West’s Milani unbeaten after late start

CEDAR RAPIDS - Injury delayed the start of John Milani's prep wrestling season.

Even though, the season is past its midway point, the Iowa City West senior is working toward his midseason form.

He looked impressive with a major decision and a fall as the Class 3A ninth-ranked Trojans swept Dubuque Wahlert and host Cedar Rapids Kennedy last night in a Mississippi Valley Conference double dual. West opened with a 37-27 win over Wahlert and capped the evening with a 48-19 win against the Cougars.

Milani, ranked fourth at 182 pounds, was explosive at times, wrestling at 170. He posted a 10-1 win over Wahlert's Myles Wernimont. He kicked off the win against Kennedy with a pin in 3:36 against Garrett Kubovec.

Not bad considering he didn't practice until after the holiday break, recovering from surgery to repair a torn meniscus suffered during football.

'I definitely have a little rust,” said Milani, noting live matches will help his stamina. 'I need to work on my angles. I still have a lot of work to do.”

Iowa City West Coach Mark Reiland said his involvement in other sports allowed him to be in decent shape but the unbeaten Milani is far from peaking.

'He's still in the process of getting his lungs,” Reiland said. 'His match shape is hurting.”

Milani's athleticism can make up for the time missed on the mat, developing technique. He has been successful despite missing time as a freshman to a wrist injury and not wrestling a lot as a youth.

'He's good on his feet,” Reiland said. 'He's got good natural skill for someone who doesn't concentrate on it.”

Milani placed fifth at last year's state meet. He won't settle for matching what he achieved as a junior, late start or not.

'I definitely want to better than last year,” Milani said. 'The goal is always to be on top.”

West (16-7, 4-2 MVC Valley) won 18 of 28 total matches. They wrestled tougher toward the end of the night, according to Reiland.

'It was a good test tonight,” Reiland said. 'We never seem to be where we want.”

Kennedy (6-4, 1-1) defeated Wahlert, which is ranked 14th in 2A by the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association. The Cougars won six matches, including pins from Dalles Jacobus (220), heavyweight Matt Murphy, Cam Shaver (106), fifth-ranked Ben Sarasin (138) and No. 4 Logen Rodriguez at 145.

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