Cedar Rapids Kennedy wrestling displays depth, versatility in victory over Iowa City West

IOWA CITY — Many times, a prep wrestling team will rely on one or two athletes for wins and the rest of the lineup is a bit of an unknown.

Through the early portion of the Cedar Rapids Kennedy season, points have arrived all throughout the lineup.

'If you look at the team right now, it depends on the meet which is kind of cool,' Kennedy Coach Dennis Hynek said after the Cougars defeated Iowa City West, 49-24, in a Mississippi Valley Conference dual Thursday night at West High School. 'It is who is going to pick it up tonight for the Cougars and we've had different guys on different nights. I'm really excited dual meet-wise and tournament-wise. We've got 14 guys and at any time, I think we can score some points.'

With a lineup that features just three seniors — Noah Cunningham (145), Will Stecker (160) and Cam Jones (220) — the Cougars displayed their depth and versatility last weekend at the Fort Madison Invitational, where all 14 Cougars placed in the top six or higher at their respective weights.

'We've got a pretty young team, but we've been working pretty hard in the practice room,' said junior Cade Parker, who is ranked fifth by The Predicament and scored a 10-7 decision over seventh-ranked Landon Green. 'We've all been opening up. We're not scared to get after it. I think we've still got a lot of success to come, considering how young we are.'

Kennedy (7-2, 4-0 MVC) posted six pins against West (2-2, 2-2). At 126, Kennedy sophomore Ty Pfiffner needed just 42 seconds to subdue Mark Mueller, while junior Ben Hoeger (132) overmatched Elijah Bruss in 1:43, which gave the Cougars the lead for good at 12-9.

'We work a lot on top in the room,' Hoeger said. 'We always try and push our pace on top as much as on our knees, so we always try to work on that.'

Divion Ocheltree (152) and Jay Oostendorp (170) sandwiched a pair of pins around a Stecker major decision before falls from Jones and returning state-qualifier Josh Vis (285) pushed the Kennedy advantage to 49-20 with one weight to go.

'Our coaches say a lot that we have really good conditioning compared to other teams,' Oostendorp said. 'That's probably the main thing that we preach in the room.'

Prep wrestling

AT IOWA CITY WEST

Cedar Rapids Kennedy 49, Iowa City West 24

113 —

Parker McBride (ICW) dec. Jonah Hallem (CRK), 10-5.

120 —

Hunter Garvin (ICW) pinned Jacob McLeod (CRK), 0:46.

126 —

Ty Pfiffner (CRK) pinned Mark Mueller (ICW), 0:42.

132 —

Ben Hoeger (CRK) pinned Elijah Bruss (ICW), 1:43.

138 —

Dylan Falck (CRK) wins by forfeit.

145 —

Graham Gambrall (ICW) tech. fall Noah Cunningham (CRK), 22-5 (5:33).

152 —

Divion Ocheltree (CRK) pinned Noah Terwilleger (ICW), 3:56.

160 —

Will Stecker (CRK) maj. dec. Mason Applegate (ICW), 10-2.

170 —

Jay Oostendorp (CRK) pinned Joe Dixon (ICW), 2:41.

182 —

Will Hoeft (ICW) pinned Cael Knox (CRK), 1:45.

195 —

Cade Parker (CRK) dec. Landon Green (ICW), 10-7.

220 —

Cam Jones (CRK) pinned Brett Pelfrey (ICW), 0:28.

285 —

Josh Vis (CRK) pinned Brock Pelfrey (ICW), 0:34.

106 —

Grant O`Dell (ICW) maj. dec. Cael Long (CRK), 15-2.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com