Kennedy secures top-5 finish at state wrestling with 5 medalists

DES MOINES – Cedar Rapids Kennedy made a jump through consolation competition and had another strong showing Saturday to secure a top-five finish.

All five Cougar qualifiers earned medals at the Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 3A state wrestling at Wells Fargo Arena.

Senior 126-pounder Nolan Hromidko recorded a pin in his final match, placing third. Ben Sarasin (160) finished fourth, Garrett Kubovec was sixth at 170 and 220-pounder Dalles Jacobus placed seventh.

Kennedy's Logen Rodriguez reached the 152-pound final. The Cougars are tied for fourth with Waverly-Shell Rock, which has two finalists. Both have 72 points.

Cedar Rapids Prairie's Taylor Mehmen will compete in the 195-pound and was one of four Hawks medalists. Conrad Braswell placed fourth at 106. Seniors Sam Uthoff (132) and Marcus England (113) finished fifth and eighth, respectively.

The Hawks were in sixth place before the finals.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson had three medalists. Brenden Baker rebounded from an opening loss to win five straight matches for a third-place finish at 120. Baker was third as a freshman and fourth last year as well.

The J-Hawks' Kyle Briggs ended his prep career with a pin, placing fifth at 152. Senior 113-pounder Joseph Sibomana finished sixth.

Linn-Mar also had three finalists. Shea Hartzler (160) will wrestle for a title. Alex Streicher placed fourth at 138, giving the Mississippi Valley Conference three wrestlers in the top four. Johnny Clymer (145) finished seventh.

Cedar Rapids Xavier had a pair of placewinners. Josh Gerke won his first state medal, getting fifth at 145. Teammate Clint Lembeck advanced to the 138-pound final.

Iowa City West's Nelson Brands will face Lembeck in the 138 final. Brands was joined on the awards stand with Carter Rohweder (7th at 160) and Donovan Doyle (3rd at 195).

Iowa City High's Nick Jarvis was seventh at 152.

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