Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The state wrestling meet is almost here.

The Class 1A state wrestling tournament gets underway at 10 a.m. on Thursday at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

This season marks the fourth edition of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union state tournament and the second tournament that will feature two separate classes.

Class 1A kicks off the tournament on Thursday and a pair of West Branch wrestlers will represent the Your Prep Sports area in Class 1A.

Freshman Sawyer Rushton and junior Finley Rushton will both be competing for West Branch in the opening session on Thursday.

Before the action gets underway Your Prep Sports provides a quick breakdown of the Class 1A state tournament highlighting area competitors.

The Wrestlers

Area qualifiers/Opening round opponents

100 – No. 10 Sawyer Rushton (35-7) Fr., West Branch vs. No. 3 Kennedy Bachman (38-3) Jr., MFL Mar-Mac

105 – Finley Rushton (39-7) Jr., West Branch vs. No. 4 Sophia Calpito (43-3) Jr., Charles City

Undefeated Wrestlers

100 – Abigail Peterson (33-0) Fr., Denver

100 – Molly Konechne (22-0) Sr., Central Lyon/George Little Rock

105 – Kenadee Helscher (42-0) Sr. Wapello

130 – Lilli Cooper (33-0) Soph., Denver

135 – Chloe Sanders (54-0) Sr., Vinton-Shellsburg

135 – Lily Weinreich (51-0) Soph., Clarinda

140 – Teagan Carritt (41-0) Soph., Logan-Magnolia

155 – Greta Brus (38-0) Sr., Davenport Assumption

190 – Brooklyn Graham (39-0) Sr., East Buchanan

235 – Skylar Wegener (42-0) Sr., Northeast

235 – Haley Armstrong (34-0) Sr., Atlantic

Returning State Champions

Current weight class, Wrestler, School, 2025 Championship weight class

105 – Ainsley Hemann, Osage, 100

110 – Violet Diaz, Denver, 105

140 – Colbie Tenborg, Saydel, 135

140 – Teagan Carritt, Logan-Magnolia, 140

190 – Brooklyn Graham, East Buchanan, 170

What to Watch

First Round Match to Watch

Thursday’s opening session will open with one of the better opening-round matches in Class 1A, a top-10 showdown at 100 pounds.

West Branch freshman Sawyer Rushton (35-7) enters ranked No.10 and will face third-ranked Kennedy Bachman (38-3) of MFL Mar-Mac in her first match at the state meet.

Rushton is no stranger to top competition.

Six of the seven losses for Rushton this season have come against ranked foes including a pair of losses to second-ranked and top-seeded Wilton senior Audrey Cummings including a 9-3 loss in the regional championship last Friday.

Wrestler to Watch

West Branch junior Finley Rushton (39-7) will be making her state meet debut on Thursday when she faces fourth-ranked Sophia Calpito (43-3) of Charles City in an opening-round match at 105 pounds.

Rushton advanced to the state tournament with a runner-up finish at the regional meet last week in which she went 3-1 with a pair of pins.

Rushton enters the state tournament having won nine of her last 10 matches with her lone loss in that stretch coming to third-ranked Kate Martin of Mount Vernon in the regional title match.

Calpito returns to the state tournament after going 2-2 in her state debut as a freshman in 2024.

Weight Class to Watch

The 100-pound weight class will be fun to follow over the two-day state tournament.

The Class 1A 100-pound bracket is the only weight class in the either class with a pair of unbeaten wrestlers and neither is the top seed.

Molly Konechne (22-0) of Central Lyon/George Little Rock and Denver freshman Abigail Peterson (33-0) both enter unbeaten and are seeded second and third respectively.

Wilton senior Audrey Cummings (36-5) is the top seed after finishing sixth in Class 1A at 100 pounds a year ago.

Konechne was eighth last season at 100 pounds.

Rushton has a challenging opener with fifth-seeded Bachman but should be in medal contention in her first state tournament appearance.

The Teams

Regional Champions (State Qualifiers)

Woodward-Granger (4); Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (7); Osage (7); Humboldt (2); Mount Vernon (7); Sigourney-Keota (2); Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (6); Williamsburg (4)

Area Teams (State qualifiers)

West Branch (2)

2025 Top Five Team Finishers – 1. East Buchanan; 2. Mount Vernon; 3. Osage; 4. Decorah 74; 5. West Liberty

What to watch in team race

It all about quality over quantity in terms of qualifiers for top-ranked Denver which has three top-ranked wrestlers and a second-ranked wrestler among five qualifiers.

Defending 1A runner-up Mount Vernon is well positioned for another title push with four of its seven qualifiers ranked in the top four while third-ranked Osage will look for another strong state meet showing after placing third last season.

Keep an eye on Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont which is ranked fourth and is tied for the most qualifiers among 1A teams with seven including four ranked in the top four.

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