DES MOINES - The Cedar Rapids Kennedy wrestling team surprised a lot of people at the Class 3A state wrestling tournament in Des Moines this week.

They even surprised themselves.

The Cougars surged into a tie for fourth place in the team standings Saturday following the consolation finals at Wells Fargo Arena with just a five-man team.

The Cougars have fared better than all the other Metro teams in the tournament and they've fared better than all the other Mississippi Valley Conference clubs in the tournament.

Nobody saw it coming.

"We turned a lot of heads today," said Nolan Hromidko, who placed third at 126 pounds. "I was surprised myself, actually, when I looked at the standings today, but that's what hard work and determination gets you."

For most of the season, the Cougars were the third-best team from the Metro (after Prairie and Jefferson) and perhaps the fourth-best team in the MVC.

They saved their best for last.

"It's been a heck of a week for the kids," said Kennedy Coach Dennis Hynek. "They've really battled hard."

Kennedy had a good team this year, but the Cougars enjoyed a terrific three-day run in Des Moines.

And they're not done yet. Logen Rodriguez will be wrestling in the 152-pound finals Saturday night, giving the Cougars another chance to shine under the bright lights.

Ben Sarasin finished fourth at 160 pounds for Kennedy, Garrett Kubovec placed sixth at 170 pounds and Dalles Jacobus finished seventh at 220 pounds by pinning Alex Freiburger of Dubuque Hempstead.

Frieburger pinned Jacobus twice during the season, but Jacobus had an imposing 13-0 lead Saturday when he stuck Frieburger in the third period to collect extra points for the Cougars.

Jacobus might have been the happiest seventh-place finisher in state history, yelling and wrapping Hynek in a giant bear hug. He lost two earlier matches in the tournament and did not want to taste defeat again.

"I wanted it more than anything," he said. "I don't enjoy losing. Two losses in the same weekend, I'm not OK with that.

"Having a chance to place this year is amazing."

Jacobus was one of the inspirational leaders for the Kennedy football team that reached the Class 3A state finals, then he quickly shed about 30 pounds and became one of the inspirational leaders for the wrestlers.

His pin in the seventh-place match lifted the Cougars into their fourth-place tie with Waverly-Shell Rock.

"He did that for the team, and that's why he's a special kid in football.

And it's why he's going to play at Iowa," said Hynek. "Yeah, it was for seventh place, but that was about the team and his teammates and the coaches."

Kennedy did a lot of damage in Des Moines with just five wrestlers, and it's probably no coincidence that four of them were also key members of the football team. Only Rodriguez did not play ball.

"Our team is a solid bunch of guys," said Hromidko. "We're a family. We brought the family aspect over from football."

Jacobus, in fact, was the guy who carried the "Family" sign during the football season.

"This week is just a big example of what we've done all year," said Jacobus. "It really counts in the postseason.

"That's when our hard work shows. That's when we separated the gap from everybody we were close with."

This is Hynek's second tour of duty with the Cougars. He served as Kennedy's head coach for nine seasons from 1995 through 2003, then stepped aside to spend more time with his family.

"My son at the time was seven years old and I wanted to spend time with him," said Hynek. "He was starting to do activities in sports and I was missing out."

Hynek remembers being at the state dual meet tournament at the Five Seasons Center in Cedar Rapids, coaching the Cougars and seeing his son up in the stands with his grand-parents.

"I looked up there and I'm thinking, 'Are you kidding me? This is what I'm doing on my Saturdays? Making my kid sit up in the stands playing with Legos? We should be outside screwing around and doing something.'

"So it was a good time to step down.".

Brent Paulson succeeded Hynek as Kennedy's head coach, then Paulson stepped aside four years ago to spend more time with his young family. That gave Hynek a chance to get back in the game, with his son David now a student at Coe.

Hynek was a happy guy Saturday.

"Every time you come up here it's like a chance to have a vacation and have fun," he remarked.

Southeast Polk clinched the Class 3A title with 141.5 points following the consolation rounds. Fort Dodge was second with 119.5 points and West Des Moines Valley was third with 109.5.

Kennedy was tied with Waverly-Shell Rock with 72 points. Prairie was sixth with 62 points. Jefferson was 14th, Linn-Mar 17th, Xavier 23rd and Washington 37th.