Metro Sports Report

Wenger claims state title at 138

DES MOINES - Josh Wenger got tired of having to settle for fourth place at the Class 3A state wrestling tournament.

This time the Cedar Rapids Prairie star made it all the way to the top.

Wenger defeated top-ranked Dan Kelly of Cedar Falls, 8-2, to win the 138-pound championship Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Jarod Cadena of Prairie (182) and Dalton Kuehl of Jefferson (285) lost in the finals.

Wenger finished fourth at the state tournament each year as a freshman, sophomore and junior, but he finished his career in style by dominating Kelly in a battle of Mississippi Valley Conference grapplers.

No. 8 Saints sail by No. 14 Panthers

It’s the time of year when the Xavier girls seem to be fully in their state tournament frame of mind.

“Rotation, rotation,” yelled hardly-ever-satisfied Coach Tom Lilly at the start of the second quarter Saturday night in a Class 4A regional semifinal against visiting Mount Pleasant.

The Saints were up 18-2 at the time.

Junior sharpshooter McKenna Andersen promptly drilled three straight 3-pointers from the same spot in the left corner in a span of just two minutes.

“We just stuck to our game plan,” she said afterward. “And my teammates got me the ball in an open spot.”

No. 9 Eagles rally by Southwestern

The Kirkwood Eagles struggled for much of their game Saturday and trailed Southwestern 39-33 with 14 minutes left at Johnson Hall.

At that point, few Kirkwood fans would have bet the ninth-ranked Eagles would win by 17 points.

"I wouldn't either," said Coach Bryan Petersen.

They found a way, however.

Ajay Lawton popped in all 15 of his points in the second half and Ron Singleton set the tone on defense as Kirkwood rallied for a 70-53 victory in an ICCAC conference game.

Kirkwood used a 12-0 run to grab a 45-39 lead on a 3-pointer by Lawson and the Eagles kept motoring from there, belting the visitors from Creston by a 37-14 margin in the final 14 minutes.

No.13 Mustangs roll to 24th win

The 13th-ranked Mount Mercy Mustangs raced to a 23-point lead in the first half Saturday and dunked Grand View, 77-62, to finish the regular season with a 24-4 record.

Mount Mercy captured the Midwest Collegiate Conference title by three games with an 11-1 record and will host a semifinal game in the conference tournament Friday at 7 p.m.

James Boonstoppel popped in four 3-pointers and led the Mustangs with 22 points at the Hennessey Recreation Center. Dondre Osborne collected 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Kyle Lamaah posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Mount Mercy cashed 33 of 48 free throws.