DES MOINES - Prairie, Jefferson and Linn-Mar all took the same serious approach to the state dual meet wrestling tournament in Des Moines Wednesday and went for the gold.

Unfortunately for the three Metro squads, so did everybody else.

Unlike the last two years, teams used their best wrestlers in the dual meet tournament for as long as it made sense before backing off and resting key guys for the individual state tournament that begins Thursday.

The fourth-ranked Prairie Hawks clipped No.5 Linn-Mar, 35-27, in a spirited battle in the opening round and the seventh-ranked Jefferson J-Hawks pushed No.2 Waverly-Shell Rock to the limit before falling 32-26 in the first round.

It was mostly downhill from there for the Metro clubs, however.

Prairie, still using most of its top people, got skunked by No.1 Bettendorf in the semifinals, 43-19, then used a makeshift lineup and lost to Waverly-Shell Rock in the consolation bout for third place.

Jefferson and Linn-Mar lost in the semifinals of the consolation bracket, then the J-Hawks trounced Linn-Mar for seventh place 58-12 when the Lions forfeited four matches.

Bettendorf defeated Southeast Polk for the Class 3A title, 35-27.

The first round Wednesday morning produced some terrific wrestling and a few sparks as the eight best dual meet teams in the state exchanged blow for blow.

"We came into it knowing we were going to wrestle our guys," said Prairie Coach Blake Williams. "We were going to keep going and see how far we can go. The kids responded."

The 2012 and 2013 state dual meet tournaments were riddled with controversy when many teams - including Prairie and Linn-Mar - backed off, preferring to rest some of their top wrestlers for the individual state tournament. Not this time, at least not when it counted.

"You don't know how many times you'll be in this situation, so we might as well go for it. And they did," said Williams. "I was proud of them for the way they battled."

The Jefferson J-Hawks were tied with Waverly-Shell Rock, 23-23, after 11 matches before a pair of highly ranked Waverly grapplers put the meet out of reach. The J-Hawks needed a near-perfect performance to pull off the upset and nearly got it.

"It's frustrating," said Jefferson co-coach Matt Orton. "That's the match we let things get away. We had opportunities and we didn't win."

The J-Hawks also had a chance to knock off Iowa City West in the consolation semifinals, but fell short 30-29.

Jefferson was making its first appearance at the state dual meet tournament in 20 years, so using its best lineup was an easy decision for them.

"You never know when you're going to get the opportunity," said Orton. "It could be 20 years before you get an opportunity. At this point, you put anybody out there. The kids want to win. We're not going to rob them of opportunities to make memories."

Prairie junior Jarod Cadena made the most of his opportunities Wednesday. Cadena finished third at a Class 3A district meet last Saturday and failed to qualify for the individual state tournament, but he bounced back with three straight victories and pinned third-ranked Andrew Holladay at 195 pounds to help the Hawks defeat Linn-Mar.

The dual meet tournament took on special meaning for Cadena, who normally wrestles at 182.

"Just come out and wrestle a little harder, since I know I'm not going to be wrestling Thursday and this is the last match of the season," he said. "It feels good."

The individual state tournament will be held at Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

ROUND 1

Prairie 35, Linn-Mar 27

106 - England (CRP) pinned Petersen, 3:35.
113 - Ajram (LM) pinned Kleinschmidt, 1:21.
120 - A.Jeffery (LM) dec. Uthoff, 4-3.
126 - Griffin (LM) pinned Fiser, 2:26.
132 - Wempen (LM) dec. Wennermark, 5-1.
138 - Wenger (CRP) pinned Geers, 1:01.
145 - Mehmen (CRP) dec. M.Jeffery, 11-5.
152 - Lembeck (LM) dec. Blaha, 3-2.
160 - Verhile (LM) dec. Schulte, 6-2.
170 - St.John (CRP) dec. Hartzler, 8-6.
182 - Hogan (CRP) tech fall Schultz, 16-1.
195 - Cadena (CRP) pinned Holladay, 5:31.
220 - Newhouse (LM) dec. Hynek, 6-3.
285 - Manson (CRP) pinned McFarland, 4:39.

Waverly-Shell Rock 32, Jefferson 26

106 - Baker (CRJ) major dec. Wyatt, 18-5.
113 - Sibomana (CRJ) def. Yant, 7-2.
120 - Sands (WSR) def. Briggs, 8-3.
126 - P.Rashed (CRJ) dec. Waggenhoffer, 9-4.
132 - Reiher (WSR) dec. Moncivais, 10-9.
138 - Culver (CRJ) def. Walker, 3-1.
145 - Steiert (WSR) pinned Pappas, 2:51.
152 - T.Rashed (CRJ) major dec. Meier, 13-3.
160 - Derifield (WSR) tech fall May, 22-7.
170 - Abernathy (WSR) pinned Sedlacek, 4:46.
182 - Allen (CRJ) pinned Eggleston, 5:59.
195 - Miller (WSR) pinned Hovey, 3:02.
220 - Foy (WSR) dec. Kuehl, 8-2.
285 - Orr (CRJ) dec. Lord, 3-1.

ROUND 2

Bettendorf 43, Prairie 19

113 - Schwarm (Bett) tech fall Tedrow, 19-2.
120 - Glynn (Bett) dec. Uthoff, 8-7.
126 - Gallagher (Bett) def. Fiser, injury default.
132 - Stroker (Bett) pinned Wennermark, 1:09.
138 - Ryan (Bett) def. Wenger, 5-1.
145 - Sass (Bett) pinned Mehmen, 0:44.
152 - Blaha (CRP) dec. Woodard, 6-0.
160 - St.John (CRP) major dec. Belanger, 14-1.
170 - Hogan (CRP) pinned Preisser, 3:06.
182 - Neyrinck (Bett) dec. Pasker, 7-5.
195 - Cadena (CRP) dec. Moffitt, 5-0.
220 - Erpelding (Bett) pinned Hynek, 3:42.
285 - Manson (CRP) dec. Burkland, 5-2.
106 - Wagner (Bett) tech fall Harmening, 18-3.

Iowa City West 30, Jefferson 29

113 - T.Rehweder (ICW) dec. Sibomana, 6-4.
120 - Briggs (CRJ) dec. C.Rehweder, 2-1.
126 - Bakken (ICW) pinned P.Rashed, 5:07.
132 - Walters (ICW) dec. Culver, 7-3.
138 - Moncivais (CRJ) pinned Wisner, 1:39.
145 - T.Rashed (CRJ) pinned Ford, 3:12.
152 - May (CRJ) tech fall N.Kelsay, 16-1.
160 - Milani (ICW) dec. Sedlacek, 7-2.
170 - Voight (ICW) dec. Dreckman, 6-4 (ot).
182 - Doyle (ICW) dec. Hovey, 10-3.
195 - Allen (CRJ) dec. Yoerger, 4-1.
220 - M.Kelsay (ICW) dec. Kuehl, 10-8.
285 - Wynos (ICW) pinned Orr, 1:59.
106 - Baker (CRJ) won by forfeit.

Pleasant Valley 40, Linn-Mar 35

113 - Ajram (LM) pinned Babcock, 2:26.
120 - A.Jeffery (LM) tech fall Hebbein, 16-1.
126 - Nevills (PV) dec. Streicher, 5-3.
132 - Wempen (LM) pinned Brockhage, 1:23.
138 - M.Jeffery (LM) pinned Sampson, 0:54.
145 - Nowak (PV) tech fall Huffman, 15-0.
152 - Willers (PV) pinned Grave, 1:44.
160 - Waetke (PV) dec. Snitselaar, 5-2.
170 - Foote (PV) tech fall Hagmeier, 17-0.
182 - Carr (PV) pinned Gallo, 1:46.
195 - Holladay (LM) pinned Picchiotti, 5:47.
220 - Nowak (LM) pinned Allbee, 3:50.
285 - Carney (PV) pinned McFarland, 1:30.
106 - Marchiori (PV) pinned Petersen, 1:06.

ROUND 3

Waverly-Shell Rock 42, Prairie 24

120 - Sands (WSR) tech fall Tedrow, 16-0.
126 - Waggenhoffer (WSR) dec. Hogan, 8-4.
132 - Reiher (WSR) pinned C.St.John, 3:05.
138 - Wennermark (CRP) dec. Walker, 4-3.
145 - Schulte (WSR) dec. Viktora, 5-3.
152 - Meier (WSR) major dec. Hood, 16-8.
160 - Case (WSR) dec. Schulte, 5-2.
170 - Hogan (CRP) pinned Byram, 1:20.
182 - Cadena (CRP) pinned Eggleston, 1:17.
195 - Miller (WSR) pinned Hynek, 2:50.
220 - Foy (WSR) pinned Manson, 3:38.
285 - Staack (WSR) pinned Meyer, 1:36.
106 - Harmening (CRP) dec. Wyatt, 14-7.
113 - Kleinschmidt (CRP) pinned L.Derifield, 4:31.

Jefferson 58, Linn-Mar 12

120 - Briggs (CRJ) major dec. Youngwirth, 10-0.
126 - P.Rashed (CRJ) dec. Streicher, 5-2.
132 - Culver (CRJ) pinned Clymer, 5:18.
138 - Moncivais (CRJ) dec. M.Jeffery, 6-3.
145 - Geers (LM) dec. Pappas, 2-0.
152 - May (CRJ) pinned Verhile, 3:57.
160 - Sedlacek (CRJ) pinned Grave, 2:37.
170 - Dreckman (CRJ) pinned Schultz, 0:44.
182 - Allen (CRJ) won by forfeit.
195 - Hovey (CRJ) won by forfeit.
220 - Newhouse (LM) won by forfeit.
285 - Nowak (LM) dec. Orr, 6-4.
106 - Baker (CRJ) won by forfeit.
113 - Sibomana (CRJ) won by forfeit.