Iowa Women’s Wrestling Recap

It is an exciting time of year for wrestling in Iowa. Over the past week, there has been plenty of activity at the senior level as the USA women’s national wrestling team prepares for the Olympic Trials. At the college level, we have two separate tournaments to report on from Ottawa, Kansas and Lebanon, Illinois. At the high school level we have had multiple tournaments and duals as we approach conference, sectionals, districts and the state tournament.

Senior Women:

There have been countless reports throughout the week on the USA Wrestling Women’s Senior team coming to the University of Iowa to train in preparation for the Olympic Trials in April. To quote The Gary Abbott blog, “The entire Hawkeye team, from coaches to staff to athletes, are very welcoming and respectful of the women here. You can sense their commitment to the Olympic effort.” He went on to say, “When the Hawkeye men left the mats, the U.S. women’s team went out for a hard workout of their own. Instead of going back into his office or doing other things, Tom Brands stayed out on the mat, doing high-fives with the women as they jogged around the mats in their warmup and encouraging them individually.”

As Iowans and fans of women’s wrestling we should be proud of the support we continue to receive from the highest levels of the sport.

Participating in the weeklong camp was Lauren Louive currently of Iowa City. Louive is a 4-time WCWA All-American and volunteer Assistant Wrestling Coach at Cornell College (Mount Vernon, IA). Lauren is ranked 8th at 63kg in the USA Wrestling Senior rankings (December 2^nd) and is training out of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club in Iowa City. Louive competed in an exhibition match at 58kg against Randi Beltz of Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (formerly of Missouri Valley College). Beltz is ranked 8^th at 58kg and won the match by 10-0 technical fall.

The next opportunity to see the senior athletes in action is the Dave Schultz Memorial International on January 30^th in Colorado Springs. The highest U.S. medalist in each weight class will qualify for the April Olympic Trails in Iowa City.

College Women:

Ottawa University EZ-Flex Open, January 17^th-Ottawa, KS

Competing at the EZ-Flex Open were Iowans Anna Poyner of Missouri Valley College (Marshall, MO) and Justice Losee of Waldorf College (Forest City).

Anna Poyner of New Hartford at 123 pounds started with a first period pin over Marinna Vela of Waldorf, but lost by tech fall in the next round to #8 ranked Cassidy Jasperson of Oklahoma City University (OCU). Poyner then pinned Ashlyn Whity of OCU and won by tech fall over Sarah Rocker of Ottawa University. Poyner continued with a tech fall over Caitlyn Kaz of Jamestown University (Jamestown, ND) but lost 6-8 in the 3^rd place round to Marizza Birrueta of OCU to finish 4^th for the day.

Poyner will return with Missouri Valley College on January 27^th for the Ottawa University duals.

Justice Losee of St. Ansgar at 143 pounds faced #10 ranked Marlie Gillis of Jamestown University (Jamestown, ND) in the opening round and lost by tech fall. Losee then received a bye followed by a 7-2 decision over fellow Waldorf wrestler, Cherydan James to place her in the 3^rd place bout. Losee again faced Marlie Gillis and lost by 4-14 tech fall to finish 4^th for the tournament.

Waldorf College, Iowa’s own women’s college wrestling program competed in the tournament and had two fourth place finishers in Justice Losee and Bailey McLaughlin. “I think the girls are seeing what positions they need to get to and are working to get to them,” Waldorf coach Tyreece Gilder said. “We had a few flashes of the fight it’s going to take to come out on top in those situations. Putting that same fight together for a full six minutes is going to be key moving forward.”

McKendree University Bearcat Open, January 23^rd-Lebanon, IL

Competing in the Bearcat Open were Megan Black (McKendree), Anna Poyner (Missouri Valley), Jasmine Bailey (McKendree), Cassy Herkelman (McKendree), and Justice Losee (Waldorf).

Megan Black of Batavia, ranked #6 at 123 pounds in the WCWA rankings (January 4^th), went 3-2 for the weekend with a 13-2 tech fall over fellow Iowan Anna Poyner and a tech fall over #8 ranked Cassidy Jasperson of Oklahoma City University (OCU). Black then faced #3 ranked Montana Drum of Missouri Baptist (St. Louis, MO) where she lost a 2-4 decision. In the consolations, Black won by 16-6 tech fall over Erika Mihalca of Missouri Baptist before losing by fall to #1 ranked 116 pounder, Rachel Archer of OCU. Black finished the tournament in 4^th place.

Anna Poyner of New Hartford, went 4-3 for the weekend at 123 pounds. Poyner started with a 10-0 tech fall over Justine Seeley of Adrian College (Adrian, MI) followed by a 2-13 tech fall loss to fellow Iowa, #6 ranked Megan Black of McKendree. Poyner continued in the consolations with a 17-7 tech fall over Tricia Martin of Jamestown University (Jamestown, ND), a 12-0 tech fall over Carli Lombardo of Waldorf, and a 10-0 tech fall over Brandi Elizalde of Southwestern Oregon Community College (Coos Bay, OR). In the next rounds, Poyner lost by 1-11 tech fall to #8 ranked Cassidy Jasperson of OCU followed by a 4-14 tech fall loss to Sadie Bailey of SW Oregon CC . Poyner finished 8^th for the weekend.

Jasmine Bailey of Iowa City, ranked #8 at 136 pounds in the WCWA rankings (January 4^th), went 4-0 for the weekend picking up 3 tech falls and a pin. Bailey started with a 10-0 technical fall over fellow Iowan Justice Losee of Waldorf followed by an 11-1 tech fall over Joy Muniz of Jamestown and a 10-0 tech fall over Mckendree teammate Shannon Henry. In the final round, Bailey pinned fellow Iowan and teammate, Cassy Herkelman to win the championship.

Jasmine Bailey of McKendree University took 1^st place at 136 pounds at this weekend’s Bearcat Open (Photo courtesy of Starlyn White)

Cassy Herkelman of Cedar Falls, ranked #9 at 136 pounds in the WCWA rankings (January 4^th), went 3-1 for the weekend. Herkelman picked up a pin over Wyatt Saling of Pacific University (Forest Grove, OR), a 10-0 tech fall over Bethany Davis of Missouri Valley, and an injury default over #2 ranked Monica Ramirez of Lindenwood University (St. Charles, MO), before losing by fall to teammate Jasmine Bailey in the finals. Herkelman took 2^nd place for the weekend.

Justice Losee of St. Ansgar went 0-2 for the weekend with a 0-10 tech fall loss to fellow Iowan, Jasmine Bailey of McKendree and an 8-20 tech fall loss to Sarah Bollinger of Missouri Baptist.

Missouri Valley will face Ottawa University in a dual competition on January 27^th. Once that is complete, there will be no additional competition until the WCWA College Nationals in Oklahoma City, February 12-13.

High School Girls:

The intensity is increasing and competition is high, but our wrestlers continue to step up, take on the challenge of the season, and make us proud to call Iowa our home. High school highlights since our last update include the following varsity performances:

106:

Felicity Taylor of South Winneshiek picked up 2 pins and 3 forfeits to go 5-3 for the week and improve her varsity record to 23-17. Taylor’s JV record remains at 1-1.

126:

Keagan King of South Central Calhoun went 2-3 for the week picking up a pin and a forfeit to bring her varsity record to 14-22 for the season. King’s JV record remains at 1-2.

132:

McKinna Faulkenberry of OA-BCIG won with a 6-3 decision to go 1-2 for the week and an overall varsity record of 10-15.

145:

Rachel Watters of Ballard picked up a pin and went 1-3 for the week bringing her record to 13-13 for the season.

Here are the complete results since our last update:

Be sure to follow us on Twitter: @watters_ia and @FEWTeamIowa.

Know of high school, college or senior women’s wrestling info that was missed? Email me at: matt@femaleelitewrestling.org.

Interested in the benefits of wrestling at any age level? Contact Charlotte Bailey of Female Elite Wrestling (FEW) at: coach@femaleelitewrestling.org to find out more.