Doesn’t Matter, Get Better: Cedar Rapids Prairie boys’ wrestling makes strides from start to the season

CEDAR RAPIDS – The “Ball Bus” is revving its engine and ready to hit the road.

Cedar Rapids Prairie boys’ wrestlers have already boarded the proverbial transport of positive thinking driven by Hawks Coach Derick Ball.

“We’re loading and accepting passengers,” Ball said. “Christmas break is when kids make a decision. They’re either on the bus or you’re left in the dust. Make a decision to hop on and go the direction this team’s heading and do what it takes to be on the bus. That’s the big picture.”

Prairie has already made big improvements from the opening week of the season and is coming off a fifth-place finish at the Battle of Waterloo Saturday at Young Arena. The Hawks are 9-3 overall and have moved to Class 3A No. 9 in the Iowa High School Athletic Association dual rankings.

“We got some people healthy,” Ball said. “We’re getting our weights ironed out. Things are starting to fall into place.

“We’re getting closer to be the team I envisioned. There’s still more to come.”

The Hawks were 5-1 at the B.O.W. They placed second in bracket competition, finishing behind eventual tournament champion Indianola. Prairie swept the second pool, beating power programs Waverly-Shell Rock (36-33) and Don Bosco (38-30). The Hawks avenged its early loss to 1A No. 2 Alburnett (32-22).

Saturday’s performance was more what Ball had hoped for this season, despite the graduation of key wrestlers. Prairie returned experience and added some talent to the lineup.

“We knew what we had to replace,” Ball said. “In the back of my mind, I knew we had the potential to be a better dual team this year. With the offseason work and seven state qualifiers coming back, I had high expectations. We’re definitely rounding out to what I thought we could be.”

The B.O.W. was a big springboard into the holiday break. Ball handed out goal sheets Tuesday, asking wrestlers to define what they will do to be successful on the mat in each position.

“You want to sharpen your conditioning and technique, but our top priority is for these guys to find their identity as wrestlers,” Ball said. “Coming out of break this is who I am. Then, every single time they compete those are the things they are going to do to win matches.”

Prairie subscribes to a couple philosophies. The acronym DMGB stands for Doesn’t Matter, Get Better. The Hawks also follow the “No BCD (blaming, complaining or defensiveness) approach to improvement.

Prairie has six ranked wrestlers, including No. 2 Dylan Munson at 106 and ninth-ranked duo of Tyler Lee (138) and Wyatt Vlasek (157). Collin Velky is 10th at 190, Rigley Koch is 11th at 165 and 144-pounder Alex Bumba is 12th.

Munson and Lee both placed seventh at last year’s state meet. Lee has assumed a leader by example role, while Vlasek, who beat two ranked wrestlers Saturday, is more of a vocal leader.

“We’ve had a lot of people step up,” Ball said. “It’s been nice.”

UNION COMMUNITY CLIMBS

Union Community has ascended to second in the latest IAWrestle 2A tournament team rankings. The Knights have five ranked wrestlers, including top-ranked 113-pounder Brayden Bohnsack and Jace Hedeman at 126.

Hedeman is a two-time state titlist with titles at 106 and 113 the last two seasons. He is 22-0 this season with 15 pins, two technical falls, one major decision and two forfeits. Hedeman is 116-0 for his career.

Union’s Caleb Olson is second at 150. Keegan Ellsworth (144) is No.4 and Coy Mehlert (106) ranks seventh. Olson is two-time state medalist, finishing seventh last year and fifth in 2022.

JESUP WINS GUILFORD TOURNAMENT

Jesup claimed the team title at Starmont’s Doug Guilford Tournament on Saturday. The J-Hawks scored 222 points, beating runner-up South Winneshiek by 29.5.

Twelve J-Hawks placed fifth or better. Ayden Bergman (106), Ethan Krall (132), Treven Delagardelle (138) and 175-pounder Kile Bucknell all won titles. Dawson Bell (144) and Skyler Blad at 215 were second.

Jesup is ranked sixth in the IHSAA 1A dual rankings.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com