High School Wrestling

The girls’ state tournament finished up yesterday and 28 champions were crowned. Southeast Iowa was well represented with two wrestlers bringing home the silver medal.

In Class 2A, Fort Madison’s #4 Mara Smith competed in the third-place match but fell to #3 Kylee Shoop of West Delaware by major decision. Smith finished the year with a 46-6 record. 

In the 155-pound weight class, Amaziah Twillie of Burlington could not find a win on day two as the freshman finished in 6th place. 

Burlington’s #15 Macey Peterson also took home 6th place in the 170-pound weight class, while #3 Kiara Rodriguez had her day end early due to a medical forfeit, which gave her 8th place in the 190-pound weight class, and #4 Alannah Peterson took home 5th place in the 235-pound weight class after defeating Delilah Subsin of Ottumwa by fall in a rematch.

In Class 1A, Wapello’s #2 Kenadee Helscher punched her ticket to the championship match with a win over #3 Lily Webster of Colfax-Mingo; unfortunately, Helscher would end the year 35-1, losing to #5 Ainsley Hemann of Osage, earning 2nd place.

In the 105-pound weight class, #9 Lexa Nelson of Pekin finished in 6th place, while Wapello’s #7 Clara Ball also collected a 6th place finish. 

#9 Ashlee Farrier of Mid-Prairie concluded the season with a win in the 5th place match for the 130-pound weight class, gathering a 40-4 record for the season. 

In the 140-pound weight class, Keokuk’s #3 Jalyiah Gardner upended #2 Andelyn Cabalka of East Buchanan in the semifinal, which set up a matchup against #8 Teagan Carritt of Logan-Magnolia-Woodbine for the state championship. Gardner fell to Carritt, gathering 2nd place and finishing the season with a 41-4 record. 

Lastly, Fairfield’s Samantha Lyons ended the season in 4th place, going 1-2 on the day in the 170-pound weight class. She ended the season with a 35-6 record. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union and WACO boys’ teams will travel to Mid-Prairie today for the Colton Allen Memorial Tournament. 

The boys’ district meet is scheduled for Saturday, February 15th, with Van Buren County, WACO, and Wapello traveling to Pleasantville and New London will head to Wilton in Class 1A. For Class 2A, Burlington Notre Dame, Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union, and Fairfield will compete in Centerville and Mt. Pleasant and Mediapolis will venture to Williamsburg. 

High School Basketball

Mt. Pleasant struggled against Keokuk last night with both teams suffering one-sided losses. A depleted girls’ team could not keep up with the Chiefs, losing 73-22. Paityn Ensminger led the team with six points. The boys’ team hung in for the first quarter with a nice barrage of three-pointers but the offense was not enough in a 75-48 final, despite Aiden Humble pouring in 27 points on seven made threes. 

Mt. Pleasant will take on Ottumwa on Monday, February 10th, with the girls’ hitting the road with tip-off at 7:45 pm and the boys’ hosting the Bulldogs at 7:30 pm at Central Campus Gym.

Fairfield was swept by Burlington last night with the girls’ team losing 58-42 and the boys’ team falling short in the comeback attempt 57-54. The Fairfield girls’ team will face off against Knoxville, while the boys’ teams will travel to Mid-Prairie with both games scheduled for 7:30 pm on Tuesday, February 11th. 

The Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team clobbered Cedar Valley Christian 61-24 as Madisen Kellogg and Kynlee Buffington each finished the game with double-doubles as Kellogg collected 23 points and 15 rebounds and Buffington scored 18 points and gathered 10 rebounds. 

The Southeast Iowa Super Conference Shootout continued last night for the boys’ teams and here were the results for the #3-#8 seed games. 

The Holy Trinity Catholic boys’ team steamrolled Pekin in the #3 seed matchup 76-45 as Luke Hellige poured in 26 points for the Crusaders. 

In the #4 seed contest, the Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team skirted past Mediapolis 45-36. Jake Edwards led the scoring with 17 points while collecting five steals. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will host Pekin on Tuesday at 7:30 pm. 

Mediapolis will travel to Tipton on Thursday, February 13th, at 7:30 pm.

In the #6 seed clash, the Danville boys’ team demolished Lone Tree 61-41.  

The Van Buren County boys’ team won the #7 seed game with ease against Columbus 80-54. The Wildcats will take on Louisa-Muscatine on Tuesday at 7:30 pm on the road. 

In the #8 seed matchup, the New London boys’ team was handled by Wapello 64-36. The Tigers will hit the road to compete against Davis County on Tuesday with tip-off at 7:30 pm.  

The Wapello boys’ team will host WACO on Tuesday at 7:30 pm.

The Danville girls’ team will take on Lone Tree at SCC in the battle of the #2 seeds at 2 pm today.

The Columbus girls’ team will challenge Mediapolis in the #1 seed game today at SCC with tip-off at 3:30 pm. 

The WACO boys’ team will compete against Burlington Notre Dame tonight in the two-seed game at 5 pm at SCC. 

The West Burlington boys’ team will face off against Hillcrest Academy tonight in the #1 seed game at 6:30 pm at SCC.

Holy Trinity Catholic will compete against Clark County on Monday at 6 pm on the road. 

WACO will host Van Buren County on Monday at 6 pm. 

Central Lee will face off against Cardinal on Monday at home at 6 pm. 

West Burlington will host Mt. Pleasant on Tuesday at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm. 

Dan Gable Ms. and Mr. Wrestler of the Year

 IAwrestle and Iowa Corn in coordination with the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association (IWCOA) has released the top 15 wrestlers for the Dan Gable Ms. and Mr. Wrestler of the Year Awards and southeast Iowa has three competitors in the running.

In Class 1A, WACO’s Louden Huisenga is a strong contender for the award at the 190-pound weight class. He has compiled a 25-0 record against fellow 190-pound contenders.

Over in Class 2A, Kaiden Dietzenbach of Burlington Notre Dame is back in the top 15 after being placed on the list last year. The Nike is continuing his reign of terror on the area in the 138-pound weight class with a perfect 27-0 record, so far through his senior campaign.

Fairfield’s Cael McCabe is also up for the award in Class 2A as the junior boasts a 22-2 record in the 113-pound weight class. McCabe has won the Bob Murphy and Bill Van Horn Invitationals this season.

Fans can vote once per list at Facebook.com/IAwrestle for their favorite wrestler in each category until February 9th, when the list will be narrowed down to the top 7. The next round of voting, from Monday to February 23rd, will determine the top 3 finalists, with the winner announced at the banquet on February 27th at the Fareway Conference Center in Boone, Iowa, on February 27th at 11:30AM.

High School Bowling

Fairfield will host the Southeast Conference (SEC) tournament scheduled for Monday, February 10th. 

The girls’ state qualifying meets are scheduled for Monday, February 17th, and Fairfield and West Burlington will compete at Davis County, while Mt. Pleasant will travel to Keokuk. 

The boys’ state qualifying meets will take place on Tuesday, February 18th, and Mt. Pleasant will make the trip to Keokuk to compete. 

Southeastern Community College

The men’s basketball team will host Illinois Central College on Wednesday, February 12th, at 7 pm. 

College Basketball

The #8 Iowa State men’s team will host TCU today at 11 am. 

The Iowa men’s team will compete against #21 Wisconsin today with game time at noon. 

The Iowa women’s team will take on Nebraska on Monday, February 10th, at 7 pm on the road. 

The Iowa State women’s team will face off against Colorado today at home at 4 pm. 

This Day in Sports History

1936 – First-ever NFL Draft: the Philadelphia Eagles select Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago as the first pick. The first Heisman trophy winner opts not to play in the NFL.

1945 – Paul Brown agrees to coach the new American football expansion team in Cleveland, which would later be named the Cleveland Browns after their coach.

1960 – Boston Celtic Bill Russell becomes the first NBA player with 50 rebounds in a game with 51.

Coralville, IA- Championship Friday is officially in the books for the 2025 Iowa Girls High School State Wrestling Tournament and 28 champions have been crowned. Southeast Iowa left their mark by tournament’s end with two wrestlers finishing with the silver medal.

130-Pound Weight Class

Fort Madison’s#4 Mara Smith started off the third session with a matchup against #10 Tatum Heaberlin of Gilbert on her path towards third place. Smith collected a hard-fought victory by fall to advance one step closer to the third-place match.

Smith pinned #11 Brielle Parke of Linn-Mar to punch her ticket to the bronze medal match against #3 Kylee Shoop of West Delaware. Unfortunately, Shoop proved to be too much, defeating Smith by major decision.

Smith finished in 4^th place and with a 46-6 record for the season.

155-Pound Weight Class

#13 Amaziah Twillie of Burlington could not parlay her day one success onto day two as her day started with a loss to #1 Haylee McGrew of Ankeny in the semifinals.

In the consolation bracket, #4 Shanona Emmanuel of Iowa City, City High took advantage of the rematch, registering a quick pin of Twillie. The loss sent the freshman to the 5^th place match where #9 Kalen Jo Westerfield of Lewis Central pulled off the win by fall.

Twillie collected a 6^th place finish and a 29-13 record.

170-Pound Weight Class

#5 Kayma Burleson of Clear Lake awaited Burlington’s #15 Macey Peterson in in the third round of the consolation bracket and Peterson executed another upset by pinning Burleson.

Peterson lost to #12 Kasey Stone of Waverly-Shell Rock pinned by fall, ushering her to the 5^th place match against #7 Jazelle Smith, who beat Peterson back in the quarterfinals by tiebreaker. Unfortunately, a similar story played out with Smith notching a 1-0 decision win over the Grayhound.

Peterson finished the season with a 32-23 record and 6^th place overall.

190-Pound Weight Class

Burlington’s #3 Kiara Rodriguez fell to #9 Maddison Wright of Lewis Central, placing her in the 7^th place match but due to medical forfeit she could not wrestle. Ending her season with a 37-6 record and 8^th place at state.

235-Pound Weight Class

#4 Alannah Peterson of Burlington took down #7 Sage Dzeladini of North Scott by major decision to take one more step towards the bronze.

However, Peterson lost by ultimate tiebreaker to #3 Aniyah Smith, casting her to the 5^th place match. With a rematch against #5 Delilah Subsin of Ottumwa in place Peterson had learned everything she needed from her first matchup, defeating the Bulldog by fall.

Peterson took home 5^th place and a 24-6 record for the season.

Class 1A

100-Pound Weight Class

Wapello’s #2 Kenadee Helscher had her sights set on a state championship and #3 Lily Webster of Colfax-Mingo stood in her way for her semifinal matchup. Helscher would shutout Webster by a 7-0 decision, setting up a matchup against #5 Ainsley Hemann of Osage for the gold.

The undefeated season was not meant to be as Hemann would claim the championship by fall. Helscher would collect the silver medal and a 35-1 record for the junior.

105-Pound Weight Class

#9 Lexa Nelson of Pekin upended #5 Mercedes Ponce of Perry by a narrow 11-8 decision to advance to the consolation semifinal match.

There, Nelson fell to the #3 Serenity Turner of Knoxville. In the 5^th place match, #4 Emma Miller of Treynor kept the pressure on the Panther and took down Nelson by fall, resulting in a 6^th place finish for Nelson.

She finished the season with a 31-9 record.

110-Pound Weight Class

Wapello’s #7 Clara Ball began her day with a win by fall over #12 Kaelynn Roster of Vinton-Shellsburg. In the consolation semifinal, #11 Valentina West would get the best of her by major decisison.

Ball took on #4 Cora Schuttt for 5^th place, which ended in another major decision against her. Ball finished with a 35-14 record and 6^th place for the 110-pound weight class.

130-Pound Weight Class

#9 Ashlee Farrier of Mid-Prairie finished the tournament in 5^th place after ending day two with a 2-1 record. Farrier started the day pinning #5 Mayleigh Medberry of Central Elkader.

Farrier lost to #3 Lyni Gusick of Alburnett by tiebreaker, tossing her to the 5^th place match. Farrier would collect one more upset for the road with a win by major decision over #6 Jordan Buffum of Logan-Magnolia-Woodbine.

She concluded the season with a 40-4 record.

140-Pound Weight Class

Keokuk’s #3 Jalyiah Gardner skipped past #2 Andelyn Cabalka of East Buchanan to earn a chance to wrestle for the state title.

Against #8 Teagan Carritt of Logan-Magnolia-Woodbine, Gardner was unable to grab one last win, falling to Carritt. Gardner touts a 41-4 record for the season and 2^nd place at the state tournament.

170-Pound Weight Class

Fairfield 1A-170 #9 Samantha Lyons of Fairfield was unable to pull off the upset against #4 Nancy Bowman of Logan-Magnolia-Woodbine in the semifinals, losing by fall.

In the consolation bracket semifinal, Lyons handled #6 Gracie Pinckney, advancing to the third-place match on a 7-1 decision victory over Pickney. Lyons would garner 4^th place after losing to #2 Layna DeMoss of Benton by major decision.

Lyons ended the season with a 35-6 record.

Full List of State Champions

Class 2A

• 100 pounds: Siera Becker, Indianola
• 105 pounds: Katie Biscoglia, Raccoon River-Northwest
• 110 pounds: Ashlyn Leslie, Nevada
• 115 pounds: Lauren Whitt, Cedar Falls
• 120 pounds: Avaeh Smith, Lewis Central
• 125 pounds: Elyse Engebretson, Ankeny
• 130 pounds: Mackenzie Childers, Cedar Rapids Prairie
• 135 pounds: Lilly Stough, Waverly-Shell Rock
• 140 pounds: Hayden Bratland, Ankeny
• 145 pounds: Mahri Manz, Lewis Central
• 155 pounds: Amalia Djoumessi, Waverly-Shell Rock
• 170 pounds: Autumn Elsbury, South Tama
• 190 pounds: Briar Ludeman, Cedar Falls
• 235 pounds: Mackenzie Arends, Nevada

Class 1A

• 100 pounds: Ainsley Hemann, Osage
• 105 pounds: Violet Diaz, Denver
• 110 pounds: Gable Hemann, Osage
• 115 pounds: Reanah Utterback, Sigourney-Keota
• 120 pounds: Silvia Garcia-Vasquez, West Liberty
• 125 pounds: Molly Allen, Riverside
• 130 pounds: Jillian Worthen, Union
• 135 pounds: Colbie Tenborg, Saydel
• 140 pounds: Teagan Carritt, Logan-Magnolia-Woodbine
• 145 pounds: Eve Skrocki, Wahlert Catholic
• 155 pounds: Destiny Kolheim, Charles City
• 170 pounds: Brooklyn Graham, East Buchanan
• 190 pounds: Libby Dix, Mount Vernon
• 235 pounds: Brooklyn Robinson, Humboldt

KILJ would like to thank all of our sponsors for allowing us to cover the 2025 Iowa High School Girls’ State Wrestling Tournament.

High School Wrestling

The girls’ state tournament commenced yesterday and four of our local wrestlers advanced to the semifinals in the championship bracket, while another seven wrestlers are still competing for third place. Here’s a look at the path for those 11 wrestlers.

In Class 2A, Fort Madison’s #4 Mara Smith collected a 2-1 record to set up a matchup against #10 Tatum Heaberlin of Gilbert in the 130-pound weight class. 

In the 155-pound weight class, Amaziah Twillie of Burlington pulled off two upsets, pinning #4 Shanona Emmanuel of Iowa City City High to begin the tournament and taking down Gracey Smith of Clear Lake in the quarterfinals. Twillie will compete against #1 Haylee McGrew of Ankeny in the semifinals today.

Burlington will have another three wrestlers competing tomorrow as #15 Macey Peterson in the 170-pound weight class, #3 Kiara Rodriguez in the 190-pound weight class, and #4 Alannah Peterson in the 235-pound weight class each finished session one with 2-1 records. Macey Peterson will wrestle #5 Kayma Burleson of Clear Lake. Rodriguez will take on #9 Maddison Wright of Lewis Central and Alannah Petterson will compete against #11 Aubrey Borcherding of Dallas Center-Grimes in the consolation bracket. 

In Class 1A, Wapello’s #2 Kenadee Helscher mowed through her competition in the 100-pound weight class, pinning #15 Jersey Hilgenberg of Riverside in 30 seconds and picking up a technical fall over #7 Jazz Christensen of SWAT to advance to the semifinals. She will take on #3 Lily Webster of Colfax-Mingo in the semifinals.

In the 105-pound weight class, #9 Lexa Nelson of Pekin finished the day 2-1 and will face off against #5 Mercedes Ponce of Perry in the third round of the consolation bracket. 

Wapello’s #7 Clara Ball also finished 2-1 in the 110-pound weight class and will compete in the consolation bracket against #12 Kelynn Roster of Vinton-Shellsburg. 

#9 Ashlee Farrier of Mid-Prairie will face off against #5 Hayleigh Medberry in the consolation bracket of the 130-pound weight class.

Lastly, the Southeast Conference pushed two wrestlers into their respective semifinal matchups. In the 140-pound weight class, Keokuk’s #3 Jalyiah Gardner had little issue going through her two matches, setting up a matchup with #2 Andelyn Cabalka of East Buchanan. 

Fairfield’s Samantha Lyons pulled off a major upset against #1 Briar Blake of North Tama to advance to the semifinals for the 170-pound weight class. #4 Nancy Bowman of Logan-Magnolia-Woodbine will be her opponent with the winner moving on to the championship match.

Stay tuned to KILJ 105.5 FM or kilj.com for updates throughout the day with the tournament starting at 10 am.

The Van Buren County boys’ teams competed in a quad at Davis County last night and finished 1-2 with a 54-24 win over HLV, while losing to Montezuma 45-30 and Davis County 42-27. Kaimrin Ellingson, Alex Scott, and Leo Jirak all finished undefeated for the night. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union and WACO boys’ teams will travel to Mid-Prairie tomorrow, February 8th, for the Colton Allen Memorial Tournament. 

The boys’ district meet is scheduled for Saturday, February 15th, with Van Buren County, WACO, and Wapello traveling to Pleasantville and New London will head to Wilton in Class 1A. For Class 2A, Burlington Notre Dame, Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union, and Fairfield will compete in Centerville and Mt. Pleasant and Mediapolis will venture to Williamsburg. 

High School Basketball

The Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team crushed Rivermont Collegiate last night 74-35 in front of the home crowd as Jake Edwards netted 38 points and nabbed nine steals in the win. 

Mt. Pleasant will travel to Keokuk tonight with tip-off at 6:15 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6 pm.

Fairfield will hit the road to take on Burlington tonight with game one at 6:30 pm. 

The Southeast Iowa Super Conference Shootout tipped-off last night for the girls’ teams and here were the results for the #3-#8 seed games. 

The Holy Trinity Catholic girls’ team thwarted Highland’s comeback attempt to win 54-46 over the Huskies to claim the #3 seed. The Crusaders will compete against Clark County on February 10th at 6 pm on the road. 

In the #4-seed contest, the WACO girls’ team snuck past Central Lee 52-45 as Brenna Graber went off for 26 points for the Warriors in the winning effort. Kenna Sandoval cleaned up the boards with 18 rebounds and added 12 points to collect a double-double. 

WACO will host Van Buren County on February 10th at 6 pm. 

Central Lee will face off against Cardinal on February 10th at home at 6 pm. 

The Van Buren County girls’ team took on Hillcrest Academy in the #5 seed contest and scraped by with a 59-54 victory over the Ravens. Addison Brauns and Callie Kracht combined for 37 points in the winning effort. 

The West Burlington girls’ team handled business with a 41-27 win over Pekin for the #6 seed game. The Falcons will host Mt. Pleasant on February 11th at 6 pm.  

The Burlington Notre Dame girls’ team competed against Louisa-Muscatine last night in the #7 seed match and the Falcons were able to pull away in the end, defeating the Nikes 46-38. 

Lastly, in the #8 seed game, the New London girls’ team fell in a close one against Wapello 40-38. Mylee Miller picked up a 14 point/12 rebound double-double as she also rejected five shots for the Tigers. 

The Holy Trinity Catholic boys’ team will face off against Pekin on the road tonight for the #3 seed game for the SEISC shootout at 7:30 pm.

In the #4 seed contest, the Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will travel to Pekin to take on Mediapolis at 6 pm tonight.

The Central Lee boys’ team will tangle with Louisa-Muscatine on the road at 7:30 pm for the #5 seed game tonight.

In the #6 seed clash, the Danville boys’ team will face off against Lone Tree at 6 pm at Louisa-Muscatine tonight.

The Van Buren County boys’ team will be tasked with competing against Columbus on their home floor at 7:30 pm tonight for the #7 seed game. 

The New London boys’ team will travel to Columbus to compete against Wapello for the SEISC shootout in the #8 seed contest at 6 pm tonight.

The Danville girls’ team will take on Lone Tree at SCC in the battle of the #2 seeds at 2 pm tomorrow, February 8th.

The Columbus girls’ team will challenge Mediapolis in the #1 seed game tomorrow at SCC with tip-off at 3:30 pm. 

The WACO boys’ team will compete against Burlington Notre Dame tomorrow in the two-seed game at 5 pm at SCC. 

The West Burlington boys’ team will face off against Hillcrest Academy tomorrow in the #1 seed game at 6:30 pm at SCC.

Dan Gable Ms. and Mr. Wrestler of the Year

 IAwrestle and Iowa Corn in coordination with the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association (IWCOA) has released the top 15 wrestlers for the Dan Gable Ms. and Mr. Wrestler of the Year Awards and southeast Iowa has three competitors in the running.

In Class 1A, WACO’s Louden Huisenga is a strong contender for the award at the 190-pound weight class. He has compiled a 25-0 record against fellow 190-pound contenders.

Over in Class 2A, Kaiden Dietzenbach of Burlington Notre Dame is back in the top 15 after being placed on the list last year. The Nike is continuing his reign of terror on the area in the 138-pound weight class with a perfect 27-0 record, so far through his senior campaign.

Fairfield’s Cael McCabe is also up for the award in Class 2A as the junior boasts a 22-2 record in the 113-pound weight class. McCabe has won the Bob Murphy and Bill Van Horn Invitationals this season.

Fans can vote once per list at Facebook.com/IAwrestle for their favorite wrestler in each category until February 9th, when the list will be narrowed down to the top 7. The next round of voting, from February 10th to February 23rd, will determine the top 3 finalists, with the winner announced at the banquet on February 27th at the Fareway Conference Center in Boone, Iowa, on February 27th at 11:30AM.

High School Bowling

Mt. Pleasant swept West Burlington/Notre Dame with the girls’ team winning 2,357-1,819 and the boys’ team sneaking past the Falcons 2,525-2,336. Shyann Smith collected 335 total pins for the girls, while the boys were led by Ethan Payne’s 429 total pins. 

Fairfield will host the Southeast Conference (SEC) tournament scheduled for February 10th. 

The girls’ state qualifying meets are scheduled for Monday, February 17th, and Fairfield and West Burlington will compete at Davis County, while Mt. Pleasant will travel to Keokuk. 

The boys’ state qualifying meets will take place on Tuesday, February 18th, and Mt. Pleasant will make the trip to Keokuk to compete. 

Southeastern Community College

The men’s basketball team have now dropped four straight games after falling to Marshalltown Community College 69-60. Merquiche Lewis left it all on the court last night, cashing in for 27 points. The Blackhawks will host Illinois Central College on February 12th at 7 pm. 

College Basketball

The #8 Iowa State men’s team will host TCU tomorrow, February 8th, at 11 am. 

The Iowa men’s team will compete against #21 Wisconsin tomorrow with game time at noon. 

The Iowa women’s team did enough to exit with the win over Minnesota last night 68-60. Hannah Stuelke ended the contest with a game high 17 points. The Hawkeyes will take on Nebraska on February 10th at 7 pm on the road. 

The Iowa State women’s team will face off against Colorado tomorrow at home at 4 pm. 

This Day in Sports History

1969 – Diane Crump becomes the first woman jockey to compete at a major US racetrack.

2005 – Britain’s Ellen MacArthur becomes the fastest person to sail solo around the world, taking 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes, and 33 seconds. 

2021 – Sarah Thomas becomes the first woman to referee a Super Bowl in Tampa Bay, Florida.