A Quick Look at the Girls Wrestling State Quarterfinal Matches Featuring Your Prep Sports Area Athletes
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
The first session of the inaugural Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union state wrestling meet is in the books.
A capacity crowd packed Xtream Arena in Coralville to watch the opening sessions that consisted of opening round and second round championship matches and the first round of consolation matches.
Wrestling resumes tonight at 5 p.m. with quarterfinal matches and two more rounds of consolations in each of the 14 weight classes.
Here is a quick look at the three quarterfinal matches this evening featuring Your Prep Sports area wrestlers.
McKenna Rogers (Solon) vs. Taylor Strief (Bettendorf)
A couple of top freshmen in the state tangle in what should be one of the more entertaining quarterfinals of the evening.
Rogers (35-1) brings a 28-match winning streak into Thursday evening’s quarterfinal after posting back-to-back first-period pins on Thursday morning.
Third-seeded Rogers is unbeaten against in-state foes and hasn’t lost since the Donnybrook finals at Xtream Arena on December 2.
Strief (34-3) has been nearly as impressive during her debut season with her only loss since December coming to second-ranked Maya Humlicek of Council Bluffs Lewis Central.
Sixth-seeded Streif advanced to the quarterfinals with a pair of first-period falls and has won 16 consecutive matches via tech fall or fall.
Claire Brown (City High) vs. Lilly Luft (Charles City)
Simply put Luft is one of the premier wrestlers in the state.
Already a two-time IWCOA state champion Luft joins Decorah junior 170-pounder Naomi Simon as wrestlers seeking a third consecutive title this week.
Last year’s 130-pound champion, top-seeded Luft (37-0) advanced to the quarterfinals with consecutive first-period falls, needing just 1:33 to pin Gracie Leslie of Nevada in the second round.
Ninth-seeded Brown (24-4) needed a takedown in overtime to down Shy Steck of Colfax-Mingo in her opening match and scored the only takedown in a 3-1 win over eighth-seeded Tierney Perkins of Crestwood in the second round.
Brown finished runner-up at the Region 5 tournament last Friday falling to fourth-seeded quarterfinalist Lexy Petersen of Bettendorf in the championship match.
The only other two in-state losses this season for Brown came to second-seed Chloe Sanders of Vinton-Shellsburg.
No. 3 Jannell Avila (West High) vs. No. 6 Jorie Hanenburg (North Scott)
Already a three-time state medalist, Avila is looking to close her career with a second state title and her first since winning the
Avila (29-2) advanced to the quarterfinals with first-period pins of South Tama’s Abigail Chyma and Kassidy Fiala of Council Bluffs and can take a huge step toward a spot in the state title match with a win over seventh-seeded Hanenburg.
Hanenburg (39-3) has been impressive needing just 100 seconds to record pins of Dubuque Hempstead sophomore Paige Howieson and No. 10 seed Mairi Sessions of Decorah.
The three losses for Hanenburg this season have all come to top-ranked wrestlers and Hanenburg avenged her most recent loss to second-ranked Teegan Sulentich of Washington with a first-period pin of Sulentich in the Region 5 championship match.
Hanenburg has only had two matches go the distance this season and of her 39 wins this season 35 have come via first-period fall.
A pair of wrestlers with big-time power this match has the potential for fireworks.
Your Prep Sports Area Quarterfinal Matches
105 – McKenna Rogers (35-1), Fr., Solon vs. Taylor Strief (34-3), Fr., Bettendorf
130 – Claire Brown (23-4), Sr., City High vs. Lilly Luft (36-0) Sr., Charles City
155 – Jannell Avila (29-2), Sr., West High vs. Jorie Hanenburg (39-3), Sr., North Scott
Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating.