3A Stated Wrestling: Jefferson enjoys third-place finish

DES MOINES — Cedar Rapids Jefferson was in the mood to celebrate.

Senior Luke Sedlacek posed for a selfie with the trophy, sophomore Tavian Rashed wore fake eyes during the awards ceremony, and J-Hawks' co-head coach Dick Briggs followed his wrestlers lead by planting a big smooch on a long awaited prize.

Sixth-seeded Cedar Rapids Jefferson topped Metro rival Cedar Rapids Prairie, 59-6, to place third at the Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 3A State Duals wrestling tournament Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Arena.

The finish was Jefferson's best since placing third in the 1993 traditional state meet. The J-Hawks were also third in the 1989 State Dual tournament.

'We talked about bringing back a top-three trophy all year long,' Jefferson's senior 182-pounder Kelly May said. 'We hadn't done it in a long time at Jefferson, so it's pretty special to do.'

The J-Hawks were bitter about last year's seventh-place performance and wanted improvement. They were downright festive this time.

'Personally, this is an accomplishment I'll remember the rest of my life,' the J-Hawks' Luke Sedlacek said. 'I'll enjoy it with my team and one we'll all cherish.

'We only lost to one team in Iowa and that's the team that took second.'

Briggs shared in the enjoyment with his wrestlers. He reveled in the moment.

'It was nice,' Briggs said. 'Everyone was doing it and I felt good enough to do it, I guess.'

Jefferson won 12 of 14 matches against Prairie, which did not wrestle its best team in the final round. The J-Hawks had 10 bonus-point wins in a dual that got chippy and had a wrestler from each team disqualified.

The J-Hawks (15-5) opened and closed impressively. Jefferson produced the biggest upset of the first round, dropping No. 3 Johnston, 33-19. Matt Culver (145) posted a one-point decision, Nick Dreckman (182) won by two and Erik Hovey added an overtime victory at 220 against the Dragons.

'It took the whole team coming together as one,' May said. 'We made individual sacrifices where they were needed.'

Neither team led by more than six points until Jefferson heavyweight Dalton Kuehl earned a fall, giving the J-Hawks a 12-point lead with two bouts left.

'We talk about the plusses and minuses of wrestling a tough schedule,' Jefferson co-head coach Matt Orton said. 'You get close matches like that. We've been in battles like that before and (Wednesday) we won the close ones. It's key in a dual like that.'

Jefferson's lone loss was to Bettendorf in the semifinal. The defending champion Bulldogs advanced to face Southeast Polk in the final for the third straight year. Like in 2013, Southeast Polk bested Bettendorf for the title, winning 34-28.

The top-seeded Rams beat Cedar Rapids Prairie, 47-12, in the semifinal. The fourth-seeded Hawks beat West Des Moines Valley, 35-23, in the quarterfinals, winning eight matches.

Nick Hogan (170), Jarod Cadena (182) and 195-pounder Taylor Mehmen had three straight pins to give Prairie the lead for good. Sam Uthoff (126) and Josh Wenger (138) added major decisions for Prairie in the opener.

'We had a good first round, which is nice,' Prairie Coach Blake Williams said. 'I thought we competed hard against Southeast Polk.'

The Hawks (23-6) earned their third consecutive fourth-place finish. Williams said he would always like to do better, but it still is a positive feat.

'It shows some consistency,' Williams said. 'It shows the program is doing a pretty good job.'

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