Bulldogs bite Trojans for Five Seasons Duals title

CEDAR RAPIDS - Bettendorf wrestlers walked the walk to back the talk.

The belief of being the best team in the state hasn't been lacking. The win to prove it had, but that has changed.

Top-ranked Bettendorf won eight of 14 matches and defeated defending Class 3A state duals champion and No. 2 Iowa City West, 34-21, in the finals of the Five Seasons Duals tournament Saturday at Cedar Rapids Washington.

“When you go against one of the top teams, we haven't beat them,” Bettendorf head coach Dan Knight said. “To say, ‘Hey, we're going to get them, we're going to get them' is one thing but when you get it I think it's a big confidence booster for them. Now, it's not coming from me telling them. They know they can.”

They knew from the start, leading for good Brian Levsen's pin at 182 put the Bulldogs ahead, 10-6, after three matches.

Nate Shaw (220) and Jacob Schwarm (106) added pins, while Colby Vance (160) had a major decision for Bettendorf.

The Bulldogs rolled to the championship matches with wins over Waterloo East, Urbandale and Cedar Rapids Prairie, but the championship win assured them of their potential.

“I think they wrestled very well,” Knight said. “This is something they haven't won before. It's a good measuring stick for the kids.”

Bettendorf (7-0) traded wins with West and held a tight 25-21 advantage with three weights to go.

The Bulldogs' second-ranked Connor Ryan scored the only takedown and blanked Kegan Wakefield, 4-0, in a battle of state runners-up at 138.

Senior Matt Miller, who could be a reserve when Drake Chase returns to the Bulldog lineup earned a 7-4 decision over Sam Chalkley to seal the win with one match remaining.

“Matt Miller, a senior, did an outstanding job coming in that second to last match. That was big,” Knight said. “That was exciting for him.”

West received a pin from the start by Justin Koethe at 160. Jack Hathaway and Dakota Bauer had back-to-back wins, pulling the Trojans (6-1) within four before Bettendorf swept the last three.

“Some of the guys didn't have it today for one reason or another,” West Coach Mark Reiland said. “That's the way it goes sometimes.”

Hathaway, who shut out Bettendorf's No. 8 ranked Jacob Woodard, 7-0, was one of the Trojans that did, winning his own tournament of champions.

Hathaway was one of three state champs at 126, joining Alburnett's two-time Class 1A state champion Tyler Shulista and Waverly-Shell Rock's state titlist Eric DeVos.

Hathaway beat Shulista, 7-5, in West's 49-18 quarterfinal win over the Pirates.

In the Trojans' 37-24 semifinal win over No. 7 Waverly-Shell Rock, Hathaway posted a 5-2 win over DeVos. He broke open a 2-2 tie in the third, turning DeVos to his back and holding them there for most of the final period, collecting the decisive three nearfall points.

Hathaway expected a wider gap between the competition. He said he lacked awareness part of the match against Shulista and his lackluster performance on his feet was saved by his work on top against DeVos.

“I pulled out two close matches, but it shouldn't have been how they were,” Hathaway said. “It means I'm on track where I should be. I feel like I'm not there yet, but I'm going to get there.”

Reiland said Hathaway started slow in each of those two matches, giving up the first takedown, but displayed resilience in battling back for wins.

“I thought he had a good day,” said Reiland, admitting Hathaway has room to improve. “You don't get to see that type of competition all the time. That's good for him to see that.”

After the loss to West, the Go-Hawks managed third, edging Prairie, 31-28, for third place. Go-Hawks 152-pounder Izzak Miller scored a takedown 15 seconds into overtime to top Prairie's Skylar St. John, 10-8, in the final match to break the 28-28 tie. Waverly-Shell Rock (8-1) scored bonus points in four matches to win another dual decided in the final match, beating Class 2A second-ranked West Delaware, 29-28, in the quarterfinals.

Prairie, ranked sixth, was the top local team, placing fourth. The Hawks (4-2) received falls from Peyton Wagner (152), Cameron Rathje (160) and 126-pounder Trey Blaha, and Austin Gould (182) and Chris Walters (120) added key major-decision wins in a 32-28 quarterfinal win over No. 5 Linn-Mar, which placed sixth.

Prairie's biggest win came from freshman Josh Wenger, who beat Linn-Mar's state medalist and second-ranked Alijah Jeffery, 7-6. He also pinned Des Moines Roosevelt's sixth-ranked Jake Christensen on Saturday.

“That will only help his confidence by beating two ranked tough kids,” Prairie Coach Blake Williams said. “I think that will help him know he's right there with all those guys (and) he can beat those guys.”

Five Seasons Results

Individual match results from the C.R. Washington site, including championship and third-place duals.

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Individual match results from the C.R. Kennedy site.

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