Linn-Mar Wrestling

No.9 J-Hawks stick No.5 Lions, 47-21

DUBUQUE - The ninth-ranked Jefferson J-Hawks upended No.5 Linn-Mar, 47-21, at a Mississippi Valley Conference double-dual wrestling meet in Dubuque Thursday night.

Jefferson finished its perfect night with a 44-18 victory over Dubuque Hempstead. The short-handed Linn-Mar Lions gained a split by topping Hempstead, 38-27.

Brenden Baker (106), Kelly May (152) and William Orr (220/285) had two pins for the J-Hawks. Patrick Rashed (126), Tavian Rashed (145) and Erik Hovey (170) also won both of their matches for Jefferson.

Noah Ajram (113), Alijah Jeffery (120), Damon Griffin (132), Shea Hartzler (160) and Andrew Holladay (195) won both of their bouts for Linn-Mar. The Lions competed without three of their top wrestlers with Matt Wempen, Toby Northrup and Ross Lembeck all sidelined with injuries.

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Holladay helps wounded Lions take 3rd

Andrew Holladay has gotten a little bigger, a little stronger and a little better ever since he joined the Linn-Mar wrestling program as a freshman in 2010.

Now a senior, he's ranked No.3 in Class 3A at 195 pounds with a sparkling 17-0 record after winning all five of his matches Saturday at the Linn-Mar Duals.

Holladay defeated a pair of ranked wrestlers from Ankeny Centennial and Clinton and finished his day with back-to-back pins. It was an impressive performance, but Holladay sounded a little underwhelmed by his achievement.

"It wasn't too bad," he said modestly. "It could have been a little better, though."

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Lions sweep MVC dual meets

CEDAR FALLS - The Linn-Mar Lions swept a pair of Mississippi Valley Conference dual meets Thursday night despite not having both of their top-ranked wrestlers in the lineup.

Alijah Jeffery and Ross Lembeck did not compete for Linn-Mar, but the Lions still managed to trim Cedar Falls, 35-33, and dump Iowa City High, 57-12.

Jeffery and Lembeck could wrestle in the Linn-Mar Duals on Saturday, according to Coach Doug Streicher.

Dallas McFarland collected two pins at 285 pounds. Noah Ajram (113), Alexander Geers (145) and Shea Hartzler (160) also won both of their matches.

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Lions nipped for title; Hawks upend No.1

The Linn-Mar Lions came within a whisker of derailing the top-ranked high school wrestling team from Wisconsin on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Prairie Hawks succeeded in knocking off the No.1 team from Iowa.

It was a good day for the two Metro powers at the 22nd Annual Five Seasons Dual Wrestling Tournament.

It was nearly a great day.

Linn-Mar split its 14 matches with Kaukauna (Wis.), but the Galloping Ghosts got enough bonus points to nip the Lions, 33-32, in the championship match of the prestigious 16-team tournament at Cedar Rapids Washington.

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