Two local wrestlers have advanced to the second day of the IGHSAU Class 1A Wrestling State Tournament at Xtream Arena.
120-pound #3-seed Grace Storjohann of AP/GC advanced with two pins in less than a minute in the first round and quarterfinal, keeping her alive on the front side of the bracket.
Teammate Kira Cox, the #7-seed at 170, began her tournament with a first period pin in the first round. However, she was pinned in the first period in the quarterfinal to head to the back side of the bracket. She pinned her blood round opponent in the first period to guarantee placement at the tournament.
AP/GC’s Zoey Uhlenhopp went 1-2 and was eliminated. After losing by fall in the first round, she pinned her first consolation opponent in less than a minute. But she was pinned in the second period of the blood round to conclude her run. She says her regional final rematch didn’t go as planned, but she bounced back for a lengthier tournament than last year.
“In my mind I was like, I’m gonna win this, because she got me stuck last time, I was like, this time I just need to do stuff different, but it didn’t really work out like that,” Uhlenhopp says. “So then my next match I was like, I’m not losing this, and I went out there and won. So yeah, getting to wrestle a few more matches this year, I was definitely really happy, and I was really excited about that.”
The #5-seed at 170, Fernanda Ramirez of West Fork, was eliminated in the blood round. She earned a second period pin in the first round, but lost by tech fall in the quarterfinal. She was pinned in the third period of the blood round match.
“It was competitive,” Ramirez says. “I love a slide by. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hit once on any of the girls, but yeah that was probably the biggest part that I did not succeeded. It’s an honor. I mean, I’m making history. I know it ended shorter than I wanted, but I’m happy to be here.”
Hampton-Dumont-CAL’s Maren Subbert, the #8-seed at 190, won a third period pin in the first round, but lost by fall in the second period of the quarterfinal. In the blood round, she lost a 6-2 decision to bow out of the tournament.
Iowa Falls-Alden’s Rylee Robison, the #16-seed at 235, lost two first period pins in the first round and first consolation.
Action will continue Friday with the first session starting at 10:00 a.m. and the second session starting at 6:00 p.m. Local matches can be heard on 99 The Wave.
Grace Storjohann, AP/GC:
Kira Cox, AP/GC
Zoey Uhlenhopp, AP/GC
Fernanda Ramirez, West Fork
Joel Reints, AP/GC Coach:
