Iowa City High’s Kael Kurtz avenges loss, builds confidence in victory against ranked opponent

MARION — Iowa City High’s Kael Kurtz and Linn-Mar’s Brayden Parke have developed an entertaining rivalry.

The pair have faced off five times since the start of last season with each decided by three points or less and a possibility for a few more meetings this year.

Their latest meeting highlighted the top-10 dual between the Lions and Little Hawks. Kurtz avenged a loss to Parke from earlier in the season and top-ranked teammate Gabe Arnold topped No. 2 Tate Naaktgeboren in the two marquee matchups, but Class 3A fourth-ranked Linn-Mar rolled to a 49-21 victory over No. 9 City High in a Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division dual Thursday at Linn-Mar.

No. 4 Kurtz claimed a 6-3 decision over No. 3 Parke at 132 pounds.

“It gave me a lot of confidence,” Kurtz said. “I know I can out-work better opponents and finish my shots against them.”

Parke won two of three matches last season, winning the third-place match at the 2022 state tournament. He also posted a 5-2 decision for third at the Dan Gable Donnybrook in December. Kurtz made improvements from the previous bout.

“I think better preparation,” Kurtz said. “I felt way better. I felt like I could breathe better.

“Just understanding what I need to work on. That first match I got to a lot of shots but didn’t finish any of them. This match I was able to finish them.”

Kurtz surrendered the opening takedown and trailed 2-0 after the first. The match flipped in his favor thanks to a four-point move in the second. Kurtz cinched up a cradle from the neutral position, notching a takedown and rolling Parke to his back for a quick two-point nearfall before time expired. A two-point deficit turned into a two-point advantage entering the final period.

“I was coming up and noticed his head was down,” said Kurtz, a two-time state medalist. “I’ve worked on it in practice a lot. My freshman year I hit that in a match against another good guy. It’s something that has worked for me. I have really long arms and the head was there. I knew if I slipped out I’d still get the two (points), so I went for it.”

An escape pulled Parke within one in the third, but Kurtz secured another takedown in the final minute to seal the deal.

“Once he started wrestling the way he needs to, wants to and how we want him to, he started winning that match,” City High Coach Cory Connell said. “I thought he did pretty well most of that match.”

Progress was made from last month and Kurtz executed the game plan. Connell said there is still room to improve.

“Parke is a great kid, a great wrestler,” Connell said. “We have to keep getting better. Kael works so hard. He works his tail off.”

Arnold and Naaktgeboren battled for the second time in a little more than a month. Arnold, a two-time national prep champion at Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania before transferring to City High, recorded an 8-3 decision in the semifinals of the Donnybrook.

Arnold, an Iowa signee, earned a 3-1 decision over Naaktgeboren, a two-time state champion and three-time finalist and Iowa State signee. It wasn’t necessarily the victory but the way he did it, coming into Naaktgeboren’s home gym and controlling the match. The two could cross paths at the MVC meet and in the postseason.

“Looking at that match, there are things I need to work on, because I still want to widen the gap,” Arnold said. “It’s back to the drawing board. He’s going to be ready. I’m going to be ready-ready.”

Arnold notched the only takedown of the match in the final seconds of the first period. It proved to be the decisive score with both exchanging escapes for the only other points.

“Getting those points at the end of periods is huge,” Arnold said. “It completely changes the landscape of a match.

“In that position, it was about knowing how much time I had left and capitalizing on it. I sat there with that hook. I was like, ‘Alright, I feel it. I’m going for it.’ I got to it. Got the takedown. Stayed patient with the finish. Tate is a super scrambling guy and I knew that coming in.”

The rest of the dual was mostly Linn-Mar. The Lions won nine of 14 weights, including seven pins and a major decision. Malik DeBow (113), Nate Fish at 120, 138-pounder Kane Naaktgeboren, Grant Boddicker (152), Grant Kress (160) and Gavin Howk-Ervin all won by fall for Linn-Mar, which improved to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in the MVC.

Kendall Kurtz (106) and second-ranked 126-pounder Cale Seaton had second-period pins for the Little Hawks (7-4, 3-2).

AT LINN-MAR

Linn-Mar 49, Iowa City High 21

(Individual takedowns in parentheses)

Hwt – Griffin Schultz (LM) pinned Trey Dervrich, 4:45 (2,0); 106 pounds – Kendall Kurtz (ICH) pinned Aiden Kiesey, 2:48 (2,0); 113 – Malik DeBow (LM) pinned Christopher Davis, 1:26 (1,0); 120 – Nate Fish (LM) pinned Edgar Mhoon Lopez, 2:57 (2,0); 126 – Cale Seaton (ICH) pinned Keaton Williams, 3:08 (7,0); 132 – Kael Kurtz (ICH) dec. Brayden Parke, 6-3 (2,1); 138 – Kane Naaktgeboren (LM) pinned Mohamed Mudawi, :26 (1,0); 145 – Jake Mitchell (ICH) dec. Austin Vandersee, 4-0 (2,0); 152 – Grant Boddicker (LM) pinned Zach Fern, 1:00 (1,0); 160 – Grant Kress (LM) pinned Nick Marker, 1:20 (1,0); 170 – Landen Bushman (LM) dec. Drew Nye, 5-3 (2,1); 182 – Gabe Arnold (ICH) dec. Tate Naaktgeboren, 3-1 (1,0); 195 – James Bouska (LM) major dec. Raphael Etuma, 13-2 (3,0); 220 – Gavin Howk-Ervin (LM) pinned Shaaban Naim, 1:03 (1,0)

MEET STATISTICS

Takedowns – Linn-Mar 15, City High 15. Reversals – Linn-Mar 1, City High 1. Escapes – Linn-Mar 8, City High 3. Nearfall points – Linn-Mar 13, City High 5. Penalty points (awarded) – Linn-Mar 3, City High 1. Total match points – Linn-Mar 56, City High 41.