Xavier seniors stick it out on mat

CEDAR RAPIDS - Wrestling pushes athletes to limits most do not understand.

To people outside of the sport, these athletes may seem insane. Clint Lembeck (138 pounds), Jeff Vipond (113), Sam Lampe (170) and Gabriel Smith (120) are seniors at Xavier.

All four seniors have endured the wrestling program for four years. Four years of having to maintain and keep weight. Four years of brutal conditioning practices. Four years of dieting and eating as little as possible.

Yet these seniors are not only prevailing, they are thriving in one of the most physically and mentally demanding sports.

Xavier has had many impressive wrestlers walk through its doors, but none have been more successful than Lembeck, who has 149 victories throughout his four years. It is the most in Xavier's history, shattering the record held by Nick Drahozal (class of 2014). Lembeck had 37 wins as a freshman, 43 as a sophomore and 45 last year. He 24, and counting, this season. Lembeck is ranked second at 138 pounds. His only loss during the season was at the Waverly-Shell Rock tournament against senior Jackson Gallagher of Bettendorf, who is ranked first in the state.

Senior night earlier this month honored Xavier's warriors who braved it out all four years. It was a dual meet against Waterloo West and Prairie. Lembeck won both matches. He won by pin against his Waterloo West opponent and then, in the final match at Xavier against Prairie, Lembeck won in his signature style by technical fall.

'Winning by tech fall shows off my abilities to control the match and how I can dominate my opponent, pinning them is too fast,” Lembeck said. 'It is a better workout for me to get a sweat going and lose weight for the weekend tournaments.”

Lembeck appreciates his moments on the Xavier mats. His fondest memory came from his first match at Xavier. The coaches drew which weight would go first and his weight was picked.

'This was a big matchup because the guy was a junior state qualifier the previous season,” Lembeck said, 'I was surprised when the spotlights were used for the match and it was a cool experience.”

It also helped that Lembeck won the match, 6-4. He showed Xavier he would be a force on the mat for years to come.

Lembeck was not the only senior honored. Smith is a JV wrestler who has stuck with the program no matter what was thrown at him. His favorite part was going to wrestling camp every year at the Wisconsin Dells. Smith stuck with the program because of the teammates who supported him and motivated him to continue battling.

'Wrestling demands a lot out of its athletes and requires you to be committed,” Smith said. 'It makes a lot of other hard things in life easier compared to the demand of wrestling.”

Smith won his final match at Xavier, 5-3, against his Prairie opponent. Vipond won his first match by forfeit and lost, 7-0, in his final match. Lampe lost both of his matches.