IGHSAU adds another class for 2024-25 girls’ wrestling season

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union approved adding another class to girls’ wrestling for the 2024-25 season, a press release announced today.

“I think that it's a great thing for girls wrestling. It shows how much the sport has grown in the state of Iowa over the last couple years and justifies the decision to sanction the sport (back in 2022),” Iowa Valley head wrestling coach Jeremy Kriegel said.

In the 2023-24 season, each Hometown Current area school had at least one participant. Raelene Hawkins of HLV wrestled for Iowa Valley.

Iowa Valley and Williamsburg both yielded multiple state qualifiers highlighted by a state runner-up finish from Iowa Valley’s Breanna Peach in the heavyweight division.

The change will place the top 64 schools in enrollment in Class 2A with the rest being in Class 1A.

This will most likely place all Hometown Current schools in 1A.

Williamsburg was ranked 110th in the IGHSAU BEDS enrollment list for the 2023-24 academic year, and with most bigger schools having programs it would be highly unlikely the Raiders would be put in Class 2A.

Wrestlers will still compete at regionals to quality for state, but it will now be at separate Class 1A and 2A sites.

The top 16 wrestlers for each weight class will qualify for the 2025 state meet, which will stay a two-day event.

“As a team, I think it will be a good thing for us. We will continue our cooperative agreement with HLV and stay in the smaller class,” Kriegel said.

“I think we will continue to have a competitive group of girls that will work towards the same goals of making each other better and competing at the state tournament,” Kriegel said.

“I'm anxious to see how it works out next season.”