Prairie wins thriller over Linn-Mar, 26-24

CEDAR RAPIDS - Overtime finishes. Check.

Last-second victories. Check.

Linn-Mar and Cedar Rapids Prairie needing the final match of the night to determined a winner. Double check.

When Prairie's Austin Gould held off Mark Atwater's final attempts for a winning takedown and seal the victory with one of his own at 182, the Hawks captured a come-from-behind 26-24 Mississippi Valley Conference dual win Thursday night in front of an electric crowd at Prairie.

The Hawks (19-5, 9-0 MVC) trailed 24-13 before winning the final four matches. Juniors Cam Rathje and Gould produced two hard-fought wins to finish comeback, giving Prairie its second win over Linn-Mar in three meetings this season.

“Cam and Gould showed a lot of guts, going in against two tough-as-nails seniors,” Prairie Coach Blake Williams said. “For them to do that on that stage with all the pressure on them was a great thing to see.”

Watch the third period of Rathje's win over Wantock

Linn-Mar (24-5, 7-2) was a win from deciding the meet when fifth-ranked Rathje took on No. 2 Mitch Wantock at 170. Wantock scored three points in the opening minute of the final period for a 3-1 lead. Rathje, who escaped in the second, stormed back, escaping with 50 seconds left and adding the decisive takedown with 20 seconds left.

The late deficit didn't faze Rathje, who said fight won him the match.

“You can't have any doubt when you wrestle and I didn't,” Rathje said. “That's why I got out and got the takedown for the win.”

Fifth-ranked Gould used solid defense and a strong ride to drop No. 7 Mark Atwater at 182. Gould rode Atwater the entire second period, scoring an escape in the third for a 1-0 lead. Atwater increased the attack, but Gould fended them off, countering one for two points of his own.

"That is one of my skills," Gould said about his defense. "As one of my teammates said, I can funk my way out of everything."

Gould was glad that Rathje won so his match counted when he stepped on the mat. He accepted the pressure even though he doesn't desire it.

“It's not something I seek,” said Gould, who also wrestled in a crucial final match as a freshman that ended in a regional dual victory over North Scott. “I'm workable under it. You go out there with a clear head, good things will happen.”

Seniors Peyton Wagner and Zach Witte set the table for Rathje and Gould with wins at 152 and 160. Wagner hadn't wrestled since injuring his elbow at the Five Seasons Duals on Dec. 10.

Prairie won eight bouts, getting a last-second win from 120-pounder Chris Walters, who eclipsed Damon Griffin's 7-4 lead in the third with two takedowns and a point for stalling late for a 9-8 win.

Trent Schulte was a former Hammerin' Hawks kids club wrestler as a youth. He chose basketball before coming out for wrestling this year. The 195-pounder ignited the Hawks, needing 22 seconds to score a takedown in sudden victory for a 5-3 decision over Ryley Stancel in the first match.

Trey Blaha scored an 11-3 major decision at 126, pulling Prairie within 16-10. Skyler St. John (138) added a win for the Hawks.

“It was an all-around team win,” Rathje said. “There were no individuals that did something for themselves. I'm real proud of our team.”

Five of the matches were decided in overtime or by one point, one more was a two-point decision in regulation and two more had a three-point margin.

"Everybody knew coming in it was going to be a close dual coming down to bonus points," said Williams, whose move of inserting Wagner at 152 and top-ranked 152-pounder Witte to 160 worked. "There were a lot of toss-up matches."

Linn-Mar built a 24-13 lead with four matches to go and even held a 16-3 lead early. The Lions roared to four straight wins, including A.J. Garcia's thrilling 4-2 overtime win over Andrew Netolicky at 220. The pair exchanged escapes in regulation and in overtime. Garcia scored a reversal in the final tiebreaker for the win.

Watch Garcia's winning reversal

Lions heavyweight Justin Green followed with a decision, making a first-period takedown last to down Tony Kavanagh, 3-2. Matt Wempen earned a fall at 106 before teammate Alijah Jeffery provided one of the most impressive showings of the night. Jeffery, ranked fourth, exacted some revenge over third-ranked Josh Wenger at 113.

Jeffery scored the only takedown and then turned Wenger in the second and third periods for a 10-2 victory.

The Lions' Joel Northrup (132) and Ross Lembeck (145) each added major decision, dominating their way to 10-point victories.

"He kept the pressure on," Linn-Mar Coach Doug Streicher said. "He got a bonus point for us.

"We had some guys that got to their offense."

Overall, Streicher said the Lions wrestled a tight.

“We just couldn't finish at the end of the periods, at the end of the matches,” Streicher said. “We needed to score points and we didn't have enough offense.”

The dual lived up to expectations that surrounded two top-10 teams and MVC division leaders. Streicher said it was a great atmosphere with two good teams and a great crowd. The highly anticipated contest was anticipated by Williams.

"You expect these types of meets with Linn-Mar," Williams said. "This is what wrestling is all about. Win or lose. Two teams getting after it, on one mat, in a gym, center stage, lights out and the spotlight's on. That's the atmosphere wrestling should be."

195 pounds - Trent Schulte (CRP) dec. Ryley Stancel, 5-3 sudden victory (1, 1); 220 - A.J. Garcia (LM) dec. Andrew Netolicky, 4-2 (0, 0); Hwt. - Justin Green (LM) dec. Tony Kavanagh, 3-2 (1, 0); 106 - Matt Wempen (LM) pinned Zack Fiser, 3:17 (2, 0); 113 - Alijah Jeffery (LM) major dec. Josh Wenger, 10-2 (1, 0); 120 - Chris Walters (CRP) dec. Damon Griffin, 9-8 (3, 1); 126 - Trey Blaha (CRP) major dec. Trevor Berry, 11-3 (3, 0); 132 - Joel Northrup (LM) major dec. Zach Becicka, 16-6 (5, 0); 138 - Skyler St. John (CRP) dec. Spencer Clabough, 6-3 (1, 1); 145 - Ross Lembeck (LM) major dec. River Whitters, 13-3 (5, 0); 152 - Peyton Wagner (CRP) dec. Josh Pederson, 3-1 (1, 0); 160 - Zach Witte (CRP) major dec. John Conner, 13-3 (4, 0); 170 - Cam Rathje (CRP) dec. Mitch Wantock, 4-3 (1, 1); 182 - Austin Gould (CRP) dec. Mark Atwater, 3-0 (1, 0).

Takedowns: LM 18, CRP 15; Reversals: LM 3, CRP 6; Escapes: LM 17, CRP 20; Nearfall points: LM 19, CRP 0; Penalty points (awarded): LM 2, CRP 7; Total match points: LM 80, CRP 69.

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