Prairie High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Trent Wennermark of Prairie rallied from a 9-0 deficit and pinned Brenden Baker of Jefferson to give the Hawks a big upset victory at 126 pounds Thursday night. (MSR photo by Ken Gilchrist).

Wennermark helps Prairie pin J-Hawks

Thu - 17 Dec Written by Jim Ecker

New Cedar Rapids Prairie wrestling coach Kane Thompson has been preaching a "team championship lifestyle" to the Hawks since taking over the squad this season.

Trenton Wennermark embraced the concept Thursday night.

Wennermark rallied from a 9-0 deficit and pinned Brenden Baker in the biggest upset of the match as the sixth-ranked Prairie Hawks topped No. 7 Jefferson, 42-30, in a Mississippi Valley Conference showdown at Jefferson.

Wennermark lost all three of his matches against Baker last year and was headed for a fourth straight defeat when he turned the tables in the third period. He got a reversal to draw within 9-4, then put Baker on his back and pinned him in 4 minutes, 33 seconds.

Thompson and all the wrestlers on the Prairie bench jumped in the air in celebration. Baker, a senior, is ranked No. 2 at 120 pounds by The Predicament wrestling magazine and Wennermark, a sophomore, is ranked No. 8 at 120. They wrestled a weight higher at 126 and Wennermark gave the Hawks a 21-9 lead with his precious victory.

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Last Updated on Thursday, 17 December 2015 23:24

Prairie boys stun No. 1 Wahlert

Wed - 16 Dec Written by Metro Sports Report

Max Smith-Drahos made two free throws with 12 seconds left Tuesday night as Cedar Rapids Prairie upset Dubuque Wahlert, 57-56, in a Mississippi Valley Conference boys basketball game at Prairie.

Smith-Drahos stepped to the line with a double-bonus opportunity with the Hawks trailing 56-55. He cashed them both to finish the contest with 10 points.

Wahlert has won the last two Class 3A state titles and is ranked No. 1 in the state again this week. The Golden Eagles had won 10 straight games since last season before falling to Prairie.

Cal Clark led Prairie with 11 points as the Hawks raised their records to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the MVC.

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Prairie girls fall at Wahlert

Wed - 16 Dec Written by Metro Sports Report

DUBUQUE – Olivia Usher scored 11 points to lead the Prairie girls basketball team in a 62-46 loss to Dubuque Wahlert on Tuesday.

Charlotte Flynn had 18 points to lead Wahlert (3-5).

The Prairie Hawks fell to 4-3.

PRAIRIE (46): Schmitt 0 3-4 3, Moenk 2 2-4 6, Altenhofen 1 0-0 3, Sanders 0 0-0 0, Lampe 0 0-0 0, Adams 0 3-4 3, Stebral 0 0-0 0, Usher 4 1-1 11, Wagemester 2 0-0 4, Shreeves 0 3-6 3, Kuch 0 2-2 2, Person 3 3-3 9, Stoffer 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 17-24 46.

DUBUQUE WAHLERT (62): Hocking 0 0-0 0, Roling 2 1-1 5, Osterberger 4 1-2 9, Schmerbach 0 0-0 0, Fricano 1 2-2 4, Tranel 1 7-8 10, Ott 0 1-2 1, Boge 3 2-2 8, Flynn 8 0-2 18, Noonan 3 1-3 7, Flogel 0 0-0 0, White 0 0-0 0, Holtz 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 15-22 62.

Halftime – Dubuque Wahlert 22, Prairie 14. 3-point goals – Prairie 3 (Usher 2, Altenhofen), Dubuque Wahlert 3 (Flynn 2, Tranel).

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Usher wins Metro Spotlight Award

Sun - 13 Dec Written by Metro Sports Report

Olivia Usher of Cedar Rapids Prairie is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school girls this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Usher, a 5-foot-9 senior, is the leader of the Prairie girls basketball team that has gotten off to a 4-2 start this season with victories over Muscatine, Marion, Jefferson and Dubuque Senior. The Hawks have already matched their victory total from last season, when they finished with a 4-18 record.

Usher is averaging 11.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals as Prairie's primary point guard. Those numbers do not include her strong defense and leadership.

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Last Updated on Sunday, 13 December 2015 11:59

Prairie's Sam Uthoff gets back points in a 132-pound bout against Kanan Morris of Alburnett during the championship round of the Five Seasons Duals at Kennedy Saturday. Uthoff won by fall in 1:28. (MSR photo by Ken Gilchrist)

Thompson's sad day ends with title

Sat - 12 Dec Written by Jim Ecker

New Cedar Rapids Prairie wrestling coach Kane Thompson ran the gamut of emotions Saturday with deep sadness, some happiness and a bittersweet victory all rolled into a short period of time.

Thompson helped bury his 82-year-old grandfather Saturday morning in Brooklyn (Iowa), then drove back to Cedar Rapids Saturday afternoon with a heavy heart and saw his Prairie Hawks win the championship of the Five Seasons Duals at Kennedy High School.

Ironically, Prairie defeated Thompson's former team in the finals when it topped Alburnett 40-34 in a tight battle for the crown.

Thompson missed Prairie's first three matches Saturday before arriving in time for part of its fourth match and all of the finals against Alburnett, where he coached for the last eight years.

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Last Updated on Saturday, 12 December 2015 21:25