By Becky Walz,
It was an intense Friday night of wrestling in Osage for the Decorah girls wrestling in the Class 1A Region 4 tournament.
Five Viking veterans of the state tournament are set to travel to the Xtream Arena in Coralville later this week for the state tournament in their quest to become individual and team champions, with all five seeded in the top five of their respective weight divisions.
“What is predictable about post season wrestling, it is unpredictable,” said coach Gene Adams. “When it comes to only two girls qualifying from each bracket, you get their best effort. These are high pressure situations; not only does one have to battle their opponent, but they also need to overcome the pressure. Sometimes we were able to do that and others time we didn’t.”
State bound
Excitement in the finals for the Vikes started with top-ranked Chloe Sheffield at 100 pounds. Falls over Addison Neville of New Hampton/Turkey Valley in the quarterfinal round and No. 8 Kennedy Bachman of MFL MarMac in the semifinals put the senior up against No. 2 Ainsley Hemann of Osage. Sheffield fell to Hemann by a 7-2 decision but was not required to compete in a wrestleback having defeated Bachman earlier in the competition to earn her ticket to state.
Later it was Amelia Wadsworth earning the 135 pound regional title. She opened her competition in the quarterfinal by pinning Kinley Roths of Charles City in 21 seconds and added a 16-1 semifinal tech fall over Kaydnce Cowell of Sumner-Fredericksburg to her night. In the final, Wadsworth secured the top spot as she turned Annaliese Arciniega of Osage in 3:42.
At 140 pounds, fifth-ranked McKenzie Tollefson punched her ticket to state in three matches that began with a 27 second pin of Madi Fritcher-Larson of Crestwood in the quarterfinal. The senior then worked her way by Kaylie Havig of Osage in the semifinal by a 16-0 tech fall. Battling Kelly Throndson of NH/TV in the finals, Tollefson secured the title by a 7-0 decision.
Top-ranked Ana Simon had just two matches between her and a ticket to state at 145 pounds. The junior threw Megan Severs of Hampton-Dumont-CAL in 1:20 in the semifinal after three previous byes. It took 3:24 for Simon to put the shoulders of No. 11 Aubrey Chapman of Osage on the mat to keep her season alive.
No. 2 Lauren Luzum will also make the trip to Coralville after she secured the 155-pound title. Two byes in the opening rounds led Luzum to Crestwood’s Clara Keller in the quarterfinal who was turned in 28 seconds. In the semifinal, the Viking grappler got Olivia Chapman of Osage on her back in 1:16 and finished her night with a fall in 1:41 in the finals over No. 5 Destiny Kolheim of Charles City.
“I’m proud of their efforts and excited to see what their able to accomplish at state. With the joy that comes with qualifying for State, the other side is the girls whose season ended Friday night. Many had aspirations of qualifying for state but came up short. My heart hurts for them. It also provides the time for reflection and how they want to respond moving forward. Next year begins now for these girls,” concluded coach Adams.
The outlook
New this season is the division of girls’ wrestling into two classes. Decorah is in Class 1A and will take to the mats for its first competition Thursday, Feb. 6 at 4:30 p.m.
Sheffield enters the state meet with a 35-4 overall record as the top seed at 100 pounds and will square off with Rylin Casey (20-17) of Ogden in the opening round. At 135 pounds, Wadsworth (25-6) enters her quest for the title as the fourth seed against 11th ranked Lila Miller (28-4) of Pekin. Fifth seeded Tollefson (36-6) begins her tournament against Winterset’s Montana Mitchell (16-2) at 140 pounds. Treynor’s Liz Young (36-13) is set to face top seeded Simon (38-2) at 145 pounds in the opening round, while second seeded Luzum (40-2) will square off with Mount Vernon’s Kaylee Kintzel (26-16) at 155 pounds.
Class 1A Region 4 team scores
1. Osage 235; 2. Decorah 205; 3. Sumner-Fredericksburg 146.5; 4. Lake Mills 137; 5. Charles City 129; 6. New Hampton/Turkey Valley 125; 7. Crestwood 109; 8. Humboldt 106; 9. MFL MarMac 70; 10. Hampton-Dumont-CAL 60; 11. West Fork 54; 12. North Butler-Clarksville 42; 13. Emmetsburg 40; 14. Northwood-Kensett 30; 15. Riceville 23; 16. Eagle Grove 18; 17. Tripoli 15; 18. Nashua-Plainfield 8
Individual results
100 – Chloe Sheffield, 2nd place
Rd. 1 – bye; Rd. 2 – bye; Quarterfinal – WBF in 1:00 over Addison Neville (NH/TV); Semifinal – WBF in 2:59 over Kennedy Bachman (MFL MM); Final – lost 7-2 dec. to Ainsley Hemann (Osage); 2nd place match – won by no contest over Bachman (MFL MM)
105 – Liv Anderson, DNP
Rd. 1 – bye; Rd. 2 – LBF I 1:39 to Addy Johnson (NB-C); Cons. rd. 2 – bye; Cons. rd. 3 – bye; Cons. rd. 4 – lost 7-0 dec. to Taelynn Bass (NH/TV)
110 – Audrey Feuerhelm, DNP
Rd. 1 – bye; Rd. 2 – WBF in 3:51 over Lexi Peoppe (Emmet); Quarterfinal – LBF in 1:16 to Braelyn Suckow (S-F); Cons. rd. 4 – bye; Cons. rd. 5 – lost 14-5 maj. dec. to Laylah Ingledue (LM)
115 – Ellie Adams, DNP
Rd. 1 – bye; Rd. 2 – bye; Quarterfinal – WBF in 0:40 over Remingtyn Peterson (WF); Semifinal – LBF in 3:34 to Anna Stene (LM); Cons. semifinal – LBF in 5:10 to Ivy Christensen (Osage)
120 – Izabella Kos, DNP
Rd. 1 – bye; Rd. 2 – WBF in 1:37 over Reagan Drees (Crest); Quarterfinal – LBF in 0:57 to Taylor Thayer (Emmet); Cons. rd. 4 – WBF in 3:46 over Lexus Ayers (NB-C); Cons. rd. 5 – won 7-3 dec. over Faith Stene (LM); Cons. semifinal – LBF in 1:08 to Tori Keonigs (Rice)
125 – Simone Downing, DNP
Rd. 1 – bye; Rd. 2 – WBF in 3:41 over Mackenzie Shultz (NB-C); Quarterfinal – LBF in 4:58 to Jessika Ausborn (N-K); Cons. rd. 4 – WBF in 3:33 over Mally Linkenmeyer (Rice); Cons. Rd. 5 – LBF in 1:17 to Emma Evens (Osage)
130 – Bristol Parker, DNP
Rd. 1 – bye; Rd. 2 – bye; Quarterfinal – won 14-4 maj. dec. over Laina Dettmann (Humb); Semifinal – LBF in 1:02 to Sophie Glaser (NH/TV); Cons. semifinal – LBF I 3:22 to Melanie Bruesewitz (Osage)
135 – Amelia Wadsworth, 1st place
Rd. 1 – bye; Rd. 2 – bye; Semifinal – WBF in 0:21 over Kinley Roths (CC); Semifinal – won 16-1 tech fall over Kaydnce Cowell (S-F); Final – WBF in 3:42 over Annaliese Arciniega (Osage)
140 – McKenzie Tollefson, 1st place
Rd. 1 – bye; Rd. 2 – bye; Quarterfinal – WBF in 0:27 over Madi Fritcher-Larson (Crest); Semifinal – won 16-0 tech fall over Kaylie Havig (Osage); Final – won 7-0 dec. over Kelly Throndson (NH/TV)
145 – Ana Simon, 1st place
Rd. 1 – bye; Rd. 2 – bye; Quarterfinal – bye; Semifinal – WBF in 1:20 over Megan Severs (H-D-C); Final – WBF in 3:24 over Aubrey Chapman (Osage)
155 – Lauren Luzum, 1st place
Rd. 1 – bye; Rd. 2 – bye; Quarterfinal – WBF in 0:28 over Clara Keller (Crest); Semifinal – WBF in 1:16 over Olivia Chapman (Osage); Final – WBF in 1:41 over Destiny Kolheim (CC)
170 – Isabelle Alley, DNP
Rd. 1 – bye; Rd. 2 – LBF in 1:01 to Brooklyn Warnke (CC); Cons. rd. 2 – bye; Cons. rd. 3 – bye; Cons. rd. 4 – LBF in 1:16 to Addison Schenker (Osage)
190 – Kamryn Steines, 3rd place
Rd. 1 – bye; Rd. 2 – bye; Quarterfinal – WBF in 0:30 to Elyza Williamson (Osage); Semifinal – WBF in 1:31 over Rose Neiwoehner (Crest); Final – LBF in 1:28 to Leah Stewart (CC); 2nd place match – LBF in 2:26 to Maren Subbert (H-D-C)
235 – Madysen Lippe, 3rd place
Rd. 1 – bye; Rd. 2 – bye; Quarterfinal – bye; Semifinal – WBF in 1:55 over Montana Wilson (Emmet); Final – LBF in 0:57 to Brooklyn Robinson (Humb); 2nd place match – lost 3-1 dec. to Ava Trende (NH/TV)
Submit A Comment
Fill out the form to submit a comment. All comments require approval by our staff before it is displayed on the website.