Prairie Wrestling

Prairie wins Royce Duncan Duals

BETTENDORF - Prairie won all four of its meets and claimed the title of the Royce Duncan Dual wrestling tournament Saturday at Pleasant Valley High School.

Prairie beat Machesney Park, Ill., Harlem in its first and closest meet, 32-29. The Hawks won four matches by one point. Andrew Netolicky's pin at 220 pounds sealed the victory. Zach Witte and Austin Gould had major decisions.

Prairie also beat Pleasant Valley (38-27), Moline, Ill. (61-15) and Oskaloosa (63-15).

Netolicky was 4-0 with three falls to lead the Hawks. Witte and Trey Blaha were 3-0. Blaha had a pair of pins.

Prairie's Skyler St. John lost his first match, then won his last three, all by fall. Austin Gould was 2-0 with a pair of forfeits.

ROYCE DUNCAN DUALS

Prairie 32, Machesney Park (Ill.) Harlem 29
Prairie 38, Pleasant Valley 27
Prairie 61, Moline, Ill. 15
Prairie 63, Oskaloosa 15

PRAIRIE 32, MACHESNEY PARK (ILL.) HARLEM 29
106 - Zack Fiser (CRP) dec. Austin Morgan, 4-3
113 - Jordan Northrup (MPH) tech. fall Josh Wenger, 4:21
120 - Chris Walters (CRP) dec. Zac Denny, 3-2
126 - Trey Blaha (CRP) dec. Tanner Anthony, 4-3
132 - Jake Baxter (MPH) dec. Zach Becicka, 7-2
138 - Jake Messink (MPH) dec. Skyler St. John, 5-1
145 - Peyton Wagner (CRP) dec. Mitch Kennington, 1-0
152 - Jamie Day (CRP) won by forfeit
160 - Zach Witte (CRP) major dec. Nick Massetti, 12-1
170 - Sean Jones (MPH) pinned Cameron Rathje, 3:38
182 - Austin Gould (CRP) major dec. Klair Hecox, 9-0
195 - Sage Hecox (MPH) pinned Trent Schulte, 1:18
220 - Andrew Netolicky (CRP) pinned Cam Baxter, 4:48
285 - Jared Carlton (MPH) pinned Tony Kavanagh, 1:39

PRAIRIE 38, PLEASANT VALLEY 27
106 - Travis Willers (PV) pinned Zack Fiser, 1:38
113 - Josh Wenger (CRP) major dec. Reed Btockhage, 10-2
120 - Tyler Willers (PV) dec. Chris Walters, 10-6
126 - Trey Blaha (CRP) pinned Levi Moser, :52
132 - Zach Becicka (CRP) dec. Matt Nowak, 8-5
138 - Skyler St. John (CRP) pinned Zach Speidel, 3:32
145 - Peyton Wagner (CRP) major dec. Evan Stimmel, 11-1
152 - Zach Witte (CRP) dec. Blake Letney, 5-1
160 - Brady Letney (PV) pinned Casey Becker, 4:33
170 - Cameron Rathje (CRP) dec. Seth Skahill, 6-1
182 - Austin Gould (CRP) pinned Cole Pichiotti, 1:05
195 - Logan Carney (PV) pinned Trent Schulte, 3:00
220 - Andrew Netolicky (CRP) dec. Jake Melik, 7-2
285 - Devin Allbee (PV) pinned Connor Nolan, 1:33

PRAIRIE 61, MOLINE, ILL. 15
106 - Zack Fiser (CRP) pinned Tyler Allen, 4:18
113 - Josh Wenger (CRP) pinned Julius Elder, 3:43
120 - Chris Walters (CRP) major dec. Christian Smith, 15-5
126 - Trey Blaha (CRP) won by forfeit
132 - Zach Becicka (CRP) pinned Austin Ventris, 5:54
138 - Skyler St. John (CRP) pinned Josh Stracner, 3:15
145 - River Whitters (CRP) major dec. Alex Hillyer, 11-3
152 - Zach Witte (CRP) pinned Abe Discall, 1:16
160 - Casey Becker (CRP) pinned Jesus Martinez, 1:57
170 - Austin Vanscoy (M) pinned Steven Wallace, 4:30
182 - Austin Gould (CRP) won by forfeit
195 - Odessa McDowell (M) dec. Trent Schulte, 3-2
220 - Andrew Netolicky (CRP) pinned Eddie Perez, 3:13
285 - Adarios Jones (M) pinned Connor Nolan, 1:47

PRAIRIE 63, OSKALOOSA 15
106 - Zack Fiser (CRP) won by forfeit
113 - Josh Wenger (CRP) dec. Skyler DeJong, 4-2
120 - Chris Walters (CRP) pinned Nte Caves, 3:13
126 - Trey Blaha (CRP) pinned Mitchell Schaffner, 1:04
132 - Zach Becicka (CRP) pinned Tanner Wanders, 1:07
138 - Skyler St. John (CRP) pinned Nick Beebe, 2:26
145 - River Whitters (CRP) won by forfeit
152 - Zach Witte (CRP) won by forfeit
160 - Cody Jones (O) dec. Jonah Manson, 6-2
170 - Mason Wisse (O) pinned Steven Wallace, 1:42
182 - Austin Gould (CRP) won by forfeit
195 - Dane Jones (O) pinned Trent Schulte, 1:40
220 - Andrew Netolicky (CRP) pinned Cody Tuttle, 1:10
285 - Tony Kavanagh (CRP) pinned Dylan Tuttle, no time

Gould lifts No. 4 Hawks by No. 6 Lions, 26-24

Austin Gould has the early stages of cauliflower ear, so he wrapped tape around his head and over his ears Thursday night to protect them before tugging on his headgear.

"It makes him look tough, I guess," said Cedar Rapids Prairie wrestling coach Blake Williams, who was all smiles when he said it.

With all that tape, Gould was able to block out the fans who were yelling and screaming during his pivotal 182-pound match against Linn-Mar senior Mark Atwater.

Gould blanked Atwater, 3-0, in the final bout to give Prairie a 26-24 comeback victory over the Lions in a premier Mississippi Valley Conference meet at the Prairie gym.

The fourth-ranked Hawks trailed after 10 matches, 24-13, but they came roaring back and won the last four bouts to trim the No. 6 Lions at the wire.

"We fought our hearts out. A team effort, and I'm proud of everyone for putting it all out there on the mat," said Gould. "Even though we were down, we tightened up our bootstraps and came out fighting."

Gould ripped the tape off his head after the meet, revealing his cauliflower ear and the slight disfigurement that comes with wrestling due to all the irritation the ears absorb. Gould said his headgear doesn't fit properly.

"The ear is too big for it," he said. "It folds over and it hurts."

Gould wasn't feeling too much pain as a steady stream of Prairie wrestling fans stopped by after the meet to pat him on the back.

Peyton Wagner, who hadn't wrestled since Dec. 10 for Prairie due to an arm injury, returned to the lineup Thursday and got the comeback started with a 7-0 victory over Josh Pederson at 152 pounds to pull the Hawks within 24-16. Ironically, Wagner hurt his arm when he wrestled against Pederson six weeks ago.

"He wasn't 100 percent, but you know what? He showed some guts and wanted to wrestle," said Williams.

Zach Witte jumped from 152 pounds to 160 and posted a 13-3 major decision over John Conner, lifting the Hawks within 24-20 with two matches left on the card at 170 pounds and 182.

The last two bouts featured ranked grapplers for both teams, and fifth-ranked Cameron Rathje pulled Prairie within 24-23 when he clipped second-ranked Mitch Wantock, 4-3, on a takedown with 18 seconds left in the contest.

They left it all to the 182 pounders, with Gould ranked fifth in the state and Atwater ranked seventh. Neither man scored in the first two periods, then Gould took a 1-0 lead when Atwater let him have an escape point to start the final period.

They both came close to getting takedowns in the third stanza, but it stayed 1-0 until Gould used a "funky" move to get a takedown with 12 seconds left and clinch his 3-0 victory and the meet.

Atwater shook hands with Gould, then ran to the locker room to deal with his disappointment in private. That left Gould as the man of the hour.

"I came into this match so nervous," said Gould, now 27-3 for the season. "I almost got myself out of it mentally. I had to calm down and realize that if I give my best, people will appreciate that, win or lose."

Gould spent most of his time with the junior varsity last season, but he wrestled on an all-star team that toured Russia and Eastern Europe last summer and came home a new man.

"From jayvee to what he's doing now," mused Williams. "Man, he doesn't let things get to him and he just stays in position and does what he needs to do. I can't be more pleased with him. He should have some high goals for himself in the next month or so."

Williams figured the matches at 170 and 182 were "toss-ups" that could have gone either way. "What Rathje and Gould did against two very tough wrestlers shows something about their character and their fight," he said.

Linn-Mar won four of the first five matches and grabbed a 16-3 lead with A.J. Garcia (220), Justin Green (285), Matt Wempen (106) and Alijah Jeffery (113) leading the way. Wempen, a freshman, raised his record to 30-1 with a pin in 3:17.

Ross Lembeck gave the Lions their 24-13 lead with a 12-3 major decision at 145 pounds, but the Hawks came storming back with fans for both schools shouting for their favorite guys.

This was a single dual - just Linn-Mar and Prairie - so the spotlight was squarely on them. They wrestled the junior varsity and exhibition bouts earlier in the night, so there was only one mat when the varsity guys tangled.

"It was a great high school wrestling meet," said Williams. "No matter who won or lost, it was nice to see these type of meets. It was a great atmosphere."

Prairie won eight of 14 bouts in a battle of evenly matched clubs.

"We wrestled tight in a couple of matches and it cost us," said Linn-Mar Coach Doug Streicher. "We didn't score enough points, didn't get after it."

Streicher praised both teams and looked ahead.

"Pretty even," he said. "We'll battle at conference and see who has a better tournament team."

The Mississippi Valley Conference meet will be held at Iowa City West on Saturday, Jan. 28 and it could be a doozy with No. 3 Iowa City West, No. 4 Prairie and No. 6 Linn-Mar in the hunt.

"It's great to get a win tonight, but you know what? There's bigger things than this dual, that's for sure, and we want to be there at the end," said Williams.

"I have a feeling both teams will have a good shot to get down to the state duals (Feb. 15 in Des Moines). They're tough and they're balanced and they're a great team, so I'm sure we'll probably be seeing them again somewhere down the line."

Prairie and Linn-Mar have wrestled three times this season, with the Hawks holding a 2-1 edge.

PRAIRIE 26, LINN-MAR 24

195 - Trent Schulte (P) dec. Ryley Stancel, 5-3 (ot)
220 - A.J. Garcia (LM) dec. Andrew Netolicky, 4-2 (ot)
285 - Justin Green (LM) dec. Tony Kavanagh, 3-2
106 - Matt Wempen (LM) pinned Zack Fiser, 3:17
113 - Alijah Jeffery (LM) major dec. Josh Wenger, 10-2
120 - Chris Walters (P) dec. Damon Griffin, 9-8
126 - Trey Blaha (P) major dec. Trevor Berry, 11-3
132 - Joel Northrup (LM) major dec. Zach Becicka, 16-6
138 - Skyler St. John (P) dec. Spencer Clabough, 6-3
145 - Ross Lembeck (LM) major dec. River Whitters, 12-3
152 - Peyton Wagner (P) dec. Josh Pederson, 7-0
160 - Zach Witte (P) major dec. John Conner, 13-3
170 - Cameron Rathje (P) dec. Mitch Wantock, 4-3
182 - Austin Gould (P) dec. Mark Atwater, 3-0

State champ happy to be wrestling again

Zach Witte has a three-inch scar and a big lump on the side of his left wrist, visual reminders of a broken bone that cost him the first six weeks of the wrestling season.

The inside doesn't sound too pretty either.

"There's a wire and there's two pins in there," he said Monday before practice at Prairie High School. "They're going to stay in there permanently, unless it bugs me and we'll take them out."

Wrestlers are tough customers and they don't come much tougher than Witte, who was an undefeated state champion at 145 pounds last year as a junior.

Witte returned to action this past weekend at the Geneseo (Ill.) Invitational and captured the 152-pound title with two pins and a major decision.

"I felt fine. It felt natural," he said.

Witte broke a bone in his left arm during the football season, but he kept playing (naturally) and had surgery in November. He had his left arm in a sling when he signed a national letter-of-intent in November with Northern Iowa and was hopeful of wrestling again in December, but he wasn't cleared until last week.

"After the surgery I didn't realize how long it was going to take for the soreness to go away," he said. "It's still sore and it's probably going to be sore all season long, but it's not to the point where it was a couple of weeks ago."

Witte was happy with his conditioning for the Geneseo tournament, considering he hadn't wrestled in so long.

"It wasn't too bad," he said. "After a week of wrestling (in practice) I felt like I was right into shape. It wasn't like I was out of share. I was running and doing all the things I could. But wrestling shape is a whole different kind of being in shape."

Prairie Coach Blake Williams liked what he saw from his state champ.

"He looked a little sluggish that first match (a 16-6 major decision), but then as the tournament went on it seems like he got better and better," Williams said. "I wasn't worried about his arm or wrist at all. I was worried about his shape and everything.

"It didn't seem to be a problem, at least in that tournament. He looked fresh, he looked ready to go and just as sharp in the third period as he did in the first. That's a good thing.

"It was good for him to get some work and I think he realizes the competition will start getting a little tougher than the ones he had there (in Geneseo). But he was excited to be back. He obvioulsy makes a big difference to the team, there's no doubt about it."

Witte felt a little rusty at times.

"On my feet I felt fine," he said. "On top it was a little slow, but I'm getting there."

More than anything, he was happy to be back in the lineup. He hated sitting around and watching while his teammates and buddies had all the fun.

"It was miserable," he said. "I really wanted to get back out there. It felt good to be back out."

The fourth-ranked Prairie Hawks topped 10th-ranked Waverly-Shell Rock for the team championship at Geneseo, 232.5 points to 207, with Witte, Josh Wenger (113), Austin Gould (182) and Andrew Netolicky (220) winning titles.

"Anytime you can beat a quality team like Waverly-Shell Rock, that's a good thing," Williams said. "It was big, there's no doubt about that. I'm not sure if they had everybody (wrestle) or not, but it was just a good win."

Prairie hosts No.8 Linn-Mar in a key Mississippi Valley Conference dual meet Thursday night. It will be Prairie's only single dual of the season, with no other teams involved. Prairie and Linn-Mar are both approaching full strength after battling injuries.

"We're looking forward to having a great meet Thursday night. I think it should be a great atmosphere," Williams said.

Witte likes the way his team is shaping up.

"I feel as a team we have very good potential to do something amazing at state duals," he said. "We have a tough team and a very determined team as well. We've been working hard for a long time. I think this could be a good year for us."

Witte has won 41 straight matches since the start of his junior campaign and is trying to become a two-time undefeated state champion. He's gotten a late start this season, but the enforced layoff means he has a fresh body for the important part of the year.

"It could be a blessing in disguise," he said. "We'll see when state comes around."

Prairie crowns 4 champs at Geneseo

GENESEO, Ill. - Prairie crowned four champions and claimed the title Saturday at the Geneseo Invitational wrestling meet.

The meet ran Friday and Saturday. Prairie totaled 232.5 points. Waverly-Shell Rock was second with 207. Kennedy finished eighth with 88.

Prairie's champions were Josh Wenger at 113, Zach Witte at 152, Austin Gould at 182 and Andrew Netolicky at 220.

Kennedy's Luke Kremer won the 132-pound weight class.

Witte, the defending state champion at 145 pounds, was competing in his first meet. He broke a bone in his left arm during the football season. Witte pinned Chad Whitford from Granite City, Ill., in the championship bout at 152.

Prairie also got second-place finishes from Chris Walters at 120 and Cam Rathje at 170. Kennedy's Shane Williams finished second at 160.

GENESEO INVITATIONAL

1. Cedar Rapids Prairie          232.5
2. Waverly-Shell Rock           207
3. Granite City                     159
4. Arrowhead                      153.5
5. O’Fallon                           124
6. New Lenox Providence      121.5
7. Chatham Glenwood           101.5
8. Cedar Rapids Kennedy         88
9. Geneseo                           67
10. Palos Hills Stagg                62
11. Moline                             58
12. Chicago Heights Marian Catholic    55
13. Dixon                              46
14. United Township              45.5
15. Belvidere                         38
16. Normal Community            31


Championship Matches

106:  Jeronnie Steward UTHS dec. Ronald Triche NLP 3-1
113:  Josh Wenger CRP dec. Bryce Steiert WSR 5-1
120:  Andrew Crone ARR dec. Chris Walters CRP  12-5
126:  Eddie Kilmara NLP fall Eric Devos WSR  3:21
132:  Luke Kremer CRK  TFall Nick Wisely BEL  5:13
138:  Adam Yde ARR dec. Drew Wise OFA 6-0
145:  Kevin Moylan PHS TFall Kolton Rottink WSR 5:00
152:  Zach Witte CRP  fall Chad Whitford GRC 4:56
160:  Bryan Pierson OFA  dec. Shane Williams CRK  8-5
170:  Nate Jackson CHM fall Cameron Rathje CRP  3:24
182:  Austin Gould CRP  dec. Alex Brooks GRC  6-4
195:  Adam Walther WSR dec. Zak Ryder ARR 3-1
220:  Andrew Netolicky CRP  dec. Vince Ambrose 7-1
285:  Adarios Jones MOL dec. Cole Whitford GRC 4-2


Prairie placewinners: 

1st:  Josh Wenger, Zach Witte, Austin Gould, Andrew Netolicky
2nd: Chris Walters, Cameron Rathje
4th:  Skyler St. John, Jamie Day, Casey Becker
5th:  Zack Fiser
6th:  Trey Blaha