Linn-Mar content but not satisfied with 10 state wrestling qualifiers

CEDAR RAPIDS — Linn-Mar Coach Doug Streicher might need a fresh pair of Asics before next week.

Streicher and his staff will be busy, getting their steps in and chasing the Lions around Wells Fargo Arena. They will have quite a few bodies to account for at the state wrestling tournament.

Fifth-ranked Linn-Mar earned 10 state berths and crowned six champions at a Class 3A wrestling district Saturday at Cedar Rapids Jefferson. The Lions also claimed the team title with 262.5 points, topping runner-up Iowa City West by 50.5.

“We can be content for tonight, but we’re not satisfied,” Streicher said. “We still have work to do for those 10.”

The Lions rolled Saturday, especially in the lower weights. They nabbed one of the two top spots through each of the first seven weight classes, including four champions during that stretch.

Malik DeBow (106) started the finals round off strong with a 7-1 decision over Clear Creek Amana’s Cale Nash, tallying three takedowns. Keaton Williams (120), fourth-ranked 126-pounder Brayden Parke and No. 3 Kane Naaktgeboren at 132 produced three straight titles for Linn-Mar.

Parke rolled to a 16-0 technical fall over Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s No. 8 Jonah Hallam in the finals. Naaktgeboren pinned his way through the bracket for the fourth straight tournament. He stuck Cedar Rapids Washington’s No. 11 Nick Foreman in 1:41 to cap the day.

Naaktgeboren improved to 35-1 and notched his 32nd pin, setting a new single-season record, breaking the old mark of 30 shared by Jay Borschel (2004), Matt McDonough (2008) and Alijah Jeffery (2013).

“It’s pretty cool to have it because it’s elite company,” Naaktgeboren said. “It is a little steppingstone to where I want to be at. The ultimate goal is winning on Saturday night with all my other teammates.”

Defending state champion and top-ranked Tate Naaktgeboren is right on his brother’s heels. He also had three first-period falls, pinning West’s Justin Avila in 57 seconds for the championship. Two-time state medalist Luke Gaffney, raked No. 4 at heavyweight, also won a title.

“Our goal is to win it,” said Linn-Mar sixth-ranked 145-pounder Grant Kress said. “Our teammates work hard in practice and they have fun.

“We’re winning close matches and the ones that matter. It’s fun to watch us.”

The Trojans stayed close in the number of champs and qualifiers. West boasted five champions and will send eight wrestlers to state.

”We wrestled pretty well,” West Coach Nate Moore said. “I think there is a lot for us to build on and continue to get better before the state tournament.”

Braden Doyle (113), Grant O’Dell (138), Robert Avila Jr. (145), 152-pounder Hunter Garvin and Kael Scranton at 160 all placed first.

Avila, a University of Virginia signee, beat Kress by 14-5 major decision in the final. He will get a shot to become one of the state’s four-time state champions.

Garvin, who has signed to wrestler for Stanford, dominated his bracket, pinning Western Dubuque’s Trayton Kurimski for his third of the day. The Trojans’ top-ranked senior will attempt to earn his third state crown and become a four-time finalist.

O’Dell pinned his way through as well, decking Linn-Mar’s Austin Vandersee in 2:43 of the finals. He will look to win his fourth state medal, placing sixth the last two seasons and eighth as a freshman.

“Basically, every year he’s had some sort of adversity,” Moore said. “His freshman year he was an extremely small 106-pounder. Sophomore and junior year he was dinged up. He’s kind of dinged up again, but he’s one of those kids that comes to practice every day and puts his head down.

“He works really hard. He’s one of the hardest working guys in the room.”

Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s Colin Flannagan grabbed a return trip to state and he did it in impressive fashion. The Cougars’ 11th-ranked 195-pounder pinned Western Dubuque’s Evan Surface in 2:55 to win it. Flannagan gave a celebratory leap after his win and third meeting against Surface.

“He’s a great wrestler,” Flannagan said. “I knew it was going to be a tough one. Getting that pin was huge.”

The match was scoreless in the second. Flannagan was in the top position and countered a standup with a strong mat return to Surface’s back.

“He didn’t get far enough away, so I could get a leg,” said Flannagan, who was one of four Kennedy qualifiers. “I picked him up, got him in a leg split and the half-(nelson) was right there and I took it.”

Western Dubuque received titles from second-ranked Greyson Gardner (182) and 220-pounder Dakota Hoffman. Four Bobcats advanced.