MVC well represented at State Duals

The Mississippi Valley Conference will be well represented at the state's top dual competition.Actually, more conference teams will participate than ever.Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Iowa City West and Linn-Mar account for half of the field in the Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 3A State Duals tournament Wednesday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, beginning at 9 a.m.It is the first time the MVC has qualified four for the State Duals. The previous best was three, happening seven times with the last in 2012.“That's great for the conference,” Prairie Coach Blake Williams said. “It shows how tough our conference is this year. I think it was evident throughout the season.”West Coach Mark Reiland said qualifying changes helped the MVC qualify an extra team. The regional dual pairings in 3A are based off Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Official Association dual rankings. Previously, district champs and runners-up competed in regional duals, making it hard since the MVC schools battled for the same spot out of the same district.“Looking back there might have been opportunities to get more in there,” Reiland said. “I think you've got some pretty good teams in there. Hopefully, we can wrestle pretty well at State Duals.”The MVC displayed its strength over the course of the season. All four teams forced their way into the top 10. The success is not much of a surprise to those who battled each other during the regular season.“I had a pretty good idea all four were going to be strong (but) how that measured up with other schools across the state I wasn't sure,” Williams said. “I think it was proven at regional duals.The J-Hawks are making their first appearance since 1994 and fourth in school history. The Lions have qualified five times, including the last four seasons. West had reached 10 straight years, sharing the record for most consecutive appearances with two other schools, and returned after a year absence.“A lot of these guys were a part of it a year ago that missed out on the opportunity and wanted to make sure that didn't happen again,” Reiland said. “We continued to get better all year.”The teams are battle tested by the conference slate. The wrestlers are prepared for postseason challenges, because of the hard schedule filled with good opponents. They benefit from the MVC grind.“The whole regular season is about finding tough competition, so when you get to this point the kids are used to that competition,” Williams said. “I think that's huge.”Two familiar foes will face off in the quarterfinals. Prairie (20-3) and Linn-Mar (22-6) have split two duals this season. They have also competed in the MVC Super Meet. There are no secrets at this point and they know the other's strengths.“We've seen them plenty of times,” said Williams, whose Hawks are 4-3 against six teams in the bracket. “We obviously know them and they know us. There probably won't be a lot of surprises.”Sixth-seeded West (21-6) wrestles No. 3 Southeast Polk (20-1). Jefferson (13-1), the seventh seed, has No. 2 Waverly-Shell Rock (20-0).

Prairie moves up listCedar Rapids Prairie earned its eighth State Duals berth in the last 10 years, making it 14 overall for the programs. The Hawks have tied Winterset for the third most State Duals appearances, trailing only Don Bosco (19) and Davenport Assumption (15).Prairie has competed in the State Duals more than any other Class 3A program in the state. Iowa City West moved to second in the class, getting its 11th this year.“It's something to be proud of,” said Prairie Coach Blake Williams, who has guided the Hawks to their last eight appearances. “It shows the rich tradition and we have kept it going.”The Hawks won titles in 1994 and 1998, posting runner-up finishes in 1996, 1997 and 2006. They have eighth top-four finishes in school history.

Waverly-Shell Rock ties recordSecond-seeded Waverly-Shell Rock printed its name in the state record book with a Class 3A regional dual win at home last week. The Go-Hawks handled Spencer, 66-10, for their 10th straight trip to the State Duals tournament.Waverly-Shell Rock tied Iowa City West (2003-12) and 1A program Logan-Magnolia (2002-11). The Go-Hawks (20-0) are the only unbeaten team in the 3A bracket, joining 2A undefeated teams Sergeant Bluff-Luton (21-0) and Creston-OM (16-0).“It's a great indication of how good this program has been over the last decade,” said Waverly-Shell Rock Coach Eric Whicome, noting support and coaches at all levels have made contributions. “It takes so many working parts for something like that to happen.”

Lone newcomerAlbia is the only team making its first State Duals appearance, holding the No. 3-seed and facing No. 6 Independence (25-4) in a Class 2A quarterfinal. The Blue Demons (33-3) have wrestled more duals and own the most wins of all 24 State Duals programs.