Prairie claims second straight MVC wrestling title

WATERLOO – Cedar Rapids Prairie Coach Blake Williams acknowledged the doubts, and they were hard to discredit.

The Hawks lost more than half of their conference championship team to graduation, including three individual champs, six wrestlers with state meet experience.

Of course, one group didn't think those circumstances were too much to overcome, and that was this year's Prairie wrestling team.

The Hawks crowned three champions and captured their second straight team title at the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet on Saturday at Waterloo East High School. Prairie amassed 219 points, beating runner-up Cedar Rapids Jefferson by 26 points.

'At the end of last year, I don't think too many probably thought we would be able to do this again,' Williams said. 'All the guys in the practice room believed it.'

"It's a good team effort. I'm proud of how the team responded.'

During the summer and preseason, Junior Josh Wenger said he heard the rumblings of a rough season geared toward rebuilding. The project was ahead of schedule as Prairie advanced 11 into the semifinals.

'It may not be eight guys placing at state but that bond that everyone has right now is like a family,' Wenger said.

Wenger faced Cedar Falls' Dan Kelly in the 138-pound finals unaware Jefferson had battled back within seven-and-a-half points. He helped Prairie pull away with a 17-8 major decision.

'I felt pretty explosive today,' said Wenger, moving to 28-2. 'I really felt everything was falling into place.'

Prairie's Trey Blaha (152) and Skyler St. John (160) provided key wins over J-Hawk opponents in the finals, padding their lead and securing the repeat performance.

Blaha handled Kelly May, 14-3.

'It is nice,' Blaha said about the title. 'The MVC is one of the toughest conferences in the state. With all the good kids in each bracket and every bracket is tough, I'm glad to come out on top.'

St. John posted a technical fall over Luke Sedlacek, getting the final takedown with a few seconds remaining. Even though team talks focused on individuals, they each knew what the team needed and delivered.

'They weren't satisfied with just winning,' Williams said. 'All three of them got bonus points in the finals.'

All three earned their first conference title. It was a product of hard work and they proved to be the embodiment of the Prairie wrestling.

'They are the epitome of what this program is about,' Williams said. 'They work hard and do what you ask them to do. Other kids see that.'

The J-Hawks placed six in championship matches, recording its best finish in a number of years. Top-ranked Brenden Baker remained undefeated rolling to the 106-pound title. He beat Prairie's Marcus England, 9-0.

The more impressive title came from 182-pounder Josh Allen. The J-Hawk Junior was seeded third in a stacked bracket with six ranked wrestlers. Allen beat 2013 state finalist Kyler Mathews, of Waterloo West, in the quarterfinals before avenging two losses.

Allen scored the opening takedown and added a third-period escape for a 3-2 win over Dubuque Wahlert's Riley Hasken in the final.

'I knew if I had to come out and do my best to get after it,' Allen said. 'I knew it would pay off.'

Allen admitted he had revenge on his mind at the start. He looked for redemption from the loss to Hasken and Dubuque Hempstead's Brandon Haas, who Allen beat, 5-3, in the semifinals.

'The bottom half was pretty loaded,' Allen said. 'I wanted to make a big statement before district.'

"It's a big confidence booster,' Allen said. 'It is February, so we know what time of year it is. Everyone is trying to put it together.'

Jefferson Coach Dick Briggs he was thrilled by Allen's performance. He said it was among the best in the field, especially since it came at one of the toughest and deepest weights in the tournament.

'I couldn't be more excited for Josh Allen,' Briggs said. 'There's not an Outstanding Wrestler (award), but in my opinion he was it.'

Balance has been the J-Hawks' strength this year. Jefferson had all but one wrestler finish seventh or better.

'I'm really proud of our team,' Briggs said. 'It was a team effort again. All year long we've been stressing team and we're much better when we have 14 contributing than a handful.

Iowa City West crowned two champions, finishing with 189 points. The Trojans received titles from Chris Walters (132) and heavyweight Aydan Wynos.

Walters edged Linn-Mar's Damon Griffin in the finals to win his second straight title. Wynos put Jefferson's Dalton Kuehl on his back in the second period, en route to a 7-0 victory in the championship.

West's Tanner Rohweder (113) and Micah Kelsay (195) were runners-up.

Linn-Mar had two champions, placing fourth with four finalists.

Top-ranked Alijah Jeffery (120) and Matt Wempen (138) each won their second conference title. Jeffery sandwiched a major decision between two falls, including a pin in 1:56 over Prairie's Sam Uthoff in the finals.

'This means a lot,' Jeffery said. 'Everything is going right so far. I'm winning the matches I should by dominating.'

Jeffery improved to 32-0 this season, attempting to follow up a good preseason and senior campaign with a state title.'I believe this is my year,' Jeffery said. 'I've been training hard. I'm doing my weight and everything right. I'm trying to close it out and do it the right way.'

Cedar Rapids Xavier produced two titlists from its three finalists. Nick Drahozal claimed the 145-pound championship with a 4-0 win over Tavian Rashed, of Jefferson. It matched the title won by his older brother, David, who he passed to become Xavier's career wins leader.

Drahozal was joined on the top step of the podium by teammate Sean Ickes. He scored a takedown as time expired in regulation to beat Dubuque Wahlert's Weslee Haynes, 3-1, in the 170 finals.

"They have been here and have been working hard," Xavier Coach Ryan Chambers said. "It shows high work ethic and if you keep after it, senior leadership will pay off. I hope the younger kids watch."

Xavier finished sixth with three in the finals and two more underclassmen placing in the top four of their weights.

"I'm real happy," Chamber said. "We're making progress. We have two more weeks. They will be busy weeks."