Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

Wrestling season is here.

The girls wrestling season officially gets rolling for area teams on Tuesday with the first day of competition.

As the season gets underway every wrestler has an eye on reaching the 2025 state tournament which is scheduled for February 6-7 at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

Before the action gets underway Your Prep Sports takes a look at 12 area wrestlers to watch this season.

Kara VeDepo

Senior, Solon

A veteran leader in the Solon lineup VeDepo is a two-time state qualifier with 66 wins to her credit over the past two seasons.

VeDepo will look to put the finishing touches on a stellar career this season after a strong junior season that concluded with her first state medal.

Last season VeDepo went 39-8 and won WAMAC Conference and regional titles at 100 pounds before going 6-2 en route to a fourth-place finish at the state meet.

Molly Carlson

Junior, City High

The more Carlson wrestlers the better the City High standout seems to get.

Carlson built on a strong finish to her freshman season with a breakthrough sophomore campaign in which she went 30-13 at 170 pounds.

Already a two-time state qualifier, Carlson won the Mississippi Valley Conference title and finished runner-up at the regional qualifier last season before going 1-2 at the state meet.

If Carlson can continue to take steps forward as she has the past two seasons she could find herself chasing a state medal in February.

Taylor Cavanh

Junior, Liberty High

Already a two-time state qualifier Cavanh will look to take another major step forward this season just like she did a year ago.

Cavanh followed up a 17-18 freshman season by going 33-8 last season and qualifying for the state meet at 100 pounds.

Cavanh finished third at both the Mississippi Valley Conference tournament and Region 6 qualifying meet before going 1-2 at the state meet.

McKenna Rogers

Junior, Solon

Another two-time Solon state qualifier, Rogers has established herself as one of the top young wrestlers in the state over the past two seasons.

Rogers owns a career 59-6 record and a pair of state medals after placing fifth at 105 pounds last season.

Following a 38-3 freshman season that featured a fifth-place finish at state Rogers went 21-3 a year ago winning a WAMAC conference title and finishing runner-up at the regional meet before a 4-2 showing at the state meet

Eliza Mitchell

Sophomore, City High

Mitchell is a candidate for a breakthrough season after doing her best wrestling late in a strong freshman season.

In her debut season Mitchell went 27-20 last winter finishing third at the Mississippi Valley Conference tournament and fourth at the regional qualifier.

After wrestling at 110 for most of the season Mitchell dropped to 105 for the postseason where she earned a spot at the state tournament.

Jordan Hunt

Sophomore, Clear Creek Amana

If you are looking for wrestlers ready for a breakthrough season look no further than Hunt who capped a strong freshman season at the state tournament last winter.

Hunt went 20-23 as a freshman a year ago finishing fourth at the Region 6 qualifier to advance to the state meet at 170 pounds.

Look for Hunt to build on the experience from last season as she seeks to improve on her strong postseason from a year ago that included a fifth-place finish at the WAMAC meet.

Shaona Emmanuel

Junior, City High

Last season Emmanuel was one of the most improved wrestlers in the area going from 16 wins as a freshman to a 34-10 mark a year ago.

This winter Emmanuel will look to make a similar jump while earning her first appearance at the state tournament.

Emmanuel won the Mississippi Valley Conference title at 155 pounds last season before placing sixth at the regional qualifying meet.

The 34 wins for Emmanuel were a team-high for the Little Hawks a year ago and the junior is expected to once again be a force in the middle of the City High lineup.

Evelyn Eggleston

Junior, Liberty High  

One of the leaders in the Liberty High lineup the past two seasons Eggleston is ready to take a big step forward this season and compete for a spot on the state tournament podium.

A two-time state qualifier, Eggleston has won 52 matches over the past two seasons following a 34-7 sophomore season that included a 2-2 mark at the state meet at 135 pounds.

Eggleston was runner-up at the Mississippi Valley Conference tournament and won the regional title a year ago before winning two matches at the state tournament.

Olivia Bonnema

Senior Solon

A stalwart in the Solon lineup the past several seasons Bonnema has racked up 60 wins while qualifying for the state tournament each of the past two seasons.

Bonnema won 28 matches as a sophomore and went 32-15 last season qualifying for the state meet at 140 pounds.

Bonnema finished third at the state qualifying meet and won her first ever state meet match last season and will look to build on that strong finish to her junior year this season.

Peyten Van Dyke

Sophomore, Liberty High

Van Dyke will look to build on an impressive 30-win freshman season that included a victory in her state tournament debut.

As a freshman at West High last season Van Dyke went 30-13 and finished third at the Mississippi Valley Conference and regional qualifying meets at 145 pounds.

Van Dyke went 1-2 in her state tournament debut and should be in for a big breakthrough this season.

Annabelle Stelpflug

Junior, City High

Another veteran returning in the City High lineup with two years of experience Stelpflug is a breakthrough candidate after winning 39 matches over the past two seasons combined.

Stelpflug followed up a 19-19 freshman season by going 20-11 last season at 145 pounds including a fourth-place finish at the regional qualifying meet.

Teagyn Hartz

Senior, West Branch

Already a two-time state qualifier Hartz will be looking for an emphatic finish to what has already been a decorated career.

Hartz has posted a 47-13 record over the past two seasons while securing back-to-back state tournament appearances.

Last season Hartz was 26-4 and won River Valley Conference and Region 6 qualifying meet titles before going 1-2 at the state meet at 170 pounds.

Look for a big season from Hartz this winter.

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