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Utterback, again!
Sigourney-Keota senior stamps her spot in Iowa history
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
CORALVILLE — Sigourney-Keotas’ Reanah Utterback has only been wrestling exclusively against the girls for two years, and for two years, she’s proved time and time again, she’s one of the best to ever do it.
On Friday night in Coralville, Utterback put the cherry on top of her illustrious high school wrestling career, winning her second-straight state girls wrestling title in the same way she won the last one — by dominating every single match.
Utterback closed out the Class 1A, 115-pound bracket the same way she finished off every one of her matches, controlling from start to finish before pinning her opponent, second-seeded Erica Irvine of Don Bosco.
Utterback kicked off the tournament with a pin over Union area rival Gabby Gingerich of Mid-Prairie, pinning her in 1 minute, 12 seconds in the first round on Thursday. She then took down Macy Rasmussen of Audubon, in 1:55, and knocked off Vinton-Shellsburg’s Ellie Weets in 5:23 on Friday morning to set up the championship match.
Utterback pinned Irvine in 3:52. It was her 104th victory in a row in an undefeated two-year streak.
“It was a bittersweet moment, especially since it was my last year,” Utterback said. “I was just happy to be out there doing what I love.”
Utterback, a state qualifier as the only girl in the 2023 state boys bracket, decided to wrestle in girls competition before last winter, one year after standing on a podium at the boys’ meet. Her dominance will now go down in the history books as one of the original stars of the sanctioned girls wrestling era, which just wrapped up its third state tourney.
“I'm glad to go out with a perfect season, especially because it's my senior year, and I'm just glad I didn't have to do it alone this year since I have some other girls out here with me,” Utterback said.
Utterback was joined on the state mats this year by teammates Kia Montgomery and Karley Greiner. Montgomery went 1-2 at 125, and Greiner was 0-2 at 155. In the future, Utterback plans on enlisting with a new team, the U.S. Army, where she hopes to wrestle with the World Class Athlete Program.
But for now, it’s time to celebrate another win, another title, and a legacy that will live on in Iowa high school wrestling lore.
“I'm just hoping that I've put the legacy that you can do whatever you can put your mind to,” Utterback said. “You're not alone in this sport. You have people that can help you out.”
