State duals quarterfinals: Sixth-seeded Independence pulls opening round's only upset

DES MOINES -- Independence did something no one else could in the opening round of the State Duals tournament.The sixth-seeded Mustangs were the only lower seed to win, beating No. 3 Albia, 40-32, in the quarterfinals of the Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 2A State Dual tournament Wednesday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.“We have a resilient team,” Independence Coach Michael Doyle said. “We're young, but we've had to scratch and claw this year.”Independence (26-4) won seven matches, scoring bonus points in each. One of the key wins came at 170 pounds. Independence seniorZach Kremer locked up a cradle and pinned Albia's third-ranked Dalton Folkerts in 2:57.Kremer was unaware his opponent was highly ranked.“I didn't really know,” Kremer said. “I just went out and wrestled, and it worked out for me.”Heavyweight Mitch Ciesielski capped the dual with a first-period fall, sending the Mustangs to the semifinals for the second time in school history and first time since winning the State Duals title in 1997.Independence takes on second-seeded Davenport Assumption, which handled Webster City, 43-20, in the quarterfinals. The Knights are looking for their fourth straight State Duals crown.Top-ranked Mediapolis dropped Sergeant Bluff-Luton, 41-23, in the opening round. The Bulldogs face Creston-Orient/Macksburg in a 2A semifinal. The fourth-seeded Panthers scored 29 points in five straight middleweight wins and 220-pounder Kaden Hulett's major decision sealed a 36-32 win over No. 5 Clear Lake.In 3A, Cedar Rapids Prairie topped Linn-Mar, 35-27, in the quarterfinal round of the state duals tournament on Wednesday, in what coach Blake Williams said was "a hard-fought dual."Williams inserted junior varsity wrestler Hunter Schulte at 160 pounds, matching a similar move by the Lions, and then bumped the rest of his lineup up one weight. It paid off, as Jonah Manson recorded a pin to seal a victory in the final match of the dual."It was probably not the way either team thought it would go, as far as some of the individual matchups," Williams said. "But credit to our guys, they found a way to win."Elsewhere in 3A, top-seeded Bettendorf cruised to a 38-24 win over Pleasant Valley. And while Cedar Rapids Jefferson won three of the first four matches against second-ranked Waverly-Shell Rock, the J-Hawks ultimately lost 32-26 when Waverly recorded a fall at 195 pounds and a decision at 220.