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Lyons leads stacked group of girls wrestling state qualifiers
Fairfield junior dedicates win to classmate Emmelia Miller
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
WAPELLO - Samantha Lyons carried more than just the weight of expectations as she attempted to secure a spot at the Iowa high school girls wrestling state championships. The Fairfield junior navigated the pressure of the Class 1A Region 6 tournament Friday, while honoring her friend and classmate, Emmelia Miller.
“My goal today was to win this for her.”
Emmelia, daughter of Trojans wrestling coach Steve Miller, died in a car accident just days prior to the wrestling meet on Jan. 24. Sporting henna tattoo designs that paid tribute to Emmelia, Lyons went 2-0 Friday to reach the state tournament. She now aims to capture a 1A title with the same intention and message to honor her classmate and the Fairfield community.
“It’s going to be very emotional if I do win state because my coach will be there for me,” Lyons said.
Lyons will also be joined at state by Kendra Allison, who earned her own opportunity to win a title for Fairfield after a second place finish in the 235-pound bracket in the 1A-6 qualifier.
“Kendra Allison had to work very hard,” Lyons said after her senior teammate pinned English Valley’s Bella Schott in the final match of the night. “That was a very emotional time for her as well.”
Lyons and Allison will compete alongside 12 other Union area girls wrestlers who punched their tickets to the state tournament Friday night. Wrestlers battled at regional qualifier events across the state with the hopes of getting a chance to compete for a state title at Xtream Arena in Coralville.
A pair of Mid-Prairie wrestlers booked their spots at the Wapello regional. Ellie Callahan used her fourth place finish at the qualifier in 2025 as fuel to finish first in the 190-pound bracket Friday. She will make her third appearance at state after qualifying in 2024 and 2023.
“My reaction made up for last year,” Callahan said. “My pin (in the 190-pound final) made up for last year. I knew I wanted to come back and this makes up for it all. If I could go back, I wouldn’t. I’d just stay here in this moment. I’d relive that. It was amazing.”
Sophie Miller will also represent Mid-Prairie and make her first appearance at state after winning the 145-pound bracket. Miller took down Serenity Van Wyk of North Mahaska with a pin in the final.
“Being (in) my senior year, my first full season wrestling, it feels amazing,” Miller said. “Just being able to do this with Ellie, and I love my coaches so much. They prepared me so well. So it was really great to make them proud.”
Both Sigourney-Keota and Van Buren County sent two wrestlers to state. Sadie Clarahan and Kia Montgomery will represent the Savages after second-place finishes at 120 and 125 pounds, respectively.
VBC got the first state qualifier of the night when Brystol Wiley defeated Addison Terpstra in the first place match at 100 pounds. Wiley will make her first trip to Coralville after an outstanding freshman season with the Warriors.
“It feels great because I know a lot of people were counting on me to go,” Wiley said. “So, it feels great to make so many people proud.”
Wiley will be joined by teammate Armoney Adams. The sophomore, who dedicated the achievement to her brother, finished second at 105 pounds. Adams lost in the first place match but went through after her semifinal opponent was defeated in the third place match.
“It was great. Everyone was there supporting me even after the tough loss,” Adams said... “Once we found out that I was making it — they were like family.”
Highland will have three representatives at the state tournament after a strong showing at the Midland regional. Adley Sweeting and Chloe Sexton both reached the tournament via first place finishes at 120 and 190 pounds, respectively.
Maiya Singbeil reached the state championships with a second place finish in the 140-pound bracket. Singbeil pinned Vinton-Shellsburg’s Aly Erickson after just 38 seconds in a wrestleback to claim a spot at state.
Pekin will send three wrestlers back to the state tournament this year. Lexa Nelson returns after winning the 110-pound bracket at the Williamsburg regional. Hailey Pedrick also took first at 145 pounds and Lila Miller qualified in second place at 120 pounds.
The state tournament takes place Thursday and Friday at Xtream Arena in Coralville. The first round and quarterfinals kick off Thursday with the semifinals Friday afternoon and the finals to follow Friday evening.
