DES MOINES - They've lived in hotel rooms since Tuesday night and have spent a major chunk of time at Wells Fargo Arena in downtown Des Moines, hoping and praying for a chance to wrestle for a state title before a huge crowd on Saturday night.

The time is here.

Six wrestlers from the Cedar Rapids Metro area will be in the spotlight Saturday night when they battle for individual titles at the 92nd annual state tournament.

Matt Wempen of Linn-Mar, Chris Walters of Cedar Rapids Prairie, Luke Kremer of Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Ross Lembeck of Linn-Mar, Zach Witte of Prairie and Mark Atwater of Linn-Mar have all reached the pinnacle of prep wrestling in Iowa.

One more match, one more victory and they'll climb to the top of the victory stand, something they've cherished since they were peewee wrestlers in grade school.

"It's a great feeling, a great crowd, our team is doing well. I can't ask for much more right now," said Atwater, the Linn-Mar football star who has proven he's an excellent wrestler as well. "I'd like to cap off my senior season with a state championship. It's something I've always dreamed of."

Linn-Mar is sitting in fourth place in the team standings heading into the final day with 101 points, just 1.5 markers behind Iowa City West in a tight battle for third. The Lions and Trojans both have three wrestlers in the finals, so it's up for grabs.

"We have to score more points," said Linn-Mar Coach Doug Streicher, putting it succinctly.

The Prairie Hawks are in fifth place in the standings and have a good chance to stay there, with two grapplers in the finals and an 11.5 point lead over Waverly-Shell Rock. One of those finalists is Witte, who will be bidding to become a two-time champion when he battles for the 152-pound crown.

Bettendorf and Southeast Polk are scrapping for the team championship, probably too far ahead and too powerful for anyone else to catch them on Saturday.

Witte claimed the 145-pound title last season and is looking to end his career with another trip to the top. He didn't get much sleep before the finals last year and anticipated another restless night in Des Moines Friday night.

"You're thinking a lot. I'll try to sleep good, but I doubt I will," he said.

Witte was sporting a minor shiner under his right eye and all sorts of cuts and bruises on his forehead. "I'm looking pretty cool," he said, smiling, proud of his battle scars.

The championship round is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Saturday with the Grand March and the finals in Class 3A, 2A and 1A. The finals will be televised in eastern Iowa by KCRG 9.2 (Mediacom 109, Imon 709).

The fun will start right away with Wempen (47-2) facing Travis Willers of Pleasant Valley (50-2) for top honors at 106 pounds, the lightest weight class in the tournament.

Walters (40-3) will meet Tyler Willers of Pleasant Valley (50-2) for the championship at 120 pounds. Kremer (39-5) has a formidable date with Dakota Bauer of Iowa City West (51-2) for bragging rights at 132 pounds.

Lembeck (48-2) faces undefeated Gabriel Moreno of Urbandale (40-0) for the 145-pound crown, then Witte (22-0) will meet Dylan Blackford of Southeast Polk (44-3) for bragging rights at 152 pounds.

Atwater (31-3) will finish the Metro parade onto center stage when he tangles with undefeated Jared Bartel of Mason City (48-0) for honors at 182 pounds. There are 14 weight classes, and Metro wrestlers will be competing in six of them.

Kremer finished sixth in the state tournament in 2010 as a sophomore and placed third last year. He's clinched no worse than second place this season, but he won't be happy with that. "No, not at this point," he remarked.

Kremer trimmed Joel Northrup of Linn-Mar in the semifinals, 4-2, in overtime in an all-Metro battle that squared their season series at two wins apiece.

"Two great kids battling out there," noted Kennedy Coach Brent Paulson. "It's what the sport is all about."

Ten other Metro wrestlers will be competing in the wrestle-backs on Saturday, including nine grapplers who could finish as high as third place with two more victories.

The potential third-place finishers are Alijah Jeffery of Linn-Mar (113), Josh Wenger of Prairie (113), Trey Blaha of Prairie (126), Northrup of Linn-Mar (132), Cameron Rathje of Prairie (170), Mitch Wantock of Linn-Mar (170), A.J. Garcia of Linn-Mar (220), Andrew Netolicky of Prairie (220) and Tyler Burrell of Washington (285). Damon Griffin of Linn-Mar (120) will be wrestling for seventh place.

STATE TOURNAMENT
At Des Moines
(Wells Fargo Arena)

Friday's Results

CLASS 3A

Team Standings
Team Scores 
3A
1. Bettendorf 138.0
2. Southeast Polk 129.5
3. Iowa City, West 102.5
4. Linn Mar, Marion 101.0
5. Prairie, Cedar Rapids 73.5
6. Waverly-Shell Rock 62.0
7. Pleasant Valley 59.0
8. Valley, West Des Moines 56.0
9. Lewis Central 55.0
10. Mason City 50.0
11. Urbandale 45.5
12. Ankeny 41.5
13. Indianola 41.0
14. Burlington 32.0
15. Spencer 28.0
16. Des Moines, Roosevelt 24.0
17. Cedar Rapids, Kennedy 21.0
18. Fort Madison 19.5
18. Johnston 19.5
18. North Scott, Eldridge 19.5
21. Clinton 17.0
22. Cedar Falls 16.0
23. Dowling Catholic, West Des Moines 15.0
24. Keokuk 14.0
25. Epworth, Western Dubuque 13.0
25. Fort Dodge 13.0
27. Sioux City, East 12.0
28. Oskaloosa 10.0
29. Dubuque, Hempstead 9.5
30. Davenport West 9.0
30. Sioux City, North 9.0
32. Iowa City, City High 8.0
32. Knoxville 8.0
34. Cedar Rapids, Washington 7.0
34. Des Moines, North-Hoover 7.0
36. Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson 6.0
36. Muscatine 6.0
38. Decorah 5.0
39. Davenport Central 4.0
39. Dubuque, Senior 4.0
39. Mount Pleasant 4.0
42. Ames 3.0
42. Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 3.0
44. Marshalltown 2.0
44. Xavier, Cedar Rapids 2.0
46. Boone 1.0
46. Davenport North 1.0
46. Des Moines, East 1.0

Championship Bracket

Semifinals

106
Travis Willers (Pleasant Valley) 50-2 won by decision over Tanner Rohweder (Dowling Catholic, West Des Moines) 34-5 (Dec 6-2)
Matt Wempen (Linn Mar, Marion) 47-2 won by decision over Bryce Meyer (Fort Madison) 36-5 (Dec 7-4)

113
Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf) 42-1 won by decision over Alijah Jeffery (Linn Mar, Marion) 43-6 (Dec 1-0)
Phillip Laux (Iowa City, West) 49-3 won by decision over Josh Wenger (Prairie, Cedar Rapids) 44-5 (Dec 6-3)

120
Chris Walters (Prairie, Cedar Rapids) 40-3 won in overtime over Andres Gonzalez (Mason City) 39-2 (OT 3-1)
Tyler Willers (Pleasant Valley) 50-2 won in overtime over Colby Knight (Urbandale) 31-2 (OT 4-2)

126
Cory Clark (Southeast Polk) 45-1 won by pin over John Christopherson (Spencer) 27-2 (Pin 3:49)
Eric DeVos (Waverly-Shell Rock) 44-3 won by tech fall over Trey Blaha (Prairie, Cedar Rapids) 35-6 (TF 16-1)

132
Luke Kremer (Cedar Rapids, Kennedy) 39-5 won in overtime over Joel Northrup (Linn Mar, Marion) 43-6 (OT 4-2)
Dakota Bauer (Iowa City, West) 51-2 won by decision over Kyle Larson (Valley, West Des Moines) 38-2 (Dec 3-2)

138
Connor Ryan (Bettendorf) 39-4 won by decision over Nate Harms (Urbandale) 30-4 (Dec 5-1)
John Meeks (Des Moines, Roosevelt) 44-0 won by pin over Alex Caldwell (Clinton) 40-6 (Pin 3:28)

145
Gabriel Moreno (Urbandale) 40-0 won by tech fall over Kolton Rottink (Waverly-Shell Rock) 36-9 (TF 19-4)
Ross Lembeck (Linn Mar, Marion) 48-2 won by decision over Gradey Gambrall (Iowa City, West) 39-12 (Dec 5-2)

152
Dylan Blackford (Southeast Polk) 44-3 won by decision over Trey Lewis (Valley, West Des Moines) 22-5 (Dec 8-1)
Zach Witte (Prairie, Cedar Rapids) 22-0 won by tech fall over Tanner Schaefer (Spencer) 35-3 (TF 16-1)

160
Zeb Wahle (Lewis Central) 49-2 won by decision over Nick Hagedorn (Cedar Falls) 18-8 (Dec 13-6)
Justin Koethe (Iowa City, West) 53-1 won by pin over Brady Letney (Pleasant Valley) 37-14 (Pin 0:44)

170
Alex Meyer (Southeast Polk) 45-1 won by major decision over Cameron Rathje (Prairie, Cedar Rapids) 38-6 (Maj 17-8)
Colbey Vance (Bettendorf) 39-5 won in overtime over Mitch Wantock (Linn Mar, Marion) 26-3 (OT 4-3)

182
Jared Bartel (Mason City) 48-0 won by pin over Matt Seabold (Burlington) 35-4 (Pin 1:49)
Mark Atwater (Linn Mar, Marion) 31-3 won by decision over Casey Marnin (Southeast Polk) 37-10 (Dec 4-3)

195
Ross Larson (Ankeny) 40-0 won by tech fall over Keaton Jurevitz (Bettendorf) 31-8 (TF 19-4)
Bud Smith (Southeast Polk) 37-4 won by decision over Cegan Long (North Scott, Eldridge) 44-10 (Dec 3-1)

220
Zach Renshaw (Lewis Central) 48-2 won by decision over Jake Melik (Pleasant Valley) 36-10 (Dec 12-5)
Willie Miklus (Southeast Polk) 46-0 won by pin over Joe Scanlan (Johnston) 33-5 (Pin 2:56)

285
Nate Shaw (Bettendorf) 30-1 won by decision over Bryce Fisher (Southeast Polk) 40-7 (Dec 12-5)
Don Dawson (Indianola) 37-2 won by decision over Shaquille Wells (Urbandale) 31-14 (Dec 2-1)


Consolation Bracket

Third Round

106
Kaz Onoo (Mason City) 40-8 won by decision over Alec Vogel (Muscatine) 27-6 (Dec 4-1)
Jake Koethe (Valley, West Des Moines) 44-4 won by decision over Chase Lynn (Dubuque, Senior) 34-7 (Dec 3-2)

113
Hunter Genco (Clinton) 38-5 won by decision over Jay Fresh (Knoxville) 33-9 (Dec 8-7)
Joe McGinnis (Indianola) 39-10 won by decision over Bryce Steiert (Waverly-Shell Rock) 34-14 (Dec 7-6)

120
Ernest Willis (Iowa City, West) 40-13 won by decision over Damon Griffin (Linn Mar, Marion) 41-10 (Dec 9-6)
John Gioffredi (Indianola) 38-9 won by decision over Andrew Steiert (Waverly-Shell Rock) 40-10 (Dec 3-2)

126
Tyler McWilliams (Sioux City, East) 44-7 won by decision over Miles Bostic (Davenport Central) 33-11 (Dec 8-6)
Jack Hathaway (Iowa City, West) 49-4 won by major decision over Jacob Woodard (Bettendorf) 27-14 (Maj 9-1)

132
Randy McPhee (Davenport West) 18-6 won by decision over Nick Steger (Epworth, Western Dubuque) 47-5 (Dec 9-3)
Logan Ryan (Bettendorf) 37-11 won by major decision over Zach Henning (Decorah) 33-9 (Maj 13-4)

138
Jack Randall (Spencer) 43-4 won by decision over Kegan Wakefield (Iowa City, West) 25-8 (Dec 5-0)
Dakota Gray (Fort Madison) 35-5 won by pin over Spencer Derifield (Waverly-Shell Rock) 35-15 (Pin 2:53)

145
Austin Boyd (Burlington) 35-8 won by injury default over Brian Warren (Des Moines, North-Hoover) 36-5 (I-D)
Bubba Hernandez (Bettendorf) 36-8 won in overtime over Brayton Taylor (Fort Dodge) 10-3 (OT 9-7)

152
Dalton Witte (Burlington) 35-9 won by decision over Derek Rose (Keokuk) 30-6 (Dec 3-1)
Drake Chase (Bettendorf) 19-10 won by pin over Dustin Fuller (Sioux City, North) 39-9 (Pin 3:39)

160
Clint Underwood (Valley, West Des Moines) 39-11 won by decision over Isaiah Patton (Dowling Catholic, West Des Moines) 23-22 (Dec 3-1)
Max Krieger (Mason City) 42-6 won in overtime over Duke Egli (Fort Dodge) 33-8 (OT 3-1)

170
Carson Powell (Ankeny) 36-5 won by pin over Justin Kreiter (North Scott, Eldridge) 37-15 (Pin 1:00)
Ben Schwery (Lewis Central) 49-2 won by pin over Parker Sturges (Mason City) 15-9 (Pin 4:42)

182
Adam Walther (Waverly-Shell Rock) 39-10 won by decision over Layton Fritsch (Dubuque, Hempstead) 29-7 (Dec 3-2)
Bryan Levsen (Bettendorf) 38-5 won by major decision over Brad Boden (Indianola) 22-5 (Maj 8-0)

195
Dane Jones (Oskaloosa) 34-7 won in overtime over Nick Jepsen (Urbandale) 33-14 (OT 3-1)
Tarin Phillips (Valley, West Des Moines) 42-2 won by pin over Austin Lear (Lewis Central) 35-19 (Pin 0:35)

220
AJ Garcia (Linn Mar, Marion) 41-11 won by decision over Brett Haas (Dubuque, Hempstead) 27-3 (Dec 3-1)
Andrew Netolicky (Prairie, Cedar Rapids) 41-7 won by decision over Colton Aplara (Mount Pleasant) 28-11 (Dec 7-2)

285
Tyler Burrell (Cedar Rapids, Washington) 39-3 won by decision over Colin Foerstner (Iowa City, West) 29-24 (Dec 5-1)
Jake Scanlan (Johnston) 33-6 won by decision over Nick Terpstra (Cedar Falls) 36-16 (Dec 6-2)