DES MOINES - Shea Hartzler owes Linn-Mar Coach Doug Streicher a debt of gratitude for helping him win the Class 3A state wrestling title Saturday night.

He owes Streicher's wife, Terri, a big thank-you as well.

"Second grade, I had Mrs. Streicher as a teacher," Hartzler related Saturday night after winning his title. "I think it was during the parent-teacher conference, she encouraged my parents to sign me up for wrestling."

A star was born.

Hartzler blanked Jacob Carlson of Mason City, 5-0, in the 160-pound finals before a sellout crowd at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Coach Streicher beamed with pride as Hartzler spoke with reporters and the veteran coach got a big kick out of Hartzler saluting his wife.

"Yup," said Streicher with a proud smile, "she's my recruiter."

Hartzler did not surrender a single point in the entire state tournament.

He blanked Brycen Carney of Ames, 9-0, in the first round. He pinned Gavin Babcock of Southeast Polk in the quarterfinals in 1:26, and he shut out Seth Walker of Waverly-Shell Rock in the semifinals before blanking Carlson in the finals.

"To go through that bracket and not give up a single point, that's tough,"
said Streicher. "He was in beast mode."

Hartzler claimed the only state title for Metro wrestlers in Des Moines.

Clint Lembeck of Xavier was nipped by Nelson Brands of Iowa City West, 6-5, in the 138-pound finals and finished his senior campaign with a 41-3 record, with two losses to Brands.

Logen Rodriguez of Kennedy lost to Colton Clingenpeel of Council Bluffs Jefferson, 8-2, in the 152-pound finals to finish his senior year with a 38-8 mark. Clingenpeel, a rough customer who hurt Rodriguez's neck on a body slam, finished the season with a spotless 60-0 record as the top-ranked man in his class.

Taylor Mehmen of Prairie lost to top-ranked Sam Cook of Fort Dodge, 9-6, in the finals at 195 pounds. Mehmen finished with a 40-6 record and Cook upped his mark to 45-0.

Hartzler confessed he did not like wrestling as a second grader in the Linn-Mar program, despite Mrs. Streicher's recommendation to get involved.

"It was a big grind," he said. "And it wasn't something I'd been used to before. Being good at it took a lot more work than I realized in the second grade."

He began to like the sport in middle school. "I love it now," he said with a huge smile.

Hartzler saluted his parents in the stands after winning the state title.

"I know they're proud of me," he remarked. "Ever since I was in the second grade they've been driving me to wrestling tournaments all over the place."

Hartzler finished his final year at Linn-Mar with a 44-3 record.

Eighteen Metro wrestlers placed at the 2016 state tournament.

Brenden Baker of Jefferson (120) and Nolan Hromidko of Kennedy (126) finished third.

Conrad Braswell of Prairie (106), Alex Streicher of Linn-Mar (138) and Ben Sarasin of Kennedy (160) finished fourth.

Sam Uthoff of Prairie (132), Josh Gerke of Xavier (145) and Kyle Briggs of Jefferson (152) placed fifth.

Joseph Sibomana of Jefferson (113), Will Foreman of Washington (126) and Garrett Kubovec of Kennedy (170) finished sixth.

Johnny Clymer of Linn-Mar (145) and Dalles Jacobus of Kennedy (220) placed seventh.

Marcus England of Prairie (113) finished eighth.

Southeast Polk won the Class 3A title with 141.5 points. Fort Dodge finished second (131.5) and West Des Moines Valley was third (113.5).

Kennedy tied Waverly-Shell Rock for fourth place with 72 points. Prairie finished seventh with 62 points.

PLACEMENT MATCHES
Metro Only

FIRST PLACE

138 - Clint Lembeck (Xavier) lost to Nelson Brands (Iowa City West), 6-5
152 - Logen Rodriguez (Kennedy) lost to Colton Clingenpeel (Council Bluffs Jefferson), 8-2
160 - Shea Hartzler (Linn-Mar) defeated Jacob Carlson (Mason City), 5-0
195 - Taylor Mehmen (Prairie) lost to Sam Cook (Fort Dodge), 9-6

THIRD PLACE

106 - Conrad Braswell (Prairie) was pinned by Drew Bennett (Fort Dodge), 1:08
120 - Brenden Baker (Jefferson) dec. Zach Price (Johnston), 7-6
126 - Nolan Hromidko (Kennedy) pinned Jacob Watters, Cedar Falls, 5:47
138 - Alex Streicher (Linn-Mar) lost to Zach Barnes (Southeast Polk), 10-5
160 - Ben Sarasin (Kennedy) lost to Jack Koethe (West Des Moines Valley), 3-0

FIFTH PLACE

113 - Joseph Sibomana (Jefferson) lost to Lance Runyon (Indianola), 9-3
126 - Will Foreman (Washington) lost to Brant O'Shea (Keokuk), 5-0
132 - Sam Uthoff (Prairie) pinned Joe Howard (Indianola), 0:46
145 - Josh Gerke (Xavier) dec. Alex Ward (Hempstead), 5-2
152 - Kyle Briggs (Jefferson) pinned Solomon Jones (Southeast Polk), 1:51
170 - Garrett Kubovec (Kennedy) was pinned by Jonah Egli (Fort Dodge), 3:15

SEVENTH PLACE

113 - Marcus England (Prairie) lost to Hunter Versteegh (Newton), 14-9
145 - Johnny Clymer (Linn-Mar) won major decision over Cayd Lara (Fort Dodge), 13-4
220 - Dalles Jacobus (Kennedy) pinned Alex Freiburger (Hempstead), 4:52