West wins Battle of Waterloo

WATERLOO - The saying this time of year is it's better to give than to receive.

Iowa City West did both giving a loss to top-ranked Waverly-Shell Rock and receiving a tournament title.

The Class 3A third-ranked Trojans avenged last weekend's loss, beating the Go-Hawks, 33-30, to win the Battle of Waterloo Dual tournament at Young Arena, capping the 32-team, two-day event.

“We're looking at the best teams in the state,” West Coach Mark Reiland said. “Obviously, it was nice to come out on top.”

West won seven matches, receiving falls from Elijah Sullivan (140), Justin Koethe (160), A.J. Bailey (215) and Jack Hathaway (125). Hathaway's fall in 1:10 over Joe Hicks sealed the victory. Last week, Hathaway lost a close bout with top-ranked Tanner Werner that proved to be the difference in the loss. Securing the win didn't feel the same, since Werner did not wrestle due to injury.

“I'm happy about it I guess,” said Hathaway, upset that he didn't get to wrestle any of the highly ranked kids he expected to face. “It's not the same satisfaction that I'd get winning that match.”

Eric Devos scored a 3-1 win over Kegan Wakefield at 119, pulling the Go-Hawks within 24-21, which was the closest they were since Cody Caldwell's 6-1 win over Britt Thompson at 152 made it 9-6, and Seth Ebling's fall to end the meet made it 33-30.

West had a fire to reverse last weekend's Five Seasons Duals results where they placed behind No. 2 Bettendorf and Waverly-Shell Rock.

“We wanted to turn around what happened,” said Reiland, whose team also beat Denver-Tripoli, 38-26. “We just need to go out and wrestle and compete the way we're capable.

“We let some things get away the last time we wrestled (W-SR). We found a way to get through it this time.”

West tamed the Bulldogs, 42-20, building a 27-5 lead. Elijah Sullivan (140) and 189-pounder Mickey Pelfrey highlighted the strong start. Sullivan's win came in a stretch of six straight wins to open the dual, and Pelfrey added a seventh in the first eight bouts.

Sullivan, ranked No. 2, exchanged escapes with state champion and top-ranked Bo Schlosser in regulation and overtime before riding Schlosser the final 30-second tiebreaker for the win.

Schlosser chose down the final period, and seemed to have the advantage after escaping easily in the second period. Sullivan gutted it out for a win.

“At first, I was a little scared,” said Sullivan, who was a state runner-up last year for Council Bluffs Lewis Central. “I did what I had to do. It paid off.

“Right when I stopped his first move and went to a crab-ride really put me in a good position to ride him out.”

Pelfrey, ranked sixth, upended No. 3 Nate Shaw, 10-7, scoring a reversal with nine seconds to go and adding two nearfall points as time elapsed.

The win proves Pelfrey's hard work has placed him among the state's best, but he can make more progress.

“I still have work to do. I let him score seven points,” Pelfrey said. “It's always good to come out with a win like that.”

West earned a spot in the championship bracket, going 3-0 Friday. The Trojans only lost six matches the entire day, trouncing Vinton-Shellsburg (67-3), Nashua-Plainfield (59-21) and New Hampton (68-6).

West Delaware was second in Bracket 3, losing to champion North Scott, 30-26, in the final dual of the evening. The Hawks downed Indianola (32-24) and Don Bosco (34-29) after going 2-1 the opening day.

Linn-Mar finished Saturday with a 1-2 record, and bracket. The Lions beat New Hampton, 34-22, losing to West Des Moines Valley (35-24) and Mason City (44-9).

The Lions qualified for Bracket 2, placing runner-up to 3A second-ranked Bettendorf in bracket competition the first day. Linn-Mar handled Crestwood before dropping 10th-ranked Indianola, 37-28. It was the Lions' second win over a ranked dual team this season.

Day 2 was little better for Union Community (11-3). After going 1-2 the first day, the Knights won Bracket 6, beating East Buchanan (45-32), Crestwood (44-29) and Louisa-Muscatine (45-33).

Waukon (4-7) defeated Vinton-Shellsburg (51-18), Waterloo Columbus (45-33) and Waterloo East (72-12) to win Bracket 8.

Standings - 1. Iowa City West 3-0, 2. Waverly-Shell Rock 2-1, 3. Denver-Tripoli 1-2, 4. Bettendorf 0-3

Iowa City west 38, Denver-Tripoli 26

Waverly-Shell Rock 40, Bettendorf 21

Iowa City west 42, Bettendorf 20

Waverly-Shell Rock 43, Denver-Tripoli 19

Iowa City West 33, Waverly-Shell Rock 30

Denver-Tripoli 35, Bettendorf 32

Standings - 1. Mason City 3-0, 2. West Des Moines Valley 2-1, 3. Linn-Mar 1-2, 4. New Hampton 0-3

Mason City 37, New Hampton 21

West Des Moines Valley 35, Linn-Mar 24

Linn-Mar 34, New Hampton 22

Mason City 38, West Des Moines Valley 27

West Des Moines Valley 47, New Hampton 13

Mason City 44, Linn-Mar 9

Standings - 1. North Scott 3-0, 2. West Delaware 2-1, 3. Don Bosco 1-2, 4. Indianola 0-3

North Scott 40, Don Bosco 16

West Delaware 32, Indianola 24

North Scott 37, Indianola 21

West Delaware 34, Don Bosco 29

North Scott 30, West Delaware 26

Don Bosco 35, Indianola 30

Standings - 1. Nashua-Plainfield 3-0, 2. Osage 2-1, 3. Western Dubuque 1-2, 4. Independence 0-3

Nashua-Plainfield 39, Independence 35

Osage 36, Western Dubuque 34

Nashua-Plainfield 37, Western Dubuque 33

Independence 33, Osage 32

Nashua-Plainfield 55, Osage 21

Western Dubuque 45, Independence 22

Standings - 1. Charles City 3-0, 2. Cedar Falls 2-1, 3. Iowa City High 1-2, 4. Waterloo West 0-3

Cedar Falls 35, Iowa City High 32

Charles City 62, Waterloo West 11

Charles City 41, Cedar Falls 28

City High 46, Waterloo West 27

Cedar Falls 40, Waterloo West 24

Charles City 49, Iowa City High 21

Standings - 1. Union Community 3-0, 2. East Buchanan 1-2, 3. Crestwood 1-2, 4. Louisa-Muscatine 1-2

Union 45, East Buchanan 32

Louisa-Muscatine 42, Crestwood 29

Union 44, Crestwood 29

East Buchanan 48, Louisa-Muscatine 30

Union 45, Louisa-Muscatine 33

Crestwood 48, East Buchanan 48-33

Standings - 1. OA-BCIG 3-0, 2. Marshalltown 2-1, 3. Hudson 1-2, 4. ADM 1-2

Marshalltown 36, Hudson 34

OA-BCIG 41, ADM 32

Marshalltown 48, ADM 27

OA-BCIG 38, Hudson 30

OA-BCIG 48, Marshalltown 24

Hudson 38, ADM 37

Standings - 1. Waukon 3-0, 2. Waterloo Columbus 2-1, 3. Vinton-Shellsburg 1-2, 4. Waterloo East 0-3

Waukon 51, Vinton-Shellsburg 18

Waterloo Columbus 52, Waterloo East 9

Vinton-Shellsburg 66, Waterloo East 11

Waukon 45, Waterloo Columbus 33

Waterloo Columbus 39, Vinton-Shellsburg 34

Waukon 72, Waterloo East 12