IGHSAU girls wrestling regionals happening Friday

CEDAR RAPIDS — Girls all across the state have been training all season. Whether new to the sport or a seasoned veteran, they toed the line and competed.

And, on Friday, it all comes down to this. It’s Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) Regionals at various high school sites across the state, with action getting underway at 4 p.m.

Here’s five storylines heading into Friday’s action:

  Buy Photo

Iowa City Liberty looking to build off MVC title

Fresh off their first-ever Mississippi Valley Conference (MVC) team title in girls wrestling, Iowa City Liberty looks to follow their winning ways from Saturday, Jan. 24, to Friday’s regional.

The Lightning will be traveling to South Tama for their Class 2A regional. The only other area team competing in that regional is South Tama.

Liberty will be led by two seniors, Taylor Cavanh and Evelyn Eggleston, both of whom took home an individual MVC title last weekend. On the season, Cavanh has a record of 17-2 at 115 pounds. Eggleston’s record is 30-3 at the 155-pound weight class. Other key wrestlers to watch for the Lightning include Evalynn Karam at 110 pounds, Kaitlyn Raue at 125, and Peyten Van Dyke at 155, who all earned a runner-up finish at last weekend’s MVC tournament.

East Buchanan’s senior class lead Bucs’ hopes for a state title repeat

East Buchanan is led by a group of seniors: Kara Knipper at 135, Tayla Stiefel at 145, Miley Walz at 155, and Brooklyn Graham at 190. Together, they have a combined season record of 169-30, with Graham being undefeated at 36-0.

A year ago, the Buccaneers stood atop Class 1A as the team state champions, propelled by Graham’s individual title at 170 pounds.

Additional wrestlers that could make an impact this postseason for the Buccaneers include a pair of sophomores in Lyla Stiefel and Kambria Ries, who have season records of 43-10 and 29-15, respectively.

East Buchanan will be traveling to Crestwood and will be the lone area school competing in that regional.

North Linn on the hunt for school’s first state qualifier

In their first season as an official girls wrestling program, North Linn will be looking for the school’s first state qualifier.

Junior Lucy Haughenbury currently leads the team with a 14-9 record at 120 pounds. Sophomore Olivia Reierson Mims isn’t far behind with an 11-6 record at 235.

The Lynx will be competing in the Midland regional site and facing several area teams: Lisbon, Mount Vernon, Tipton, Vinton-Shellsburg, and West Branch. Mount Vernon and Vinton-Shellsburg finished No. 2 and No. 3 in the Wamac girls wrestling tournament last week.

Iowa City High hosting 2A site

Iowa City High will be hosting Class 2A Region 1 on Friday. Area teams competing at that site include host City High, Clear Creek Amana, Linn-Mar, and Western Dubuque.

The Little Hawks will be led by MVC individual champs Eliza Mitchell at 125 pounds and Shaona Emmanuel at 155 pounds. At last weekend’s conference tournament, Mitchell took out the first seed in the semifinals, Linn-Mar’s Caroline Pohlman, en route to her individual title. Emmanuel pinned her way through the MVC tournament.

Linn-Mar finished in third at last weekend’s MVC tournament, led by three-time conference champ Kate Seery, who defeated Cedar Falls’ Lauren Whitt in the finals with a last-minute takedown to come out on top, 4-3. Additional conference champs for the Lions included Chloe Adamson at 120 pounds and Brielle Parke at 130.

South Tama’s Autumn Elsbury looking to repeat state championship

As a team, the Trojans are coming off a Wamac tournament title last weekend. South Tama led the field by 76.5 points, as Mount Vernon was second with 177.5 points.

The team is led by senior and defending state champion at 170 pounds, Autumn Elsbury. She currently holds a 35-3 record on the year. One of her losses was to Decorah’s Anastasia Simon, who won by a 16-4 major decision, in the semifinals of the Dan Gable Donnybrook back in December.

Elsbury got late-season revenge on Mount Vernon’s Gracie Pinckney at the Wamac tournament, winning by a 5-1 decision, to take home the Wamac title at 170. Earlier this season at the Williamsburg Invite, Pinckney was victorious by a 4-3 decision.

South Tama hosts their regional site, with the Trojans and Iowa City Liberty being top teams to watch at that site.

It’s time to blow the whistle on girls wrestling postseason action with all eyes set on Coralville and Xtream Arena on Feb. 5 and 6.