Prairie’s Wenger passes early test

Cedar Rapids Prairie's Josh Wenger considered it a good start.

He received exactly what he wanted, wrestling strong competitors in close matches.

The Hawks senior claimed the 138-pound title Saturday at the Independence Invitational, winning a bracket that included a two-time state champion, a state finalist and another returning state medalist.

'It was a fun way to start off the season, seeing some tougher kids, especially some kids who aren't in (Class) 3A but have a lot of talent,” said Wenger, who has placed fourth in all three state tournament appearances. 'It was really nice to get up there and have some tough matches to see where I'm at to start off the season.”

Despite his previous accomplishments in the state's largest class, Wenger was seeded fourth, which is much lower than almost all of his regular-season tournaments. He didn't take it personally or use it as motivation. Being on the same side of the bracket as the top seed, Wenger considered it the same path to the finals.

'I didn't really pay much attention to it,” Wenger said. 'There's nothing wrong with it.”

Wenger opened with a fall and defeated Alburnett two-time state champion Hunter Washburn, 9-4, in the semifinal. He dropped Osage state runner-up Brady Jennings, 6-2, for the title.

'It showed me what I have to work on,” Wenger said. 'Wrestling good kids shows you that really well, so I like being able to test myself early. I know what I need to work on before we get into the heart of the season.”

Prairie Coach Blake Williams said Wenger has wrestled a lot in the off-season. He said Wenger has worked on fine-tuning the intricacies of his style and has increased confidence.

'He goes out on the mat knowing he's going to win and that makes a big difference,” Williams said. He thrives on competition. He wants to take on the best and hopefully beat the best. Hopefully it carries over.

'Each one keeps preparing for the end goal.”

The focus is on reaching the finals for the first time and closing his prep career with a state title.

'I'm just going for it all,” Wenger said. 'I'm going to leave it all on the table. It would be nice to be up there on the top of the podium.”

Prairie finished second, making a run at the team title before nationally-ranked Apple Valley (Minn.) pulled away to win by 40 points. The Hawks also received titles from Sam Uthoff (126) and 170-pounder Nick Hogan. Marcus England (106) and Taylor Mehmen at 195 placed second.

'It was fun,” Williams said. 'It was a lot of great competition. Our kids wrestled well. We just have to work a little bit more and try to score at all the weights.”

FIVE SEASONS DUALS

Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Cedar Rapids Washington will host the 23rd Five Seasons Wrestling Dual tournament Saturday, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Competition will be split between both schools.

The field includes five ranked Iowa teams ranked and 41 ranked Iowa preps. Bettendorf and Kaukauna, Wis., are ranked 22nd and 32nd in the nation, respectively.

Class 1A top-ranked Alburnett, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 3A fourth-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie, Iowa City High, 2013 champion Kaukauna, Pleasant Valley and Waterloo East will compete at Kennedy for the first three rounds.

Washington will host 3A No. 2 Bettendorf, Charles City, 3A No. 5 Iowa City West, 3A seventh-ranked Linn-Mar, Urbandale and West Delaware before the schools compete in the final rounds.

The final round is tentatively scheduled for 4 p.m. Kennedy will host the championship, third-place, ninth-place and 11th-place duals. Washington will have finals duals for fifth, seventh, 13th and 15th.

THOMSEN MOVES UP

Union Community's Max Thomsen won a match between nationally ranked wrestlers, topping Bettendorf's Fredy Stroker, 4-1 in ultimate tiebreaker overtime, to win the 145-pound title Saturday at the Keith Young Invitational.

Both were highly ranked nationally at 145. Thomsen moved up from fifth to third and polls by InterMat and Amateur Wrestling News. Thomsen is the highest ranked Iowan in the AWN rankings, but remains a spot below Stroker by InterMat.

Maquoketa Valley's Ryan Parmely is ranked fifth by InterMat and sixth by AWN at 220. Thomsen's teammate, Jacob Holschlag, is ranked 10th at 170 by InterMat.

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