Iowa City West wins ninth straight MVC crown

IOWA CITY -- Iowa City West climbed all the way from the bottom of a giant hole only to climb back to the top of the Mississippi Valley Conference mountain.

Facing about a 30-point deficit to start the meet, trailing Linn-Mar and Cedar Rapids Prairie, the third-ranked Trojans took control late to win their ninth straight MVC team title Saturday at West High School. The Trojans crowned six champions and tallied 250 1/2 points, topping Linn-Mar by just 13. Prairie finished third with 220.

The Lions applied pressure early, moving 12 into the semifinals, which accounted for big points.

"We found a way to survive," West Coach Mark Reiland said. "Then we really kind of closed the deal at the end."

The Trojans wrestled their best at the end, posting a 21-5 mark in the final two rounds. West remained confident throughout the tournament, taking a half-point lead into the final round.

"They created a lot of their own breaks," Reiland said. "We just had to take care of what we can control."

For the most part, controlling their own destiny in the championship matches propelled them to a title. West's Dakota Bauer and Gradey Gambrall each won championship matches against Linn-Mar opponents, which provided a 16-point sway in West's advantage.

"We needed to win the head-to-heads (with Linn-Mar). It wasn't pretty but we got it done," Bauer said. "Like Mark always says you have to wrestle your match and the team score will take care of itself.."

Gambrall led from the start, amassing three takedowns for a 6-4 win over Ross Lembeck at 145. Bauer used a pair of takedowns and a third-period reversal for a 6-3 win over Joel Northrup at 132. Bauer, ranked second, wasn't satisfied with his win over No. 4 Northrup, but he felt more comfortable when he was able to free himself and be physical.

"I felt like when I went I had way more power than he does," Bauer said. "It's a matter of going, when to go and how to use it."

West's defending state champion and top-ranked Phil Laux avenged a loss to Prairie's Josh Wenger, who got the best of him Thursday night. Laux scored takedowns in each period and came away with a 9-5 win in the 113-pound championship.

"I had a better game plan," Laux said about his rematch. "I came to win."

West's Jack Hathaway (126) and Justin Koethe (160) are regular to winning, especially at the MVC tournament. Both scored pins in the finals to join a select group of four-time MVC champions. They became only the seventh and eighth wrestlers to do so in almost 20 years of the expanded conference.

"It's exciting considering who is all in there, how good they all are and how good they still have yet to be," Hathaway said. "I'm not too concerned with it. Not to diminish its value or anything but I'm more concerned with state at this point and that's where I want to go. That's what I've been training for."

The Lions were right on the doorstep of their first MVC title. They advanced six into the finals and crowned three champs.

Freshman Matt Wempen and sophomore Damon Griffin gave Linn-Mar two champs in the first three weight classes. Wempen scored an early takedown for a 2-1 win over Danny Kelly of Cedar Falls at 106. Griffin tried to put a dent in the Trojans title run, handling Ernest Willis of West, 9-0, for gold at 120.

Willis beat Griffin in overtime in his first match of the season, and Griffin has been motivated to overturn that result. He was anxious to face him again.

"I wasn't happy so I worked myself harder and harder to get to this point," Griffin said. "I just pushed myself and that made my body like a machine so it didn't stop until I win and I have what I want."

Unranked Griffin hit ninth-ranked Willis for a four-point move with a mix of a neck wrench and hip-over early in the match. He isn't prone to big moves outside of freestyle and greco-Roman wrestling. He took advantage of it, whipping over Willis for a takedown in the second and scoring a reversal in the third.

"I hit it hard, quick and aggressive," Griffin said. "I did what I wanted  and I wasn't going to loosen up until I won."

Wempen improved to 37-1 this season and has ascended the Class 3A rankings to fourth.

"For a 106-pounder, he wrestles physical," Linn-Mar Coach Doug Streicher said. "He stays in good position. He's attacking all the time. All the things you preach, he can do all of them. He can get out from underneath, he can battle and be physical.

"He's doing a lot of things well right now."

Mark Atwater gave the Lions a third title, avenging an earlier loss. Atwater scored a second-period takedown and added an escape in the third to edge Prairie's Austin Gould, 3-2, at 182. Linn-Mar placed 13 wrestlers in the top five. Saturday was a good gauge for the postseason.

"I feel like we made some steps forward in the right direction," Streicher said. "I feel like we're wrestling good competition, we're battling and, we have some mistakes to fix but overall we're pretty happy with where we're at."

Prairie also had three champs, led by three-time MVC champ Zach Witte, who claimed the 152-pound title. Cameron Rathje (170) scored four points in the final period to beat Linn-Mar's Mitch Wantock in the championship. Andrew Netolicky won at 220, dropping Iowa City High'Steve Ferentz, 4-3, in the finals.

Cedar Rapids Washington's Tyler Burrell captured his second straight MVC crown. The top-ranked heavyweight beat Waterloo East's Darrion Caldwell, 3-2, in the last match of the tournament.

Teams - 1. Iowa City West 250.5, 2. Linn-Mar 237.5, 3. C.R. Prairie 220, 4. Cedar Falls 145.5, 5. C.R. Jefferson 121, 6. (tie) C.R. Kennedy and Iowa City High 84, 8. C.R. Washington 81, 9. Dubuque Wahlert 78, 10. Dubuque Senior 77.5, 11. Waterloo West 43.5, 12. C.R. Xavier 43. 13. (tie) Dubuque Hempstead and Waterloo East 26.

106 pounds - Matt Wempen (LM) dec. Danny Kelly (CF), 2-1;

113 - Phil Laux (ICW) dec. Josh Wenger (CRP), 9-5;

120 - Damon Griffin (LM) major dec. Ernest Willis (ICW), 9-0;

126 - Jack Hathaway (ICW) pinned Greg Vance (DW), :50;

132 - Dakota Bauer (ICW) dec. Joel Northrup (LM), 6-3;

138 - Shane Broderick (DW) dec. Skyler St. John (CRP), 6-2;

145 - Gradey Gambrall (ICW) dec. Ross Lembeck (LM), 6-4;

152 - Zach Witte (CRP) won by injury default over Clark Doyle (CF);

160 - Justin Koethe (ICW) pinned Shane Williams (CRK), 1:38;

170 - Cameron Rathje (CRP) dec. Mitch Wantock (LM), 6-3;

182 - Mark Atwater (LM) dec. Austin Gould (CRP), 3-2;

195 - Mickey Pelfrey (ICW) dec. Ryan Maas (ICH), 8-3;

220 - Andrew Netolicky (CRP) dec. Steve Ferentz (ICH), 4-3;

Hwt. - Tyler Burrell (CRW) dec. Darrion Caldwell (WE), 3-2.