Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Sam Uthoff ready for postseason push

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids Prairie's Sam Uthoff has seen the picture of his father, Vince Uthoff, in the Hawks' wrestling room.

He would like to cap his career by earning a photo to go on that wall with his dad, who won the 126-pound state title in 1975.

The younger Uthoff opens his push for the state tournament Saturday at a Class 3A district meet at Waverly-Shell Rock. Wrestlers across the state in all three classes will compete for berths to the state tournament Feb. 18-20 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Sam Uthoff isn't making plans for Des Moines, yet. He has work to complete before he can turn his attention to a fourth state medal.

'I'm focused on my first round match,' said Uthoff, a three-time state medalist. 'Then, I'll worry about my next match and keep going after that.'

Uthoff is a veteran, placing third last year, sixth in 2014 and seventh as a freshman. Enthusiasm drowns out any nerves.

'There's a lot of excitement with knowing that this is my last high school year,' Uthoff said. 'I'm also looking forward to the future.'

Uthoff has been dominant all season, posting a 37-0 record and career mark of 151-24. He has been top-ranked all season. He has received everyone's best effort and he expects more of the same at district.

'It's a 1-on-1 sport, so you have a lot of guys that you've wrestled before and had close matches that want to have your number the next time,' Uthoff said. 'I'm sure I have a bull's eye on my back. I don't focus on that. I focus on getting better and the way I want to finish.'

Prairie joins a field with Cedar Rapids Xavier, host Waverly-Shell Rock, Cedar Falls, Marshalltown, Mason City, Waterloo East and Waterloo West.

While the Hawks hit the road, Cedar Rapids Jefferson will host a district with Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Cedar Rapids Washington, Dubuque Hempstead, Dubuque Senior, Linn-Mar, Marion and Western Dubuque.

The tournament has 30 ranked wrestlers overall. The field includes a stacked 160-pound bracket. Linn-Mar's second-ranked Shea Hartzler (38-3) leads the way with Kennedy's No. 3 Ben Sarasin and Jefferson's fourth-ranked Tavian Rashed.

Hartzler, a three-time state qualifier who was third last year, won the Mississippi Valley Conference title at the end of January. Hartzler and Sarasin have split matches this season, while Sarasin and Rashed split two matches in the final week of the regular season.

Sarasin is looking to return to state for the second straight year, but is among the many that must pass a tough test.

'He's not the only one,' Kennedy Coach Dennis Hynek said. 'We have the toughest district in the state. There are a bunch of weights that are really challenging, but that makes for a fun day.'

Five weights have three ranked wrestlers, vying for two state berths. The brackets at 152 and 170 each have four ranked competitors. Jefferson's second-ranked Kyle Briggs and Kennedy's No. 4 Logen Rodriguez lead the way at 152, having a pair of two-point matches, including one in overtime, within the last two weeks.

At 170, Dubuque Hempstead's Brandon Haas is ranked fifth, Jefferson's Matt Culver is sixth, Kennedy's Garrett Kubovec is seventh and Western Dubuque's Luke Kluesner is 10th.

Hempstead is ranked fourth, Jefferson fifth, Kennedy ninth and Western Dubuque is 10th in tournament ratings. Each team will need to be at their best.

'If we wrestle like I think we can then we're going to have a really good day and come out with a lot of kids going through,' Hynek said. 'We'll see.'

Iowa City High and Iowa City West will compete in a district tournament hosted by Burlington.

The top two finishers at each weight advance to the state tournament.

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