Area girls wrestlers make history

It was a historic day in Iowa High School girls wrestling on Friday, as 448 athletes qualified for the first-ever sanctioned state tournament.

Union area teams were spread out to three regions, as wrestlers tried to get into the Top-4 in their respective weight classes to advance to the state meet.

Mid-Prairie’s Gabi Robertson prevents a get up from Fort Madison’s Hailey Kemper during the Iowa high school girls regional qualifier 5 on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023, at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

The majority of area wrestlers were in Region 5 in Cedar Rapids, and Mid-Prairie led the way with five qualifiers.

The Golden Hawks had two second-place finishers. Gabi Robertson took silver at 100 pounds, and Ellie Brenneman finished second at 135.

Qualifying with third-place finishes for the Golden Hawks were Grace Conway at 140, Mia Garvey at 145 and Ellie Callahan at 170.

WACO will represent the area with three state-qualifiers, including a pair of runners-up. Rylee Rice qualified with a second-place finish at 110, and Braylyn Wagler took second at 235.

Grace Fort was able to squeak into the Top-4 after winning her quarterfinal match by pinfall. She will represent the Warriors in the 190-pound bracket.

Washington’s Teegan Sulentich qualified second in the 155-pound bracket. A couple of first-period pinfalls helped Sulentich advance to the finals to earn her spot.

An 8-4 decision in the quarterfinals helped Mt. Pleasant’s Ella McNamee punch her ticket to state. She finished third at 105 pounds.

Also qualifying out of Region 5 was Highland’s Angelina Rolling, who used a quarterfinal pin to end up third place at 115 pounds.

Joining Mt. Pleasant’s McNamee in the 105-pound state bracket will be Fairfield’s Alyia Abbott. In just her freshman year, Abbott finished second in Des Moines’ Region 4 105-pound tournament, the only area athlete to qualify out of that region.

East Buchanan’s Miley Walz wrestles Pekin’s Lila Miller during a 135 pound semifinal match during the regional girls wrestling tournament at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

In Region 6, another Cedar Rapids site, it was Pekin’s Lila Miller who represented the Union area. She qualified for state with a quarterfinal pin fall. She finished fourth at 135 pounds.

The girls state wrestling tournament will be held at Xtreme Arena in Coralville. Action begins on Thursday morning, and lasts into the weekend.