Linn-Mar Wrestling

Lions fall short against Prairie

Trey Blaha never beat Alijah Jeffery in AAU youth wrestling tournaments, but they're freshmen in high school now and Blaha has fired the first shot.

Blaha defeated Jeffery in a battle of ranked 103-pounders Thursday night to help Prairie trim Linn-Mar, 30-27, in a Mississippi Valley Conference dual meet at Linn-Mar.

Jeffery won both times they meet on the AAU circuit, but Blaha prevailed Thursday with a solid 9-4 victory.

"The team needed me. I had to pull through," he said.

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Linn-Mar matmen go 5-0 at Estherville

ESTHERVILLE -- The Linn-Mar Lions won all five of their matches at the Estherville wrestling tournament Saturday.

The Lions beat Forest City 34-17, Blue Earth (Minn.) 40-24, Spirit Lake Park 49-21, Estherville 56-12 and Sioux City Heelan 64-15.

Josh Pederson (140), A.J. Garcia (215/285) and Joel Northrup (112) all went 5-0 for Linn-Mar. Pederson collected three pins, Garcia had two pins, while Northrup had a pin and a technical fall.

Ross Lembeck (135) finished 4-0 with two pins and a technical fall. Tanner Regenwether (145) and Jeremy Severin (130) both went 4-1. Regenwether collected three pins and a major decision, while Severin had two pins and a major decision.

Smith, Regenwether snag the spotlight

DUBUQUE -- Dustin Smith and Tanner Regenwether are not what you’d call the usual stars of the Linn-Mar wrestling team.  Those names are usually Atwater, Wantock, Pederson, Northrup and Jeffrey. 

But both Smith and Regenwether have recently bounced back from injury and Thursday night it was their turn to shine as the Lions beat Cedar Falls, 42-22, and host Dubuque Hempstead, 51-21.

There are reasons why Smith, a junior wrestling at 285, and Regenwhether, a 145-pound senior, may not fit the bill as a star.

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Linn-Mar's Pederson wrestles perfect day

Josh Pederson, a 140-pound Linn-Mar Lion, has never bowled a perfect 300 game. But Saturday at the Lion Invitational, he wrestled one.

Pederson separated himself from the entire field by pinning all five of his opponents, including a buzzer-beater in the finals in 5:57 to lead the Linn-Mar Lions over the Bobcats of Western Dubuque, 55-18. 

“It feels great," said Pederson. “I just came out trying not to force my shots, stay patient, and it came to me.”

Pederson, a junior with a 19-9 varsity record, has been working recently with Coach Doug Streicher to diversify his offense.

“I’ve been trying to stay away from the fireman’s-carry and work on some other moves like duck-unders and ankle picks,” said Pederson.

Pederson has been wrestling “on and off since the third grade” and was a state qualifier for the Lions in 2010.  A day like Saturday probably makes his dreams to “become a state place-winner” a much clearer picture to see.

“Josh is a hard worker and is well-liked by the kids, but every now and again we need to make sure wrestling’s not only fun, but also that he’s taking care of business," Streicher said.

In Pederson’s five trips to the office Saturday he pinned 10 shoulder blades, for two seconds each, to the same mat in a collective time of 14:08.

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