Five Seasons Duals loaded with talent

CEDAR RAPIDS – Some of the top wrestling programs and individuals in the state will take the mat in Cedar Rapids this weekend.Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Cedar Rapids Washington will host the 22nd annual Five Seasons Duals on Saturday. The bracketed dual tournament is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. with the finals set for approximately 4 p.m. The championship dual will be held at Washington.“It's good for wrestling,” Cedar Rapids Prairie Coach Blake Williams said. “It's good for the Cedar Rapids area to attract a lot of good teams. That's for sure.”The 16-team field includes Alburnett and Bettendorf, ranked first in Class 1A and 3A, respectively, by The Predicament. The Pirates swept both 1A state team titles last season.Seven ranked Iowa teams will participate, including fourth-ranked Linn-Mar, No. 5 Cedar Rapids Prairie, sixth-ranked Mason City and No. 8 Iowa City West in 3A. Defending traditional state champion and state duals runner-up West Delaware, ranked fifth in 2A, will compete.Kaukauna High School, which was ranked No. 1 of Wisconsin's Division 1 in the preseason, will make its first appearance in the tournament.The tournament features more than 50 total ranked wrestlers, including seven at 113 and five at 145. Seventeen wrestlers are ranked in the top-two of their respective weights in all three classes, including No. 1 competitors.“It has always been a fun little meet,” Prairie Coach Blake Williams said. “You know you're going to get four meets and they're going to be highly-competitive.”Bettendorf is the top-seed, while Prairie is seeded second. The Bulldogs won in 2011 with West Delaware winning the event a year ago. The rest of the field includes Charles City, Iowa City High, Marion, Urbandale, Waterloo East and West Delaware's junior varsity squad.

Wrestling with IowaPlans are in the works for a state-wide theatre tour Jan. 5-12, promotion the documentary film, “Wrestling with Iowa,” according to director Tim Jackson. He said the stops are yet to be determined Tuesday while visiting the University of Iowa wrestling practice room.Jackson said DVD sales will follow the tour, and that he expects to be at the Iowa High School Athletic Association state wrestling tournament Feb. 19-22 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.Jackson, an accomplished professional sports photographer, shot the movie as a final thesis to earn his Master's Degree in Film Production from the Ohio University School of Film. The final 1 hour, 25 minute film debuted earlier this month at the Athena Cinema in Athens, Ohio, concluding about two years of work. Jackson said nearly 100 people attended the movie premiere.The movie follows the final season of four-time state champions Jake Marlin, of Creston-OM, and Denver-Tripoli's Brandon Sorenson, who became the 22nd and 23rd four-timers in state history. Interviews with previous four-time state champions, wrestling personalities from the state and various videos can be viewed at www.wrestlingwithiowa.com.

Spartans crack rankingsThe Solon Spartans cracked the Class 2A rankings by The Predicament to start this season.Solon has four wrestlers ranked in the top-10 and is ninth overall. The Spartans are the second-highest Wamac team listed, sitting behind fifth-ranked West Delaware and one spot ahead of Independence.Two-time state medalist and top-ranked 220-pounder Lance Evans leads the way. Heavyweight Logan Linderbaum is fourth, Danny Whitmore is seventh at 182 and Louis Gnida (120) is 10th.