Daily Newsletters
Account
Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Utterback completes perfect season
SK junior wins 1st state wrestling title; Cardinal’s Cox 6th
CORALVILLE — Xtream Arena in Coralville saw a full two days of wrestling over the weekend, and when the dust had settled only 14 Iowa high school girls wrestlers stood tall atop the state tournament podium.
One of those wrestlers was none other that Sigourney-Keota’s Reanah Utterback.
Utterback finished her undefeated season with an incredibly dominant win through the 115-pound bracket, winning all five matches by pinfall to earn her first sanctioned state title and finish the year an incredible 49-0.
“I wanted to come out and open up since it was the state tournament,” Utterback told The Gazette. “Just being out here and having fun. The main goal was just to go out and wrestle. Get my stuff done.”
Utterback started her tournament off with two matches that took just 91 seconds total. She defeated Kammie Gleiter of Waterloo West with a 39-second pin, and Josie Lennon of Sergeant Bluff-Luton with a 52-second pin to make the quarterfinals.
Utterback pinned Caitlin Reiter of Pleasant Valley in 1:30 and second-ranked Ellie Weets of Vinton-Shellsburg in 1:10 before squaring off with ninth-seeded Silvia Garcia-Vasquez of West Liberty in Friday night’s state title match.
Garcia-Vas had a dream run through the bracket, which included knocking off top-seeded Molly Sek of Sioux City North in the quarterfinals, but Utterback controlled the match from the opening whistle.
Utterback led 2-0 after the first period and 10-0 after the second. She eventually polished off her run with a pin in the final minute of action, earning the fall in 5 minutes and 5 seconds.
Utterback also won a championship in the 2022 Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association title in 2022, the year before girls wrestling was sanctioned by the state of Iowa. She placed eighth at the 2023 Iowa High School Athletic Association state tournament last year, becoming the second girl ever to place.
“This year was trying to score as many points as I could and not giving up any points,” Utterback said. “Just focusing on my technique and making myself better, even though it’s not the competition I want. I’m still making myself better by pushing myself to get as many points as possible before I pin them.”
Utterback wasn’t the Union area’s only semifinalist. Cardinal’s Ajaah Cox had quite the run as well, making it all the way to the semis before finishing the wrestlebacks in sixth place.
Cox, who came into the tournament with a No. 14 seed, started her weekend with three pins, defeating Vinton-Shellsburg’s Dakota Cornell in 2:14, Mason City’s Kyleigh James in 5:23 and Decorah’s Lauren Luzum in 3:58.
Cox was eventually slowed down by eventual state champion Nicole Olson, the No. 2 seed out of Missouri Valley. Cox was pinned in the semifinals and then twice more in the consolation semis and fifth place matches.
Cox was one of two Comet wrestlers in action, both of which had wins. Abigail Durflinger won her first match at 105 pounds before falling in the next two.
Also collecting three wins on the weekend was Fairfield’s Samantha Lyons. Lyons went 3-2 overall, not quite enough to place.
Lyons had a dominant performance in her first match, beating Iowa Falls-Alden’s Kynnedy Gunderson 9-2. After a fall in the second round at the hands of No. 2 seed Autumn Elsbury of South Tama County, Lyons defeated Iowa City High’s Molly Carlson and Algona’s Reagan Haynes int he wrestlebacks.
Lyons finished one match away from the Top-8. She was downed by third-seeded Grace Britten of S.W.A.T. Valkyrie to get eliminated.
All three Mid-Prairie wrestlers in action finished the tournament in the wrestlebacks. Ashlee Farrier went 2-2 at 130 pounds. Ellie Brenneman was 2-2 at 135, and Ellie Callahan went 1-2 at 170.
Columbus/Winfield-Mount Union’s Josie Nelson had one win on the weekend in the 140-pound bracket. She finished 1-2 at the 140-pound weight class, winning her first wrestleback.
Columbus/WMU 155-pounder Lacet Quiroz went 0-2 at 155. Pekin’s Hailey Pedrick was 0-2 at 135, and WACO’s Rylee Rice finished 0-2 at 110.
