Coralville, IA- The third annual sanctioned Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s (IGHSAU) State Wrestling tournament is returning to Xtreme Arena in Coralville on Thursday, February 5th, and wrapping up on Friday, February 6th, with 17 local southeast Iowa wrestlers vying for a spot atop the podium.
Here’s the first-round matchups for our local wrestlers broken down by class and school.
Class 1A
Van Buren County
After a successful team season that resulted in the Warriors winning the Southeast Iowa Super Conference title in its second season of existence, two wrestlers found their way to the state tournament.
In the 100-pound weight class, Brystol Wiley earned the #6 seed after winning her regional and entering the tournament with a 29-5 record. The freshman will take on Rylin Casey of Ogden, who sports a 39-11 record for the season. The winner will compete against either undefeated #3 Abigail Peterson of Denver or #14 Sawyer Rushton of Weber.
#12 Armoney Adams will have an uphill battle in the 105-pound weight class after finishing as the runner-up at regionals. Still, the sophomore enters with a 27-4 record for the season and will face off against #5 Sophia Hazen of ATU. The junior dislocated her elbow last season, missing out on the state tournament after qualifying as a freshman.
The winner will tackle either #4 Sophia Calpito of Charles City or Weber’s #13 Finley Rushton.
Wapello
The Arrows were able to qualify three for the state tournament, which includes a #1 and a #2 seed for their respective weight classes.
Three-time state qualifier, #2 Kenadee Helscher, who also collected her 100th career win earlier this year, will have her target set on #1 Ainsley Hemann of Osage after the sophomore defeated her by fall in the championship match and ruined a perfect season for the Arrow.
Helscher will again enter the tournament undefeated at 42-0 in the 105-pound weight class, as the senior attempts to end the season with a 45-0 record. She will be tasked with #15 Kayda Freeman of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont for her first-round match. The winner will take on either #7 Dani Curiel of Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley or #10 Brielle Starkweather of North Fayette Valley.
In the 115-pound weight class, Clara Ball earned the #1-seed after going 47-3 for the season. As a freshman last year, Ball finished in 6th place in the 110-pound weight class and with no one from the top eight returning from the weight class last year, it is all hers for the taking.
Ball will wrestle #16 Khloe Neal of SH-BCLUW in the first round. The winner will face off against either #8 Cadence Kinzie of Atlantic or #9 Taryn Moore of Alburnett.
Lastly, despite winning the regional, Reese Connolly was granted the #15 seed of the 235-pound weight class. The freshman is the only one of the weight class to enter with a losing record for the season at 15-19.
She will compete against #2 Haley Armstrong of Atlantic, who is looking for an undefeated senior season. The winner will compete against either #7 Kendra Allison of Fairfield or #10 Aliyah Payne of Clarinda.
Fairfield
The Trojans will have two battling it out on the mats in the Xtreme Arena, as Samantha Lyons attempts to build upon her 4th place finish last year in the 170-pound weight class. This year, she will enter as the #2 seed with a 28-1 record, competing against the #15 seed freshman from GTRA, Harper Manwarren.
The winner will face off against #7 Afton Dean of Lamoni or #10 Sophia Stephan of Cascade.
#7 Allison needed the wrestle back to earn the runner-up position at the regional championship, but whatever it takes to earn a trip to the dance is all that is needed. She will look to improve upon her 1-2 record at state last year.
Pekin
The Panthers will also be sending three to Coralville with #6 Lexa Nelson expected to finish in the same spot she finished last year in the 105-pound weight class. The senior, who is 34-4 on the year, will tangle with #11 Kierstan McRoberts of Osage for the opening round. The winner will take on either #3 Macy Rasmussen of Audubon or #14 Brandi Houston of Davis County.
Another senior will get her shot for Pekin, as #11 Lila Miller will wrestle #6 Makenna Kurth of Waukee in the 120-pound weight class. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals against either #3 Kate Krause of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont or #14 Amiah Lint of BGM.
In the 145-pound weight class, #4 Hailey Pedrick, who went 35-3 in her senior year regular season, will meet #13 Cara Schuette of Kuemper Catholic. The winner will compete against either #5 Paytn Haack of Emmetsburg or #12 Taya Metzger of Central Lyon-George Little Rock.
Highland
Highland will have three wrestlers at the state tournament. #2 Adley Sweeting will be looking to win the 120-pound weight class as a freshman. She enters with a 35-1 record and will compete against #15 Gracyn Stone of Louisa-Muscatine. The winner will face off against either #7 Remington Wadsworth of South Winneshiek or #10 Kiley Collins of West Liberty, the program’s second career 100 match winner.
In the 140-pound weight class, #11 Maiya Singbell will have a showdown with #6 Alexa Heffin of Garner-Hayfield in the opening round. The winner will take on either #3 Lucy Konechne of Central Lyon-George Little Rock or #14 Kimora Owens of Williamsburg.
Lastly, #12 Chloe Sexton will look to upset #5 Maren Subbert of Hampton-Dumont-CAL in the first round of the 190-pound weight class. The winner will compete against #13 Claire Schumacher of MVAOCOU/Western Iowa or #4 Ava Trende of New Hampton/Turkey Valley.
Class 2A
Fort Madison
In her senior season, Mara Smith will look to finish on the podium against after taking 4th place in the 130-pound weight class last year. Now, Smith is the #3 seed in the 140-pound weight class with a showdown against #13 Khloee Schimdt of Western Dubuque. The winner will advance to wrestle either #6 Lauryn Metcalf of Ames or Lindsay Trotter of Lewis Central.
In the 145-pound weight class, #8 Kat Diprima will compete against #9 Kerene Panya of Le Mars. Diprima went 33-5 in her junior campaign and will look to move on to the quarterfinals to take on either #1 Lizzy Wolf of Benton Community, who finished in 3rd place last year, or #16 Emma Smith of Pella.
Burlington
The Grayhounds return two top eight performers from last year’s state tournament in Amaziah Twillie and Macy Peterson, who both finished in 6th place for their respective weight classes.
Twillie will have to work to earn that position back in the 155-pound weight class, as she enters as the #7 seed. Her first-round matchup will be against #10 Halle Mosaquites of Hinton, who has more wins, 32 versus 28, and less losses, 6 versus 10, than Twillie.
The winner will wrestle either #2 Regan Jensen of Algona or #15 Jolyssa Rodes Perez of Sioux City West in the quarterfinals.
In the 170-pound weight class, Peterson is also not expected to return to her same place as last year; the junior claimed the #9 seed and will face off against #8 Aurora Lloyd of Linn-Mar in the first round. The winner will either take on last year’s 155-pound champion #1 Amalia Djoumesssi of Waverly-Shell Rock or #16 Sakina Aruna of Cedar Rapids Jefferson.
More Information
Stay tuned to KILJ for live updates for our local wrestlers throughout the day and end-of-day reviews from the two-day event. The first session will begin at 10 am on Thursday. KILJ would like to thank all of our sponsors for allowing us to cover the 2026 IGHSAU State Wrestling Tournament!