Uthoff surging for Prairie wrestlers

MARION — Cedar Rapids Prairie wrestler Sam Uthoff learned at an early age that 'attitude decides most matches.'

The lesson came directly from his father, Vince, who won a state championship for Prairie in 1975 before wrestling for Iowa State.

After Sam reached the podium at the state meet in his freshman and sophomore seasons, the arrow continues to point upward for the 126-pounder.

'The goal is definitely to take a much bigger leap this year,' Uthoff said last night after helping Prairie defeat No. 4 Linn-Mar, 52-22, in an MVC dual at Linn-Mar. 'Hard work, putting in the time and effort and keeping my attitude right.'

Uthoff pinned Linn-Mar's CJ Garnett in 1:24, one of seven falls for the Hawks. Ranked sixth in Class 3A by The Predicament, he has just two losses this season and a signature victory Dec. 19 against the top-ranked 126-pounder in 2A, Ryan Leisure of Clear Lake.

'It's great to go out there and beat guys like that,' Uthoff said. 'Knowing that every time I go out there on the mat, I can strut my stuff and dominate.'

The Uthoff clan hasn't limited athletics exploits to the mats. Distant cousin Dean Uthoff played basketball for Iowa State in the late 1970s, and third-cousin Jarrod Uthoff is a junior on the Iowa basketball team. At 5-foot-10, Sam Uthoff never gave much thought to basketball.

'Not as much,' Uthoff said with a laugh. 'But it's a good way to cut weight.'

A pair of Prairie falls sandwiched Uthoff's exploits. Trenten Wennermark opened the dual with a pin of Linn-Mar's Charlie Petersen in 1:50 at 113, and it took Seth Wennermark 1:30 to defeat Logan Dulin at 132. Second-ranked Josh Wenger added a 16-1 technical fall over AJ Geers at 138 to push the Hawks' lead to 23-4.

'A lot of our guys, when they had a chance to get pins, got pins,' Prairie Coach Blake Williams said. 'And that helps in meets.'

AT LINN-MAR

C.R. Prairie 52, Linn-Mar 22

106 – Marcus England (CRP) pinned Joey Sullivan (LM), 2:49; 113 – Trenten Wennermark (CRP) pinned Charlie Petersen (LM), 1:50; 120 – Noah Ajram (LM) maj. dec. Dylan Kleinschmidt (CRP), 13-5; 126 – Sam Uthoff (CRP) pinned CJ Garnett (LM), 1:24; 132 – Seth Wennermark (CRP) pinned Logan Dulin (LM), 1:30; 138 – Josh Wenger (CRP) tech. fall AJ Geers (LM), 16-1; 145 – Matt Wempen (LM) tech. fall Chase St. John (CRP), 16-0; 152 – Toby Northrup (LM) pinned Morgan Hood (CRP), 2:53; 160 – Manny Jeffery (LM) maj. dec. Angel Peralta (CRP), 14-0; 170 – Shea Hartzler (LM) dec. Nick Hogan (CRP), 7-1; 182 – Jarod Cadena (CRP) pinned Brayden Schultz (LM), 1:21; 195 – Tyler Pasker (CRP) pinned Baylor Pree (LM), 1:04; 220 – Taylor Mehmen (CRP) pinned Tylor Newhouse (LM), 3:16; 285 – Jonah Manson tech. fall James Hoff (LM), 16-1.

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