It’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog.

Or in this case, the size of the fight in the Panther.

The Class 1A top-ranked Tripoli Panthers, the smallest school in the 24-team Westside Invitational tournament field, took down 4A top-ranked Iowa City West Trojans in straight sets 25-16, 25-18 to win the championship Saturday at Cedar Rapids Jefferson.

The tournament featured six Metro teams and nine ranked teams, including the top ranked teams in 1A, 3A and 4A.

“It shook out the way it was seeded,” Jefferson AD Scott Kibby said. “In a way, we had a mythical state championship here.”

Jefferson has hosted the large tournament for years. Kibby said it was been a 24-team affair for all 11 years that he has been in charge of the event.

After early morning pool play the teams were put into bronze, silver and gold brackets based upon their pool records. Kennedy was the only Metro team among the eight teams to reach the gold bracket and have a chance to win the championship. But the Cougars were beaten in the quarterfinals by Iowa City West, 25-22, 17-25, 15-10.

Three Metro schools were in the silver bracket, which was played across town at Washington High School. Xavier fell to West Liberty in the quarterfinals, 25-21, 25-22. The Comets then took out Washington in the semifinals. Marion also was knocked out in the semifinals by the eventual silver bracket winner Urbandale, which is ranked No. 4 in Class 4A.

“The fourth-ranked team in 4A ending in the middle bracket really shows the toughness of this tournament,” Kibby said.

Linn-Mar and Jefferson played in the bronze bracket with the Lions bowing out in the quarterfinals and the J-Hawks falling in the semifinals to Waterloo West. Jefferson beat North Cedar in the quarterfinals to get their second win of the year.

All teams in the gold bracket were ranked in the most recent IGHSAU poll. Tripoli got past Class 4A No. 5 West Des Moines Dowling and Class 3A No. 6 West Delaware to reach the finals. Iowa City West took out Kennedy, ranked seventh in Class 4A, and Class 2A No. 3 Dike-New Hartford on its way to the championship game. Dubuque Hempstead, ranked 10th in Class 4A, and Class 3A No. 1 Dubuque Wahlert, were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Metro teams finished just 11-15 with Kennedy finishing the best with a 3-1 record.

“I don’t think the Metro teams had a bad showing at all,” Kibby said about the so-so mark for the Metro schools. “This tournament is just awesome.”

Another awesome tournament looms next Saturday. The Mississippi Valley Conference tournament is at Iowa City West.

WESTSIDE INVITATIONAL
Hosted by Jefferson

Pool A - 1. Tripoli 3-0, 2. Marion 2-1, 3. Waterloo West 1-2, 4. Jefferson 0-3
Marion def. Waterloo West, 21-15, 21-14
Tripoli def. Jefferson, 21-6, 21-14
Marion def. Jefferson, 21-13, 21-5
Tripoli def. Waterloo West, 21-19, 24-22
Waterloo West def. Jefferson, 21-7, 20-22, 15-8
Tripoli def. Marion, 22-20, 21-17

Pool B - 1. Iowa City West 3-0, 2. CR Washington 2-1, 3. West Liberty 1-2, 4. Indianola 0-3
Washington def. West Liberty, 21-14, 21-14
Iowa City West def. Indianola, 21-14, 21-11
West Liberty def. Indianola, 21-7, 21-19
Iowa City West def. Washington, 21-14, 21-17
Washington def. Indianola, 21-10, 21-7
Iowa City West def. West Liberty, 21-12, 21-19

Pool C - 1. Wahlert 3-0, 2. DM Roosevelt 2-1, 3. Williamsburg 1-2, 4. Linn-Mar 0-3
DM Roosevelt def. Williamsburg, 21-15, 21-18
Wahlert def. Linn-Mar, 21-14, 21-8
DM Roosevelt def. Linn-Mar, 21-11, 21-14
Wahlert def. Williamsburg, 21-13, 21-16
Williamsburg def. Linn-Mar, 21-15, 23-21
Wahlert def. DM Roosevelt, 21-9, 25-23

Pool D - 1. West Delaware 3-0, 2. Kennedy 2-1, 3. Waterloo Columbus 1-2, 4. North Cedar 0-3
Kennedy def. Columbus, 21-15, 21-13
West Delaware def. North Cedar, 21-7, 21-8
Kennedy def. North Cedar, 21-8, 21-14
West Delaware def. Columbus, 21-11, 21-12
Columbus def. North Cedar, 21-12, 12-21, 15-10
West Delaware def. Kennedy, 23-21, 10-21, 17-15

Pool E - 1. Hempstead 3-0, 2. WDM Dowling 2-1, 3. South Tama 1-2, 4. Mount Vernon 0-3
WDM Dowling def. Mount Vernon, 21-19, 21-7
Hempstead def. South Tama, 21-17, 21-10
WDM Dowling def. South Tama, 21-18, 21-8
Hempstead def. Mount Vernon, 15-21, 21-15, 15-9
South Tama def. Mount Vernon, 21-15, 21-17
Hempstead def. WDM Dowling, 17-21, 21-17, 18-16

Pool F - 1. Dike-New Hartford 3-0, 2. Xavier 2-1, 3. Urbandale 1-2, 4. Aplington-Parkersburg 0-3
Xavier def. Urbandale, 21-14, 21-10
Dike-New Hartford def. Aplington-Parkersburg, 21-11, 21-4
Urbandale def. Aplington-Parkersburg, 21-19, 21-12
Dike-New Hartford def. Xavier, 21-16, 21-18
Xavier def. Aplington-Parkersburg, 21-17, 21-15
Dike-New Hartford def. Urbandale, 18-21, 21-14, 15-11

Gold Bracket
Quarterfinals
Tripoli def. WDM Dowling, 25-21, 26-24
West Delaware def. Hempstead, 25-27, 25-20, 15-7
Iowa City West def. Kennedy, 25-22, 17-25, 15-10
Dike-New Hartford def. Wahlert, 23-25, 25-20, 15-9

Semifinals
Tripoli def. West Delaware, 25-22, 25-23
Iowa City West def. Dike-New Hartford, 25-21, 25-17

Championship
Tripoli def. Iowa City West, 25-15, 25-18

Silver Bracket
Quarterfinals
Marion def. South Tama, 25-10, 23-25, 15-11
Urbandale def. DM Roosevelt, 25-16, 25-15
Washington def. Williamsburg, 25-15, 21-25, 15-11
West Liberty def. Xavier, 25-21, 25-22

Semifinals
Urbandale def. Marion, 25-22, 25-18
West Liberty def. Washington, no scores

Finals
Urbandale def. West Liberty, 25-16, 25-18

Bronze Bracket
Quarterfinals
Waterloo West def. Indianola, 25-13, 25-12
Jefferson def. North Cedar, 22-25, 25-18, 15-9
Waterloo Columbus def. Aplington-Parkersburg, 25-27, 25-10, 15-9
Mount Vernon def. Linn-Mar, 25-8, 25-14

Semifinals
Waterloo West def. Jefferson, 25-16, 25-21
Waterloo Columbus def. Mount Vernon, 25-21, 19-25, 15-11

Finals
Waterloo Columbus def. Waterloo West, 29-27, 25-23