Xavier wrestler Josh Gerke makes school history

CEDAR RAPIDS - No Xavier wrestler has ever won the Mississippi Valley Conference tournament twice in their career at Xavier.

This was true until senior Josh Gerke had something to say about it.

The 145-pound wrestler put forth some of his best work on his way to accomplishing this daunting goal.

On Jan. 28, Gerke pinned three straight opponents to become Xavier's first two-time MVC tournament champion. After receiving a first-round bye, Gerke pinned each of his next two opponents in under a minute. In the championship, Gerke pinned Chase St. John of Prairie to win the 145-pound title.

'Accomplishing this means a lot to me,” Gerke said. 'We've only had one two-time state champion, Mike Shedek, awhile back, and even he was only a one-time MVC champion.”

Although Gerke won the MVC tournament last year, winning it this year was much more meaningful. Gerke doesn't take this extraordinary moment in Xavier history for granted.

'Winning the second time meant a lot more to me,” Gerke said. 'It was a really cool moment getting to share that with my coaches, who have invested so much time in me over the past four years.”

Saints Coach Ryan Chambers recognized the significance of this accomplishment, but was not too astonished it was Gerke who attained it.

'Being the first MVC champion is very special,” Chambers said. 'Winning every tournament he enters is his goal. It didn't surprise me because he works hard every day and gets what he earns.”

The Xavier team placed fifth out of 14 teams at the MVC tournament in Waterloo. Junior Keegan Schultschik (120), sophomore Patrick Chambers (126) and senior Tommy Pudil (285) all finished third in their respective weight classes. The Saints also had four other wrestlers finish in the top 10 in their weight class - Erik Rodriguez (195) finished fifth, Drury Clayton (138) and Garrett Ries (152) finished seventh, and Alex Francois (220) placed eighth.

However, winning two MVC tournaments was not enough for Gerke. In dual meets against Waterloo East and Waterloo West, he reached another personal record by obtaining 150 career wins.

Gerke finished second at districts, advancing to the state tournament. He opens Thursday against Grant Stotts of West Des Moines Valley.