The Predicament.com-your ultimate Iowa wrestling source

BY MATT PFIFFNER
A pair of Iowa City West wrestlers battled for gold in the final day of the 2009 Cadet/Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D. Saturday morning.

Jack Hathaway at 105 and 160-pounder Derek St. John reached the finals of the Junior Freestyle Tournament at their respective weights for their performances on Thursday and Friday.

St. John looked to win the title against Robert Kokesh of South Dakota after finishing second here a year ago.

Kokesh got in on a couple shots in the first period, but each time, St. John locked up a crotch lift and lifted Kokesh for a pair of exposure points. Kokesh recorded a takedown after the second lift, but St. John cruised to the 4-1 period win.

It was a similar story in the second period, as St. John scored two points off a crotch lift in the opening moments. Kokesh cut the lead in half with a takedown, but St.John scored two more off a crotch lift for a 4-1 lead. Kokesh pushed St. John out of bounds in the closing seconds, but it wasn't nearly enough, as St. John wrapped up his first title in Fargo in his fifth trip, 4-1, 4-2.

St. John said countering Kokesh's shots with lifts wasn't exactly a game plan heading into the match, they were just presented to him.

"Once you get ahead in a freestyle match you're going to be content and not take any chances," he said. "It definitely feels good. I'm not an emotional person, but it feels good to win one on the big stage."

St. John has won his share of big tournaments over the years, but said this one may be the best.

"This is probably at the top of the list," St. John said of the Junior freestyle title. "This means more, because I've been coming here for five years and to finally win it."

St. John said he will now take a short break from wrestling before he gets set to join the wrestling room down the road at the University of Iowa.

Another University of Iowa recruit, Ethan Lofthouse of Utah, won the 171-pound title right after St. John's victory.

In the finals at 105, IC West's Hathaway battled Jade Rauser of Montana, who was looking to become the first USA Wrestling triple crown winner in the Junior division.

Rauser scored an early takedown in the first period and then used a high gut to turn Hathaway twice for a quick 5-0 lead. Another Rauser takedown with 42 seconds left in the period ended it at 6-0.

In the second period, Rauser once again got on the board early with a takedown and gut wrenched Hathaway out of bounds for two more and a 3-0 lead. Hathaway got more offensive the final minute of the period, but could not break through Rauser's tough defense and the period ended at 3-0.

Rauser claimed his triple crown and Hathaway added a silver medal to the bronze he won in Junior Greco-Roman.

"I was trying to keep away from tying up with him, but it didn't work too well," Hathaway said.

Rauser appeared much stronger than Hathaway, something that was not lost on the Iowan.

"I learned that I need to train harder and get a lot stronger, that's for sure," he said. "He's really strong and a lot bigger than me."

FOUR OTHER IOWANS EARN ALL-AMERICAN HONORS
Also earning hardware Saturday morning in Fargo were Jake Ballweg of Waverly-Shell Rock at 135, 140-pounder Bart Reiter of Don Bosco, Michael Kelly of Cedar Falls at 152 and 171-pounder Walt Gillmor of North Scott.

Ballweg faced Ryen Nieman of Michigan for the bronze medal at 135.

After scoring the first point of the match on a quick takedown, Ballweg didn't score again, in a 1-1, 0-4 loss. Neiman scored a takedown with 10 seconds left in the first period for the 1-1 win and used an ankle pick twice and countered a pair of Ballweg shots in the second period.

I just got out of my rhythm," Ballweg said of the match.

The Waverly-Shell Rock senior-to-be said he is happy with his progression as a wrestler.

"I think I've improved a lot from previous years. I'm happy, but at the same time disappointed. I'm going to be training really hard," Ballweg said.

Reiter took on Chris Villalonga of New Jersey for fifth-place honors at 140.

The Blair Academy product scored a pair of takedowns in the first period for a 2-0 win. In the second period, Reiter gave up a takedown and was pushed out to make it a 2-0 deficit. The four-time State champ finally got on the board with a push out with 12 seconds left, but could not score again in a 2-1 period loss.

"I was really looking to come up here and prove myself a little more," Reiter said after finishing sixth. "Now it's time to get ready for folkstyle and college. This was more about getting good competition and not having so long of a break."

Kelly and John Guzzo of New Jersey battled in the seventh-place bout at 152.

After losing the first period 1-0 on a Guzzo takedown, Kelly spun behind for a takedown out of the front headlock in the second for a 1-0 period win. Guzzo scored an early takedown in the third, but Kelly scored a counter takedown midway through the period against a tiring Guzzo and won the period, 1-1, to finish seventh.

"You don't want to end a tournament on a loss. You want to end on a positive note," Kelly said. "I had to bounce back from the loss last night and be ready to wrestle."

Kelly said he felt his superior conditioning might come into play as the match wore on.

"I feel like I'll outwork anyone in the nation. I have great lungs," he said. "You just have to be ready to break them mentally and physically."

Walt Gillmor received a medical forfeit win from Tyler Beckwith of New York in the seventh-place match at 171.

"I had no idea. I've been ready to wrestle all day," Gillmor said. "I was looking forward to wrestling underneath the lights, but a forfeit is all right."

The North Scott grappler was happy with his tournament, but not satisfied.

"I wanted to be on top. I expected to be a lot higher up," he said. "Overall, I had a decent tournament. I just have to keep the losses as motivation and work my way up to that top spot."