Witte returns to state finals after year hiatus

DES MOINES - Welcome back, Zach Witte.After a season away from the state wrestling tournament, the Cedar Rapids Prairie junior secured his return to the state finals. Just like he did when he was a state finalist as a freshman.Witte scored a takedown and nearfall points in the final seconds to beat Sioux City North's defending state champ and top-ranked Chad Ryan, 5-1, in the 145-pound semifinals of the Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 3A state wrestling tournament Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines."I'm so glad I finally made it," Witte said. "This was my goal all year round. I still have one more step to where I want to be."Witte (37-0) will hang out with friends and enjoy the feat until tomorrow morning before focusing on his championship match against Urbandale's second-ranked Gabe Moreno (40-1). Prairie Coach Blake Williams witnessed how Witte dedicated himself to overcome last year's disappointment of not qualifying, placing third at district behind last year's eventual state champion and runner-up."He knows he wanted to get back to where he was two years ago and now go out and win this thing," Williams said. "He's happy, but he's not going to be satisfied."Witte and Ryan produced an exciting, action-filled match, despite only managing to exchange escapes for a 1-1 score after regulation. Conditioning paid off for Witte in the sudden victory period. He had a little more gas in the tank when Witte countered Ryan's takedown attempt, putting Ryan on his back."It takes so much energyto get through a match like that," Witte said. "When it came to overtime, I was tired but I was still like I had enough in me to win."Witte looked up at the scoreboard as the final seconds clicked off. He showed his excitement briefly on the mat, celebrating his finals return."It was happiness," Witte said. "It's also just a relief to finally get part of my goal. My goal isn't completely finished but to be there for the most part feels wonderful."Cedar Rapids Jefferson's Conner Herman dropped about 40 pounds from heavyweight, where he placed sixth at state last year, to 215 to improve his chances for a title. He has seen the plan move within a step of coming to fruition. Herman scored a pair of takedowns to drop Urbandale's top-ranked Jesse South, 5-2."It hasn't paid off yet," Herman said about the cut. "It doesn't mean nothing to be in the finals. It means everything to win the finals."Herman opened score with a takedown and escape in the second and then sealed the win with a takedown in the final seconds. His ability to listen helped in the semifinals."We gave him some tips during the match and he was right on them," Jefferson Coach Dick Briggs said. "He's very coachable. He's learned a ton this year."Herman (37-2) said he was devastated by a loss in the Mississippi Valley Conference finals to Linn-Mar's A.J. Garcia. He trained harder than ever to reach the finals. Herman expected to be here, even if others didn't."According to the rankings I wasn't supposed to beat him," fifth-ranked Herman said. "I wasn't supposed to be in the semifinals."I am excited because I'm where I'm supposed to be."Iowa City West's semifinal round started strong but ended with disappointment. Phillip Laux (42-2) started with a 14-3 major decision over Ankeny's Austin Anderson at 103. Kegan Wakefield followed with a pin at 119, decking Spencer's John Christopherson in 52 seconds at 119."With the jitters here and the atmosphere, it was so nice to go out there and get a pin real quick," said Wakefield (39-5). "It was real awesome."It is a much better than last year when a shoulder injury hindered him from making the state tournament after being one of the state's highly ranked 103-pounder. He is healthy and in the finals against Southeast Polk's two-time state champion and top-ranked Cory Clark (44-0)."I'm so happy," said Wakefield, who was still jumping up and down in a tunnel of the arena floor. "I'm more grateful for the opportunity now. I take this tournament so serious, because I didn't enjoy it last year. Now that I'm finally here I'm making my mark."West teammate Jack Hathaway (49-3) blanked West Des Moines Valley's Kyle Larson, 7-0, to reach the 125-pound championship match. Hathaway has lost in the semifinals the last two years."Earlier today I was thinking third time's a charm," said Hathway, a junior who has placed twice the last two years. "I got to get it this time."Dakota Bauer then made it four straight wins for West, beating Cedar Rapids Xavier's Braxton Chicchelly, 9-6, at 130 pounds. Then things turned for the worst for West, which is in third place with 129 points. Bettendorf is first with 142 and two finalists and Waverly-Shell Rock is second with 137 points and three finalists.Top-ranked Elijah Sullivan lost a 4-2 overtime decision to Waverly-Shell Rock's No. 2 Jordan Rinken. That wasn't near as shocking as Justin Koethe's loss. For the second straight year Koethe had his title hopes dashed by disqualification.Koethe was called for an illegal slam and when Sioux City East's Ethan Lara, who suffered a separated shoulder, couldn't continue Lara was declared the winner. West Coach Mark Reiland said he had no thoughts about the call. It certainly is a rare occurence."It don't think he understands how explosive he is and how quick he gets them up in the air," Reiland said. "He explodes pretty quick."It topped off a round where West looked to be in control only to find themselves still chasing two other teams."It's obviously a roller coaster," Reiland said. "It's the state tournament and that's the way it goes sometimes."