Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

It was a historic season for girls wrestling in the state of Iowa.

The first sanctioned girls wrestling season in state history concluded last Friday with the final day of the inaugural Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union state meet at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

Among the first ever girls wrestlers to earn medals at IGHSAU state meet were several Your Prep Sports area competitors.

Four Your Prep Sports area wrestlers secured medals at the state meet.

All four of those wrestlers are on the first ever Your Prep Sports area girls wrestling team that honors some of the top wrestlers in the area for their performance this season.

The first Your Prep Sports all-area wrestling team features wrestlers from six different schools and is made up of nine state qualifiers and four state medalists.

West High junior Jannell Avila is the captain of the inaugural Your Prep Sports all-area team.

A three-time medalist at the IWCOA state meet, Avila went 31-3 as a senior and finished runner-up at 155 pounds at the IGHSAU state meet.

2023 Your Prep Sports Area Girls Wrestling Team

100 – Taylor Cavanh (17-18) Fr., Liberty High: Made an immediate impact in her first season at the varsity level advancing to the state meet with a fourth-place regional finish.

105 – McKenna Rogers (38-3) Fr., Solon: One of the top freshmen in the state Rogers capped an impressive debut campaign by winning a regional title before going 5-1 on her way to a fifth-place finish at the state meet.

110 – Emmersen Thomas (30-6) Sr., West Branch: A leader in the Bear program Thomas capped her career with her first state medal going 5-2 at the state meet to finish seventh following a runner-up effort at the district meet.

115 – Nabitendelo Emmanuel (19-15), Sr., City High: Her 19 wins was tied for third most on the team and Emmanuel finished fourth at the unofficial Mississippi Valley Conference tournament.

120 – Emma Descourouez (26-14) Sr., Clear Creek Amana: Finished fourth at the WAMAC Conference meet and went 4-1 on her way to a third-place finish at the Region 6 meet before capping a 26-win season with a 1-2 performance at the state meet.

125 – Erin Anderson (22-9) Sr., City High: A runner-up at the Region 5 meet Anderson won her state meet opener before an injury forced her to medical forfeit her final match in a 1-2 performance at state.

130 – Claire Brown (24-7) Sr., City High: The first state medalist in City High history, Brown followed up a runner-up finish at the regional meet with a 3-3 performance and eighth-place effort at the state meet.

135 – Olivia Bonnema (28-22) Soph., Solon: Ranked third on the team with 28 wins and finished sixth at the WAMAC Conference meet and went 4-1 with three pins in a third-place finish at the regional meet before going 0-2 in her state meet debut.

140 – Elizabeth Eggleston (24-12), Jr., Liberty High: Led the Lightning with 24 wins on the season, including 15 by fall, and went 3-3 to finish sixth at the Region 6 meet.

145 – Addison Burden (32-12), Sr., Solon: The unquestioned leader for the Spartans Burden ranked second on the team in wins and came up one spot shy of a berth at the state meet finishing fifth at the Region 6 meet.

*155 – Jannell Avila (31-3) Sr., West High: A four-time state medalist and two-time finalist, Avila finished runner-up at the state meet with two of her three losses on the season coming against state champions.

170 – Teagyn Hartz (21-9) Soph., West Branch: Finished a standout sophomore season wrestling her best, with her final six losses all coming to state medalists. Hartz finished runner-up at the Region 6 meet before posting a 1-2 performance at state.

190 – Adlie Miller (12-31) Fr., Solon: Had eight pins among 12 wins and capped a solid freshman season with a sixth-place finish at the Region 6 meet.

*-Denotes captain

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