Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Elijah Terwilleger had waited long enough.

The Liberty High senior waited four years for a trip to the state wrestling meet.

After narrowly missing a spot at state with a third-place finish as a sophomore Terwilleger waited nearly two more years for a shot at redemption.

Terwilleger had waited his entire life for what came on Saturday.

After securing his first trip to the state meet with a 10-4 win over No. 11 Teague Smith of Fort Madison at the Class 3A, District 4 meet at City High Terwilleger sprinted off the mat to embrace his parents.

A family hug a long time in the waiting.

“That win felt amazing,” Terwilleger said. “But the hug with mom and dad felt even better. Family is everything to me.”

Saturday was an encapsulation of the wrestling career for Terwilleger.

He was pinned by Newton senior Colin Sharp in the semifinals and had to battle back for a shot at state.

In his wrestle back match with Smith he trailed 2-0 just 21 seconds after the whistle.

Nothing came easy for Terwilleger on Saturday but he walked out a state qualifier.

“Me and teammates, my brothers we have put in all the work and some of us fell short but at Liberty we are a huge advocate of next best thing,” Terwilleger said. “I lost in the semis to Newton but I wasn’t going to let that drag me down. I came back and got the next best thing.”

Terwilleger finished third at the district meet as a sophomore but didn’t get a shot at a wrestle back after a semifinal loss.

Last season he went 0-2 at the district meet with a 7-5 loss to Smith in his final match of a disappointing junior season.

“Junior year was rough,” Terwilleger said. “Covid year a lot of bumps in the road, cutting weight and I came into this year thinking this was my time, I’m qualifying this year.”

In his final shot at a state meet appearance Terwilleger made his goal a reality.

Terwilleger (31-7) pinned Ike Swanson of Pleasant Valley in 3:31 in his first consolation match.

When Newton won a 5-2 decision over top-seeded Smith in the final Terwilleger got his shot at a wrestle back.

He didn’t let this opportunity slip away.

“I was staying mentally sharp and getting some fluids through me,” Terwilleger said. “In previous seasons I’ve a lot of weight and I’m really prone to cramping as you could see I had to take an injury time so it was just really fighting hard through that. I was fighting through adversity because I hadn’t cramped all year and I was today so that’s something that happened and I had to fight through. I’m really thankful.”

Smith scored a takedown 21 seconds into the match but Terwilleger evened the scored with a first-period reversal.

With the match tied 4-4 midway through the second period Terwilleger took control using an escape and his first takedown of the match to take a 5-2 lead.

He tacked on another escape and takedown in the third for a 10-4 win.

“It feels amazing,” Terwilleger said. “I’ve been working for this for four years. I came up short my sophomore year, took third place and didn’t have a chance to wrestle back for second. So this just feels amazing.”

Class 3A, District 4 Meet

At City High

Team scores – 1. Bettendorf 228.5; 2. Pleasant Valley 184; 3. Fort Madison 167; 4. City High 160.5; 5. Ottumwa 142.5; 6. Liberty High 115.5; 7. Newton 68; 8. Burlington 46

Championship matches; state qualifiers

106 – 1. Timothy Koester (BET) pinned Ashton Grace (OTT) :22

113 – 1. Steele Diercks (BET) pinned Jasmine Luedtke (OTT) 1:15

120 – 1. Cale Seaton (ICH) pinned Corbin Grace (OTT) 3:15

126 – 1. Kael Kurtz (ICH) dec. Jayce Luna (BET) 4-3 TB-1

132 – 1. Tycho Carmichael (BET) pinned Nolan Riddle (FM) 2:22; 2. Holden Willett (PV)

138 – 1. Jack Miller (PV) pinned Jorden Roberts (BET) 3:07; 2. Jake Mitchell (ICH)

145 – 1. Dustin Bohren (BET) pinned Ryan Ott (ICH) 1:51

152 – 1. Brennan Amos (NEW) pinned Elijah Mendoza (BET) 3:05

160 – 1. Colin Sharp (NEW) dec. Teague Smith (FM) 5-2; 2. Elijah Terwilleger (ICL)

170 – 1. Caden McDermott (PV) dec. DeAvione Parker (BET) 5-3; 2. Jakob McGowan (FM)

182 – 1. Trevor Summers (OTT) dec. Rusty VanWetzinga (PV) 9-4

195 – 1. Bradley Hill (BET) won by medical forfeit Isaac Thacher (FM)

220 – 1. Ben Kueter (ICH) won by medical forfeit Diego Cortes (BET); 2. Daniel Sokolik (FM)

285 – 1. Luke Vonderhaar (PV) dec. Julius Harris (BUR) 4-3

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