We’ve seen athletes in the past play soccer and golf, and some have played track and golf. Do you know of any athletes planning on playing two high school varsity sports this spring? Let us know.

The two Class 3A powers have made it a regular occurrence to fight to the bitter end against each other, and the latest installment followed suit.

Waverly-Shell Rock notched the last of six lead changes and won the final bout, capturing their third straight duals crown with a 34-30 victory over top-ranked West in the Class 3A championship of the Iowa High School Athletic Association State Duals wrestling tournament last night at the U.S. Cellular Center.

West beat the Go-Hawks, 34-31, in the finals of the Five Seasons Duals on Dec. 12. The win was sweet revenge and ending to the season.

“It’s a real great rivalry between us and Iowa City West,” Go-Hawk two-time state champion Cody Caldwell said. “We wanted to get that win back. We wanted to cap our traditional state title off with a state dual title. All 20 of us came together today and we made it happen.”

The Go-Hawks’ Kolton Rottink and West’s Sam Chalkley took center stage in the final match at 125 and winner take all with the Go-Hawks grasping a 31-30 lead. It’s a position Rottink doesn’t crave but one he realized he needed to accept.

“I was really nervous,” Rottink said. “I don’t like being there but I knew I needed to go out there and get it done.”

Rottink did, scoring takedowns in the first and second period for a 5-0 win and clinching the title. Getting early scores calmed his nerves, something coaches and teammates tried to do with pre-match pep talks.

“After my first takedown I felt really relieved,” Rottink said. “I was ahead and I knew I had it then. After my second takedown, I knew I had to keep the pressure on him and finish it out.”

The Go-Hawks claimed bonus points in each of their first six wins, setting up Rottink’s heroics.

Caldwell (145), Jordan Meier (215) and two-time state champion Cody Krumwiede at heavyweight had falls. Jordan Rinken (130) and Jake Ballweg (140) had major decisions to give the Go-Hawks an 8-6 lead after three weights. State champion Eric DeVos added a technical fall at 119.

“We knew we needed to put guys away if we were able to,” Caldwell said. “We were fortunate enough to go out there and guys put points on the board and got bonus points. That’s what we needed to win.”

The two biggest came from Meier and Krumwiede. Meier and Jamal Thompson were deadlocked in a scoreless match when Meier turned Thompson for a fall in 3:42. Krumwiede had a major decision secured when he locked up a cradle on Mickey Pelfrey in third. After the two rolled round, Krumwiede settled and stuck Pelfrey with 20 seconds left.

“(Krumwiede) is a pinner,” Waverly-Shell Rock Coach Rick Caldwell said. “We were really hoping for a fall there. We thought it would be a real tight match with the (215-pound match). Our kid came on top and ran a great bar and got the fall.”

Rick Caldwell said the Go-Hawks had to make their own breaks along to get the win, and he expected a tight finish as always against West.

The two teams have faced off in the last four state duals finals with Waverly-Shell claiming its third straight title sweep.

“Two great teams,” Rick Caldwell said. “Either team could have won.

“Doubling up for the third time is pretty unbelievable.”

The teams split seven matches apiece. A common theme, but West came up one win short.

“You got to find a way to win the eighth match and you have to find a way to make sure you’re getting your bonus points,” West Coach mark Reiland said. “We didn’t do either tonight.”

West (31-2) just didn’t capitalize enough, during the dual.

The Trojans took an early lead with Gradey Gambrall’s pin at 135. A lineup change, inserting Mike Watkins in at 160 and moving up two weights worked briefly for West.

Watkins stepped in at 160 with a 5-0 win over Adam Walther, following a Justin Koethe pin at 152.

That allowed four-time state champion Nick Moore and David Solis to move up to 171 and 189 respectively. Moore scored a technical fall and Solis added a 13-7 decision over Collin Heideman for a late 23-124 lead.

“We were certainly in position to win,” Reiland said. “We haven’t been able to close the deal the last couple of years.

“They just outwrestled us. I thought they fought harder in the spots they needed to. They won.”

The second-seeded Go-Hawks (22-2) battled just to reach the final, edging Bettendorf, 34-31, in the semifinal. Waverly-Shell Rock opened with a 50-18 win over Cedar Rapids Prairie (19-3).

West won nine matches against Urbandale (14-6), posting a 41-33 win in the quarterfinals. The Trojans then cruised in the semifinals, defeating West Des Moines Valley, 47-24.

Bettendorf (15-3) trounced West Des Moines Valley (20-2), 50-13, for third.

With their first state championship on the line, the top-ranked Titans relied on its strongest weapons to bring home the title, closing with four state champions.

They delivered three pins and decision powering Denver-Tripoli to a 43-24 win over No. 3 Davenport Assumption in the finals of the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s Class 2A State Duals wrestling tournament last night at the U.S. Cellular Center.

The victory sealed the Titans first state duals championship, giving them their first title sweep.

“That was one of our big goals going out there,’ two-time state champion and four-time finalist Levi Wolfensperger said. “We got it.”

The Titans have unparalleled strength in its lower weights. Dylan Peters gave them the lead for good with a 50-second pin over Clint Harland at 103. Gunnar Wolfensperger followed with a fall in 4:53 over Grant Rosenboom at 112. Freshman Brandon Sorensen earned an 8-3 win over Bradley McDermott at 119 and Wolfensperger capped the dual with a 23-second fall over Mundo Cadena at 125.

The championship was a balanced effort, and Denver-Tripoli Coach Chris Krueger was quick to praise his heavier wrestlers. Especially, Brandon Sorensen at 152, Noah Minikus, who bumped up to 171, and Kody Waddell at 189.

“Normally all year our light weights carry this team,” Krueger said. “I really thought tonight that our upper weights got the job done and put it away and the light weights put the exclamation point on it.”

Sorensen scored an 18-2 technical fall over Andrew Riley, while Minikus blanked Thomas Reyhons, 8-0. Waddell scored an important second-period fall over Bradley Grothus.

“That was probably icing on cake there,” said Krueger, also praising 135-pounder blaze Shedenhelm for a tossup win. “He was able to come through and do that for us. That was a big win.”

Waddell and Grothus were locked in a 0-0 match, when Waddell turned Grothus to his back with a power half.

“I worked it in pretty good,” Waddell said. “I ran it hard and hoped for the best.”

The Titans capped a perfect season at 26-0 and wanted to erase any idea 2A was a three-team race.

“We wanted to leave no doubt,” Krueger said. “We didn’t want anybody saying that if we would have had Ballard, Ballard would have beat us. We just wanted to let everybody know we were the best team in 2A this year.”

Assumption took a 24-22 lead with a decision from Sam Gervase at 215 and heavyweight Tyler Swope’s pin. Brody Grothus (145) and 160-pounder Landon Williams added falls, giving the Knights leads of 9-7 and 15-12. Assumption Coach Pete Bush said the difference was confidence.

“I think we wrestled scared,” Bush said. “I’m still mystified about. That’s what happened. They wrestled like champions and we didn’t.”

The Titans reached the finals for the second straight year thanks to a pair of lopsided wins. They crushed Creston/Orient-Macksburg, 53-27, in the quarterfinals, adding a 44-25 win over East Marshall/GMG.

Assumption advanced to the final by derailing two-time defending champion Ballard. The Knights won nine matches, including the final six weights, to beat the Bombers, 42-24. Assumption (21-2) opened with a 54-11 handling of Clear Lake.

Ballard (31-1) beat East Marshall/GMG (24-7), 50-19, for third.

In just his fourth year as their head coach, Connell led the Rockets to a runner-up finish at last weekend’s Class 1A traditional state meet in Des Moines. The season was capped with the school’s first ever appearance in the Iowa High School Athletic Association State Duals tournament Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Center.

“It’s a big step for the program to make it here,” Connell said. “But, we expected it.”

The Rockets entered the 1A field as the fourth seed, but lost their quarterfinal dual to Coon Rapids-Bayard, 36-33. Coon-Rapids-Bayard trailed 33-9, winning the last five weights including three pins and the final by forfeit. The loss left a bitter taste in the Rockets’ mouth, leaving them happy but not satisfied with just reaching the State Duals. Eddyville-Blakesburg suffered just its second loss to a 1A team and ended the season 21-3.

“I think we could have done better. I knew it would be close,” Connell said. “I hate to end the season on that. We’ve had a good year, but I’m greedy. I want to win them all. I don’t like losing.”

Connell has been influenced by some of the best high school and college coaches in Iowa. He was a state champion for Iowa City High and Little hawks Coach Brad Smith. He then wrestled for the University of Iowa before transferring to Wartburg. He praised the likes of Knights Coach Jim Miller, Iowa coaches Tom Brands, Jim Zalesky and Dan Gable as well as his prep coach.

“I’ve been blessed with a lot of good coaches,” Connell said. “Brad Smith was the reason I wanted to become a coach, growing up I looked up to him.”

Connell has turned around a program that didn’t experience much success with his arrival. Fans were ecstatic about the 17th-place finish in Connell’s first year, but he demanded more. The Rockets followed with three straight top-10 finishes, including their latest trophy-winning performance.

“Coach Connell has had a big impact on us, because he came in here when we were freshman,” Rockets two-time state champion Dimitri Boyer said. “He just pushed us throughout all our of our years. He’s done a great job.”

He was anxious to compete again.

“It kind of (stunk) not to get down there,” Witte said about not reaching traditional state. “Things don’t work your way every time.”

Witte (32-4) rebounded with a fall over Waverly-Shell Rock’s Blake Seehusen in a 50-18 Class 3A State Duals quarterfinal loss by the Hawks (50-18). He scored a major decision in the regional dual victory over No. 4 North Scott, helping the Hawks reach the state duals for a 10th time and fifth time in the last six years.

“Everyone was thinking as a team,” said Witte, a sophomore. “That’s what helped us get here. We all wrestled for the team.”

Lisbon was the seventh-seed and upended No. 2 Logan-Magnolia, which was making a state record ninth straight State Duals showing. The Lions beat the Panthers, 40-25, in the quarterfinals, before losing to No. 3 Nashua-Plainfield in the semifinals. Lisbon (21-5 after the semifinals) faces Coon Rapids-Bayard in the third-place match.

All three sit within a 30-mile radius of each other, and claimed team state titles last weekend in Des Moines. They will attempt for a championship sweep at the Iowa High School Athletic Association State Duals tournament today at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Don Bosco and Denver-Tripoli are top seeds in Class 1A and 2A, respectively. Waverly-Shell Rock is second in 3A.

The success didn’t happen overnight or even from the time wrestlers entered the practice room as freshman. The foundation was set as youths.

“The first thing that comes to my mind is all these kids … they all wrestled a ton when they were little,” Waverly-Shell Rock Coach Rick Caldwell said. “All three communities have good kids clubs.

“It’s a tribute to all the communities and the clubs in those communities,”

Caldwell he is familiar with wrestlers from both programs because they participated in youth events at the same time as his son, two-time state champion, Cody, who is now a junior.

“We were always at the same tournaments together,” Caldwell said. “We competed against each other a lot of times. I think that’s where it started.”

Don Bosco has been a traditional power for years. The Go-Hawks started to soar about halfway through the last decade with Denver-Tripoli catching fire recently.

“A radio announcer for Waverly (KWAY) said it must be in the water,” Don Bosco Coach Tom Kettman said with a laugh. “I know they work real hard at Denver and Waverly and the rewards are starting to come back.”

Don Bosco and Waverly have each won three consecutive traditional titles, but never have all three champs come from such a centralized location since the tournament split into three classes in 1969.

“When you think about it it’s kind of cool to see,” Titans Coach Chris Krueger said. “Just to have them all from this area is neat for the Cedar Valley.”

Competition exists between the programs and that was displayed in the opening weekend when all three battled in Cedar Falls’ Keith Young Invitational, finishing 1-2-3 in the tough field. They didn’t necessarily cheer each other on, but teams were aware of the others’ success.

“This year, seeing how tough all three of our squads were, I think we earned the respect of each other,” Krueger said. “We’re kind of hoping everybody would come out on top.”

The Dons (21-1) are big favorites to win a sixth straight crown, which would tie West Des Moines Dowling (1987-92) for most consecutive state dual championships. For the second straight year, Don Bosco boasts a senior class trying to sweep all eight titles throughout their career.

“We’ve just been real fortunate with a great bunch of athletes,” Kettman said. “We have some good kids we haven’t even got in the lineup yet.”

Don Bosco opens with Clarion-Goldfield (17-3) which is making its first State Duals appearance.

“We watched a few of their kids down at state,” Kettman said. “They wrestle hard. If that’s an indication of the rest of the team it’ll be a good meet.”

The Titans (23-0) are making just their second appearance in the State Duals and were the 2A runner-up in 2009. Two-time defending state champion and No. 3 Davenport Assumption are also in the field, providing a challenge for Denver-Tripoli in its chance for a sweep. Denver-Tripoli opens with Creston-Orient/Macksburg (12-4).

“Last year, we stepped up and had a great tournament down there,” Krueger said. “We’re hopeful the kids will show up and do the same.

“All 14 weights for us are solid, but we also know Ballard and Assumption and the kids we’ll see at the tournament are solid as well.”

The two-time defending state champion Go-Hawks (19-2) are seeded second to top-ranked Iowa City West (29-1).

The Trojans already own a victory over the Go-Hawks, winning 34-31 in the finals of the Five Seasons Duals on Dec. 12. Waverly-Shell Rock will need to duplicate its performance from traditional state meet when it won its third straight team title.

“We’re going to have to wrestle lights out again,” Caldwell said. “We had a great run at the state traditional tournament. Anybody who followed 3A knows we probably couldn’t have wrestled a whole lot better.”

Before Waverly-Shell Rock gets a chance to avenge that loss, they’ll face ninth-ranked and seventh seed Cedar Rapids Prairie (19-2) in the quarterfinals and likely No. 3 Bettendorf (13-2). in the semifinals. The performance may hinge on the five wrestlers who didn’t advance from the district meet Feb. 13.

“If they have great weekends, we have a shot,” Caldwell said. “If they don’t, I find it hard seeing us winning three duals on Saturday.”

Prairie is making its 10th overall appearance, qualifying for the fifth time in six years with a 32-29 win over No. 4 North Scott on Tuesday.

Predictions: Quarterfinals — Iowa City West def. Urbandale; Indianola def. West Des Moines Valley; Waverly-Shell Rock def. C.R. Prairie; Bettendorf def. SE Polk

Semifinals — Iowa City West def. Indianola; Waverly-Shell Rock def. Bettendorf

Championship — Iowa City West def. Waverly-Shell Rock

Third-place — Bettendorf def. Indianola

Predictions: Quarterfinals — Denver-Tripoli def. Creston-OM; Dallas Center-Grimes def. East Marshall/GMG; Ballard def. Emmetsburg/AR-RA; Davenport Assumption def. Clear Lake

Semifinals — Denver-Tripoli def. Dallas Center-Grimes; Davenport Assumption def. Ballard

Championship — Denver-Tripoli def. Davenport Assumption

Third-place — Ballard over Dallas Center-Grimes