Day 1 of Iowa girls state wrestling in the books
The first day of the inaugural IGHSAU girls state wrestling tournament was sold out Thursday at X-tream Arena in Coralville.
By Dana Becker | Photos by Matthew Putney
If anyone was curious just how much support girls wrestling has in the state of Iowa, they found the answer on Thursday.
The opening day of the first-ever Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union-sponsored state event sold out, as individuals battled for state glory and teams competed for titles. The attendance inside the X-tream Arena in Coralville was announced at 5,003.
After the second session late Thursday, Decorah stood tall with 82 points. They have seven total wrestlers still alive, with one in the semifinals. Waverly-Shell Rock, who won the unsanctioned team championship last year, is second with 74 points followed by East Buchanan with 72.
Council Bluffs Lewis Central is fourth with Osage, Ridge View and Cedar Falls rounding out the Top-7.
Audrianna Rosol of Centerville, seeded 21st, earned three pins to reach the 135-pound semifinal.
The Go-Hawks still have three competing for individual titles and three more alive in consolation rounds, while East Buchanan has three in the semis and two more fighting for medals. Lewis Central has five total still wrestling, as does Cedar Falls.
There were plenty of upsets throughout the day including at 105 pounds where the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds were knocked off in the semifinals. Taylor Strief of Bettendorf topped Solon’s McKenna Rogers, while Layla Phillips from Mason City downed Lewis Central’s Maya Humlicek.
Audrianna Rosol of Centerville, seeded 21st, earned three pins to reach the 135-pound semifinals, as did Grace Britten of Team SWAT, a combined effort of several high schools. Britten knocked off two returning state medalists at 170 pounds.
Independence's Rachel Eddy celebrates a 190-pound match win.
Katie Biscoglia of Raccoon River-Northwest, Jillian Worthin from Union, Jalynn Goodale of Osage, Molly Allen of Riverside, Layla Ewing from Moravia, Mackenzie Childers of Cedar Rapids Prairie, Lilly Luft of Charles City, Alexis Ross from Fort Dodge, Mahri Manz of Lewis Central, Emma Peach from Iowa Valley, Skylar Slade of Southeast Polk, Naomi Simon of Decorah, Jana TerWee of West Lyon and Olivia Huckfelt of Spencer are all No. 1 seeds who advanced to the semifinals at their respective weights.
A number of wrestlers finished the day with three falls, but nobody did it quicker than Hannah Rogers. The Wilton standout needed just 80 seconds on the mat to pin her three opponents.
Sioux City North’s Molly Sek was the only one to earn two technical falls, while Mason City’s Alexis Hoeft picked up the fastest pin in just nine seconds. A total of 21 others earned falls in under 30 seconds.
Decorah used 20 pins to help its team total, as East Buchanan scored 16 and Waverly-Shell Rock 15. Both the 140- and 190-pound weight classes featured 40 total falls.
Action concludes on Friday with placement and championship matches.
