Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

CORALVILLE – In her high school debut season Jannell Avila won an IWCOA state title at 138 pounds.

The West High senior will look to bookend her brilliant career with a second state title on Friday.

Avila secured a spot in the 155-pound championship match at the first ever Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union state wrestling meet at Xtream Arena in Coralville with a third-period pin of East Buchanan senior Keeley Kehrli (48-5) in the semifinals on Friday morning.

Second-seeded Avila (31-2) will face top-seeded and unbeaten Southeast Polk freshman Skylar Slade (48-0) in the 155-pound title match.

The final sessions of the two-day event gets underway at 6 p.m. on Friday.

A three-time state medalist at IWCOA tournaments, Avila has been dominant in the first sanctioned state meet in state history.

Avila has posted four consecutive pins on her way to the 155-pound championship match after avenging a regional final loss to Kehrli with a pin in 5:49 in the semifinals.

At the regional meet last Friday in Cedar Rapids Kehrli handed Avila just her second loss this season winning a 2-0 decision in the championship match.

The rematch was all Avila.

After a scoreless opening period Avila scored a takedown with 35 seconds left in the second period to take a 2-0 lead.

After an Avila escape made it 3-1 in the third Avila put Kehrli away with another takedown, this one that turned into the fourth consecutive state-meet pin for Avila.

The opponent for Avila in the finals has been just as impressive over the past two days at Xtream Arena.

Slade has reached the finals with four consecutive first-period pins and needed just 1:57 to pin fifth-seeded and previously unbeaten Nicole Olson of Missouri Valley in the semifinals.

Solon freshman McKenna Rogers joins Avila in advancing to the final sessions of the two-day event.

Rogers (37-3) went 2-1 in consolation matches at 105 pounds on Friday morning and will wrestle Lauren Whitt (40-10) of Cedar Falls in the fifth-place match on Friday evening.

After falling to sixth-seed Taylor Strief of Bettendorf in the quarterfinals on Friday evening Rogers won back-to-back consolation matches on Friday morning to reach the consolation semifinals.

Rogers pinned Ava Gannon of Dallas Center-Grimes in 3:38 and won an 11-2 major decision over second-seeded Maya Humlicek of Council Bluffs Lewis Central before dropping an 8-7 decision to Hillary Trainor of Sumner-Fredericksburg in the consolation semifinals.

Two other area wrestlers secured medals on Friday morning.

West Branch senior Emmersen Thomas locked up a seventh-place finish with a 9-4 win over Kate Seery of Linn-Mar.

The win over Seery completed a 5-2 state-meet performance by Thomas who ended the season 30-6.

City High senior Claire Brown (24-7) finished eighth at 130 pounds.

Brown went 3-3 at the state meet dropping a 6-3 decision to Lilly Stough of Waverly-Shell Rock in the seventh-place match.

IGHSAU State Meet

Team scores (Top 20; area teams) – 1. Waverly-Shell Rock 117; 2. Decorah 102; 3. Council Bluffs Lewis Central 98; 4. East Buchanan 97; 5. Osage 73; 6. Anamosa 68.5; 7. Vinton-Shellsburg 67; 8. Ames 64; 9. Cedar Rapids Prairie 63; 10. Cedar Falls 62; 11. Southeast Polk 61.5; 12. Mason City 59; 13. SWAT Valkyrie 53; 14. Spencer 51; 15. Independence 50; 15. Iowa Valley 15; 15. Racoon River-Northwest 50; 18. Bettendorf 49; 18. Ridge View 49; 20. North Scott 47; 20. South Tama 47; 37. West High 28; 59. Solon 16; 76. West Branch 11; 85. City High 10; 90. Clear Creek Amana 9

Semifinals (Area athletes)

155 – Jannell Avila (West High) pinned Keeley Kehrli (East Buchanan) 5:49

Fourth Round Consolation

105 – McKenna Rogers (Solon) pinned Ava Gannon (Dallas Center-Grimes) 3:38

110 – Emmerson Thomas (West Branch) dec. Josseline Hageman (South Winneshiek) 3-2

130 – Claire Brown (City High) pinned Becca Hinderaker (Tipton) 2:30

Fifth Round Consolation

105 – McKenna Rogers (Solon) major dec. Maya Humlicek (Council Bluffs Lewis Central) 11-2

110 – Kacy Miller (Western Iowa) dec. Emmerson Thomas (West Branch) 4-3

130 – Lexy Petersen (Bettendorf) pinned Claire Brown (City High) 1:56

Consolation Semifinals

105 – Hillary Trainor (Sumner-Fredericksburg) dec. McKenna Rogers (Solon) 8-7

Seventh Place

110 – Emmerson Thomas (West Branch) dec. Kate Seery (Linn-Mar) 9-4

130 – Lilly Stough (Waverly-Shell Rock) dec. Claire Brown (City High) 6-3

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