West's Nelson Brands, Xavier's Clint Lembeck will meet again, this time in state title match

DES MOINES — Nelson Brands and Clint Lembeck met three weeks ago, but nothing will compare to this next matchup.

The Iowa City West sophomore and Cedar Rapids Xavier senior were pitted against each other only last month in the Mississippi Valley Conference championship, but are giving the crowd at Wells Fargo Arena a rematch in the Class 3A state title at 138 pounds.

For as much as Brands and Lembeck differ from one another — from age, wrestling style and even how they advanced in their brackets — they've always shared a goal: calling themselves state champions.

'It's been a long time coming,' Lembeck said. 'I've been trying to go for this since I was younger and it's always been a big-time goal. It just feels great.'

No. 4 Lembeck beat No. 2 Jack Gallagher of Bettendorf 3-2 in the first sudden victory of the semifinal round after a 12-5 decision against Alex Streicher of Linn-Mar, but had the same approach in each. He didn't want to deviate from his style, but knows the rematch with Brands will provide a different challenge.

In his first state tournament appearance, No. 3 Brands beat No. 1 Zach Barnes of Southeast Polk 9-3 in the quarterfinals and cruised to a pin in 1:33 in the semifinals.

'I don't know if I thought I'd be here, but it feels pretty good right now,' Brands said.

In that Mississippi Valley Conference final, Brands beat Lembeck 10-7 in an upset but certainly has the full attention of the senior — who is now Xavier's first three-time state medalist — in the title bout.

'I know he's got that one slick outside shot. He loves it and is really good with it,' Lembeck said. 'Basically work on defensive stuff for that because who knows? I wrestled him at MVC and he doesn't like to wrestle on the mat at all so I'll look at some film, do anything I can to tie up those hands and stick to my offense.'

Cedar Rapids Kennedy elevated itself in the team standings to fifth with 54 points largely through the consolation rounds, but put No. 4 Logen Rodriguez in the 152-title match. Rodriguez got a 12-2 major decision against Christian Foote of Pleasant Valley and said after a few years of tough breaks, he is finally starting to feel up to his full potential.

'It feels great,' Rodriguez said. 'My freshman year I tore my labrum, my sophomore year I made it but had a pretty bad draw and last year I broke my hand at districts. Just being here in this environment is just awesome.'

Cedar Rapids Prairie sits just a step behind Kennedy in the team standings at sixth place with 53 points with senior 195-pounder Taylor Mehmen as the lone title contender after winning his semifinal match 9-2. Senior Sam Uthoff will wrestle for third at 132 pounds.

Mehmen said after years of watching the state finals, actually getting to be a part of them is a feeling unlike any other.

'I've been pretty nervous going into the matches but my coaches have told me to calm down, relax and do what you've worked hard for all year,' Mehmen said. 'It's just second-nature so I just need to go out there and wrestle.'

Linn-Mar's Shea Hartzler (160) and Western Dubuque's Max Lyon (182) and Aaron Costello (Hwt.) all advanced to Saturday's championship matches.

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