West in fourth, Prairie has all seven alive

DES MOINES - There actually was some competition at the Iowa High School Athletic Association even though most of the news was about the match that didn't take place.

When the  smoked lifted after Linn-Mar's fifth-ranked 112-pounder Joel Northrup defaulted to Cedar Falls Cassy Herkelman, the state's first female state qualifier, Herkelman found herself still in the winners bracket and Bettendorf found itself ahead of the field after the first round of the Class 3A state wrestling tournament Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena.

Iowa City West won eight of 11 matches, but was in fourth place with 27 points after the session. Bettendorf had 41, six more than second-place Waverly-Shell Rock and Southeast Polk was third at 31 1/2.

West Coach Mark Reiland said there were no surprises in the first round, but losing two wrestlers in the consolation hurt. Sam Chalkley at 135 was the only Trojan to win a consolation bout. Reiland was more concerned with the two casualties than the eight quarterfinalists.

"Losing two kids is obviously going to hurt," Reiland said. "We have nine guys now. We have to push those eight and keep the eight on the front side and make sure Chalkley stays in the back.

"It's a numbers game right now."

The Trojans pushed for bonus points when they had the chance. Kegan Wakefield (119), Jack Hathaway (125) and top-ranked 140-pounder Elijah Sullivan all scored falls. Hathaway, ranked No. 2, decked No. 6 Tyler McWilliams of Sioux City East in 4:44.

Britt Thompson and Justin Koethe added consecutive major decisions at 152 and 160. Thompson, ranked second, beat No. 7 Reid Herrig of Davenport West, 13-3. Dakota Bauer (130) and Garrett Hathaway also won for West. Third-ranked Bauer topped No. Brandon Thomas of West Des Moines Valley, 13-7.

"Most of it went according to plan," Reiland said about being favored to win the matches West did. "I don't think there were any great upset or match we won or should have won." 

 Cedar Rapids Prairie had a strong opening session. The Hawks have all seven qualifiers competing Friday with four in the winners bracket and three in the consolation round.

 "It was an overall good day," Prairie Coach Blake Williams said.

Prairie freshman Chris Walters gutted out a 4-2 overtime win against Bettendorf's Richie Eikenberry at 119. Junior Zach Witte made a triumphant return after a year away from the state meet. Witte, who was a state finalist in 2009 as a freshman, improved to 35-0 with an 11-3 major decision over No. 8 Ben Schwery of Council Bluffs Lewis Central.

Sophomores Cam Rathje (152) and Andrew Netolicky (189) added wins. Rathje (30-5) scored an 8-3 decision over Zak Kohlmeyer of Waterloo West. Netolicky (39-8) pinned Fort Dodge's Connor Morain in 3:39.

"Netolicky got the fall and looked good," said Williams, who was optimistic for the futuresince none of the seven wrestlers are seniors.

The Hawks were ninth with 14 pointsw after the first day.

After the drama that surrounded Northrup's default to Herkelman, things didn't prove much for Linn-Mar in the first round. The Lions won two of eight first-round bouts. Alijah Jeffery (38-4) scored a win at 103 and Mitch Wantock (14-2) won at 171. Linn-Mar rebounded, winning four of six consolation matches. They have six wrestlers still in the field, including Northrup who beat Glenwood's Sam Jameson, 9-0, in the wrestleback.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Iowa City High and Western Dubuque all pushed two wrestlers through to Friday's quarterfinals.

The Cougars Luke Kremer and Ryan Sheldon, both ranked fourth, respectively, were dominant in their first-round wins. Kremer (37-3) pinned Norwalk's Jonathon Cortez in 3:01 at 135. Fourth-ranked Sheldon (39-1) handled Des Moines Roosevelt's Mike Freeman, 11-2, at 171.

"I thought both came out ready to wrestle and excited to wrestle," Kennedy Coach Brent Paulson said. "As far as previous state tournaments this was their best match for both of them."

It was Sheldon's first first-round win in three state appearances. Both have tough tests in the quarterfinals against Lewis Central teammates. Kremer has No. 2 Jay Hildreth (44-2), while Sheldon has fifth-ranked Kyle Putnam (41-4).

"It's good for (Sheldon) to get off to a good start," Paulson said. "We're looking forward to two big matches in the quarterfinals tomorrow."

Western Dubuque's Nick Steger (125) and heavyweight Dakota Elledge both advanced to the quarterfinals, while 189-pounder David Demmer remained alive in the consolation bracket after an opening loss.

Iowa City High perfect in the opening round. Brad Gingerich and Cody Donnelly each scored a decision at 215 and heavyweight for the Little Hawks.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson's Conner Herman took a positive step for a second-straight state medal. Fifth-ranked Herman (35-2) defeated No. 10 Jordan Rouse of Ankeny, 4-0, at 215. J-Hawk teammate Blake Carson won a consolation match at 135.

Cedar Rapids Washington had a rough first round, but Kaiser Herz (140) and heavyweight Tyler Burrell won consolation bouts.