Coralville, IA- The 2026 Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s State Tournament is now in the books and championship Friday yielded one local state champion and eight other wrestlers finding a spot within the top eight. Here’s how everything went down.
Class 1A
100-Pound Weight Class
Van Buren County’s #6 Brystol Wiley started the day with a matchup against #2 Molly Konechne of Central Lyon-George Little Rock in the third round of the consolation bracket and after rallying back in the second period to tie the match, a penalty point to Konechne gave her all the momentum she needed to walk away with the 5-3 decision victory.
That loss sent Wiley to the 7th place to compete against #8 Brynnlie Havig of Osage. The Warrior held a narrow lead in the third period, but an onslaught of points was enough for Havig to earn 7th place on a 14-9 decision.
Wiley finished the season with a 31-8 record and a silver medal.
105-Pound Weight Class
Wapello’s #2 Kenadee Helscher had her eyes set on a perfect season and displayed that against #3 Kate Martin of Mt. Vernon by dominating in the third period for a major decision victory, advancing to the championship match.
In a rematch of last year’s championship bout, Helscher was looking for revenge against #1 Ainsley Hemann of Osage and got out to a fast start by scoring a takedown in the first period. Unfortunately, Hemann scored the next six points to earn her second state championship.
Helscher finished the season with a 45-1 record and her second career silver medal.
115-Pound Weight Class
#1 Clara Ball of Wapello had a tough collection of matches yesterday and that trained her well for her Friday showdowns. In the semifinals, Ball shut out #4 Hailey Harvey of Riverside, eventually pinning her in the third period to advance to the championship clash with #3 Kaelynn Roster of Vinton-Shellsburg.
Roster did not stand a choice, as Ball rattled of two takedowns and a pin for major decision victory and the state title. She finished the season with the gold medal and a 51-3 record as a sophomore.
120-Pound Weight Class
Highland’s #2 Adley Sweeting took on #6 Makenna Kurth of Waukon in the third round of the consolation bracket yesterday. Early in the third period, Sweeting was pinned by Kurth. She took on #5 Remington Wadsworth of South Winneshiek for 7th place. Unfortunately, Sweeting, while leading 11-8 against Wadsworth, lost by fall to finish in 8th place. She claimed a record of 37-4.
145-Pound Weight Class
Pekin’s #4 Hailey Pedrick lost her semifinal matchup to #1 Talia Stiefel of East Buchanan then lost to #6 Sophie Miller of Mid-Prairie and #5 Kenzie Maeder of Southwest Valley in to finish in 6th place. The senior collected a 37-6 record.
170-Pound Weight Class
#2 Samantha Lyons of Fairfield battled #3 Gracie Pickney of Mt. Vernon in the semifinals but Pickney escaped with the 3-1 decision victory after securing a third-period reversal.
Lyons faced off against #6 Kayma Burleson of Clear Lake with the winner advancing to the 3rd place bout. Despite dominating for most of the match against Burleson, Lyons was pinned, sending her to the 5th place match where she lost by fall to #11 Izzy Taylor of Anamosa to finish with 6th place and a 30-4 record.
Class 2A
140-Pound Weight Class
Fort Madison’s #3 Mara Smith unfortunately had to deal with heartbreak as she fell to #2 Makana Miller of Waverly-Shell Rock in the semifinals by a 6-4 decision before dropping out of her last two matches due to a medical forfeiture.
Smith finished the season with a 37-5 record and in 6th place for her senior campaign.
155-Pound Weight Class
Burlington’s #7 Amaziah Twillie’s day started with a narrow 5-4 decision loss to #5 Peyten Van Dyke of Iowa City Liberty. Yet, Twillie powered past #9 Trista Pike of Mason City with a first-period pin to snatch 7th place. The Sophomore finished the year with a 31-12 record.
170-Pound Weight Class
Lastly, #9 Macy Peterson of Burlington followed a similar path to her teammate, dropping her first match of the day to #5 Addison Bowman of Prairie by a 4-1 decision before surging back in the 7th place bout to defeat Aurora Lloyd of Linn-Mar by a 6-1 decision. The junior claimed a 31-12 record.
More Information
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