tim Ironside won the 130-pound title in 1998, added a late escape and was in on a shot when time expired.

For state tournament photo gallery:

http://pictopia.com/perl/gal?process=gallery&gallery_id=75663&provider_id=66

Contact the writer: (319) 368-8679 or kj.pilcher@gazettecommunications.com

West wrestlers focus on individual tasks

IOWA CITY – A familiar theme is prevalent among the Iowa City West wrestling team as they begin the Class 3A state wrestling tournament Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
Win your battle and the team war will hopefully end successfully.
The second-ranked Trojans will look to dethrone defending state champions and top-ranked Waverly-Shell Rock.
“We’re sitting in a position if we wrestle up to our capabilities we have a legitimate shot,” West Coach Mark Reiland said. “Everybody’s got to do their part and score points and get on the awards stand. We’re in a position where we can put as many on the medals stand as anybody.”
The Trojans put themselves in that spot by qualifying 10 wrestlers. Only Indianola matched that number in 3A. They knew they needed numbers to counter the Go-Hawks’ eight ranked wrestlers and four No. 1s.
“You have to make sure you have the right ones there regardless,” Reiland said about West’s qualifiers. “These 10 need to focus on those first-round matches and put as many points on the board as we can each day.”
The focus sounds like a “me-first” approach, but it equates to do everyone doing their best to help the team in the end.
“We haven’t spoke a whole lot about the team thing,” senior Derek St. John said. “Just preparing everybody to take care of themselves. If you can take care of yourself, the team thing will work out.”

Brian Ray/The Gazette

There are plenty of individual feats to accomplish. St. John (40-0), ranked No. 1 at 160, and top-ranked junior Nick Moore (41-0 at 152) are both looking for their third state title. Senior Dylan Carew (24-1) will attempt to reclaim a state title, going without gold since winning at 103 as a freshman. He is ranked first at 140.
“For the most part it’s business as usual. They know what it takes to get the job done,” Reiland said of his big three. “They’ve done it before and fully expect to do it again.”
St. John has been impressive earning a top nationally ranking and admits that a concluding his career with a third title would be special. He’s set on extending his success into state.
“Just try to improve on what I’ve already accomplished,” he said, “Just try to make it more dominant.”
The upperclassmen have been mentoring a host of state newbies, including talented freshmen No. 4 Jack Hathaway (37-4 at 103), No. 7 Gradey Gambrall (25-8 at 125) and No. 6 Justin Koethe (39-6 at 135). Juniors Jon Skarda (25-12 at 112) and David Solis (30-10 at 171) and sophomore Garrett Hathaway (29-13 at 130) are also making their first state appearance. They provide more balance to support the big scorers, according to St. John.
“I’d say there’s more consistency through the lineup with kids scoring a lot of points,” St. John said.
Reiland said success lies in how his wrestlers respond this week, but the team has hit its stride the second-half of the season.
“Now, it’s a matter of getting it done,” Reiland said. “We’ve wrestled well since the break. We need to continue that for the next two weeks.”