Cedar Rapids Prairie, Kennedy shine in Class 3A first round

DES MOINES — Cedar Rapids Prairie hasn't tried to look too far into the future, despite the possibilities that are ahead of it.

The Hawks have tried to say in the moment in each step of the postseason, and their showing in the opening round of the state tournament didn't discredit that notion. They've just tried not to make the moment bigger than it already is.

'Every match is the first round (at state),' said senior Sam Uthoff. 'You treat every guy the same. People ask me who I have in the next round. I have a guy in a wrestling singlet, headgear and wrestling shoes. That's who I'm wrestling.'

Cedar Rapids Prairie combined youth with experience to advance five of its eight wrestlers to Friday's Class 3A quarterfinals. The Hawks are tied for third in the team standings with 19.5 points after receiving bonus points from all five wrestlers that advanced.

Uthoff recorded a fall at 132 pounds while seniors Marcus England (113) and Taylor Mehman (195) notched pins of their own. In their first state tournament appearances, freshman Conrad Braswell (106) earned a tech fall and junior Morgan Hood won by major decision.

Prairie coach Kane Thompson saw his five advancing wrestlers be able to initiate the attacks and make their opponents reactionary to every move. Thompson has preached throughout the postseason that the key is to be the one directing the action and now he's seeing it from his veterans, which has trickled down to the less experienced guys.

Now before the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, Thompson is preaching something else: relax.

'I think the experienced guys with Marcus England, Sam Uthoff and Taylor Mehmen, (relaxing) comes naturally,' Thompson said. 'They're going to know, 'Hey, unlace the shoes, relax and shower up. Don't worry about your weight right now.' Having them as leaders, then I don't have to worry about a freshman like Conrad Braswell. He's going to take their lead.'

Cedar Rapids Prairie wasn't the only school to catch fire on the first day, with the metro schools combining to go 17-8 in opening-round matches.

Jefferson advanced Joseph Sibomana (113) and Kyle Briggs (152) while Cedar Rapids Washington got Will Foreman (126) to the quarterfinal. Linn-Mar got Alex Streicher (138) and Shea Hartzler (160) to the next round while Xavier's Clint Lembeck (138) and Josh Gerke (145) also moved on.

Kennedy was the lone metro team to go unbeaten through the first day at 5-0 with bonus points in three matches. Nolan Hromidko (126), Logen Rodriguez (152), Ben Sarasin (160) and Garrett Kubovec all cruised to wins while Dalles Jacobus recorded the only on-paper upset.

No. 8 Jacobus beat No. 6 Callan Tomlin (Oskaloosa) 3-2 at 220 pounds to advance to the quarterfinal. The Cougars enter day two tied for ninth as a team with 14 points.

'The hard work is showing right now,' Jacobus said. 'We bust our butts every day. There's not a question whether Logen is in there working his butt off or whether Ben is in there working his butt off. They both want to be at the top.'

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