Five storylines heading into IGHSAU state wrestling championships

On Thursday and Friday (Feb. 5-6), girls wrestling in Iowa will be on full display inside Xtream Arena in Coralville for the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) state wrestling tournament. Action gets underway with Class 1A at 10 a.m. on Thursday.

Here’s five storylines to watch throughout the two-day tournament:

Mount Vernon bringing program-best 7 qualifiers

The Mustangs will be led by five regional champs from last week. Kate Martin is the No. 3 seed at 105 with a 52-2 record. Kiersten Swart is the No. 2 seed at 110 pounds with a 47-4 mark. At 145 pounds, Adeline Whisner is the No. 2 seed with a record of 35-10. Kaylee Kintzel is the No. 10 seed at 155 pounds with a 41-18 record. Gracie Pinckney is the No. 3 seed in the 170-pound weight class with a 44-6 record.

Two additional qualifiers for Mount Vernon include Alexi Glaza at 125 pounds, who is the No. 15 seed with a 37-23 record and Maci Stoner at 190 pounds, the No. 16 seed with an 18-5 mark.

Mount Vernon looks to make some noise in the team race, following their runner-up finish from a year ago, finishing in second to East Buchanan.

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Iowa City Liberty leads area 2A teams with 8

Iowa City Liberty will be led by four seniors in Taylor Cavanh at 105 pounds, Kaitlyn Raue at 125, Evelyn Eggleston at 140, and Callum Wu at 145.

Liberty has a pair of No. 12 seeds in Cavanh and Evalynn Karam at 110 pounds. On the season, Cavanh has a record of 19-3 and Karam has a record of 36-8.

Freshman Kate Eggleston owns a 41-4 record and will be the No. 6 seed at 115 pounds.

Raue is also a No. 6 seed for the Lightning at 125 pounds and holds a 39-5 mark on the year.

Liberty will have a strong showing in four consecutive weights from 135 to 155. Acasia Lukalaba Ndomba is the No. 15 seed at 135 and has a 28-21 record. Evelyn Eggleston is the No. 8 seed at 140 and has a record of 31-4. Wu is at the No. 10 spot at 145 with her record of 38-7. Peyten Van Dyke completes Liberty’s qualifiers, coming in as the No. 5 seed at 155 pounds with a 32-8 record.

Class 2A’s 170-pound bracket is one to watch

The 170-pound weight class in 2A will be worth the watch, as it features three high-caliber wrestlers, with two looking for a repeat state title.

The bracket’s top seed goes to Waverly-Shell Rock’s Amalia Djoumessi, who has a 40-1 record on the year. Djoumessi was the 155-pound Class 2A champion last season.

At the No. 2 seed is Decorah’s Anastasia Simon, who owns a 46-1 record in her senior season for the Vikings. Simon finished as a state runner-up in Class 1A at 145 pounds last season.

And, coming in at the No. 3 seed is South Tama’s Autumn Elsbury, who won the 170-pound Class 2A state title last year and currently owns a record of 36-4.

This trio has seen each other throughout the season. Simon defeated Elsbury by a 16-4 major decision in the semifinals of the Dan Gable Donnybrook back in December and then also defeated Djoumessi in the finals by a fall in 4:23. Djoumessi got revenge on Simon at Center Point-Urbana’s Invitational in early January with a 10-7 decision in sudden victory.

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Vinton-Shellsburg’s 50-win trio

Vinton-Shellsburg qualified three wrestlers for the state tournament. Each of those Vikettes have tallied over 50 wins this season in Chloe Sanders (54), Camden Erhardt (54), and Kaelynn Roster (52).

Earlier this season, Sanders became the first girl in Iowa history to reach 200 career wins and is looking for her first state title. She is the top seed at 135 pounds in Class 1A and is undefeated at 54-0.

Erhardt owns a 54-5 record at 125 pounds and is the No. 11 seed. Roster tallied a 52-9 record on the year and will be the No. 3 seed at 115.

Local top seeds

In Class 1A, three additional local wrestlers join Vinton-Shellsburg’s Sanders as top seeds.

East Buchanan’s Stiefel is No. 1 at 145 pounds with a 50-4 record on the year. Her teammate, Graham, is the top seed at 190 pounds with an undefeated 39-0 record. Graham is out for a repeat state title, as she won the Class 1A 170-pound championship last season.

Bricsia Garcia-Vasquez of West Liberty is the top seed at 170 pounds with a 44-2 record in her junior season.

In Class 2A, Benton Community’s Lizzy Wolf claimed the top spot on the bracket in the 145-pound weight class. In her senior season, Wolf has tallied a 47-3 record. She won a regional title last week with two falls and a technical fall.

Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Emelia Reyes also earned a top seed in the 235-pound weight class. This season, Reyes owns a 39-1 record. Last week, Reyes wrestled a total of 79 seconds en route to her regional title, getting two first-period falls over her opponents.