A league of their own: 87 female wrestlers compete for state titles

WAVERLY - Eighty-seven female wrestlers took the mat in front of packed stands at Waverly-Shell Rock High School.

They came from all areas of the state, representing Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, Kingsley-Pierson, Waukon, Waterloo West, Colfax-Mingo, West Des Moines Valley, Bettendorf, Van Buren, Cedar Rapids Jefferson and Iowa Valley.

One of those 87 was Rylee Vercande of Mid-Prairie, who finished fifth at the inaugural Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association Girls' State wrestling tournament Saturday. The field was open to all eligible female wrestlers on current rosters of Iowa High School Athletic Association sponsored programs.

These athletes served as both groundbreakers and cornerstones for girls' wrestling in Iowa.

The 10-bracket tournament produced all the elements you would expect from a competitive tournament. There were pins and dominant performances. Matches were decided with a score in the final seconds. Emotions and injuries occurred.

'We had some great championship matches,” IWCOA Executive Director and former West Delaware Athletics Director Bob Murphy said. 'The atmosphere was great and we planned to make it like a regular state tournament.”

The IWCOA joined wrestling supporters to approach the IHSAA and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union about the process to sanction girls' wrestling. Answers were hard to receive. He hopes the event and support demonstrated will lead to more meetings.

'I've done a lot of officiating for girls' wrestling and I enjoy it,” Murphy said. 'I think we need to keep pushing and this is just icing on the cake for this year. Hopefully, next year we expand beyond here.”

The hope is for the tournament to expand and join male counterparts at Wells Fargo Arena, the site for the IHSAA state wrestling tournament.

Fourteen states have sanctioned girls' wrestling and Iowa's participation numbers climbed to 187 this season, receiving a boost from tournaments with girls' divisions. The athletes competing are aware of their impact as a role model on younger wrestlers.

'I hope I am because I have three little sisters who wrestle,” said Iowa Valley's Millie Peach, who won the 195-pound championship. 'By the time the youngest gets up it will probably be an even bigger thing. She's got 10 years to be my age … Hopefully by then, it will be really big and almost as big as the guys' tournament.”

Host Waverly-Shell Rock won the team title with 144 points. Colfax-Mingo was second with 78, five points in front of Charles City. Waukon was fourth as a team with 64 points.

Vercande, a freshman with a 6-2 record, received a bye in her first round at 132 pounds, then lost an 8-4 decision to Kylie Doty of Colfax-Mingo.

In her next match, she won by fall in 2 minutes, 17 seconds. Vercande wasted no time in getting her second win, recording a pin in 20 seconds. The fifth-place match was a convincing win as Vercande scored a 14-3 major decision.

Annika Behrends of Waverly-Shell Rock won the 132-pound championship. Behrends defeated Doty with a pin in 3:25 in the semifinals.