CEDAR RAPIDS

After a busy and competitive wrestling season it was high time for the Iowa high school girls to battle it out for a chance to qualify for state. 

Last Friday the Alliant Energy Power House in Cedar Rapids hosted Super Regionals with region five and six competing to punch their ticket to the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Unions State Championship meet. 

The Highland and Lone Tree teams wrestled in region six along with 23 other teams. The Huskies had five girls at this event while the Lady Lions had two girls compete. 

To qualify for state a wrestler needs to finish in the top four. 

Highland Results

For Highland they ended the day with one wrestler qualifying for the state tournament, senior Angelia Roling. 

Wrestling at 110 lbs, Roling won three matches to advance to the first-place match. She won those three contests by fall, pinning her opponent in 29 seconds, 1:00, and 1:20 respectively.  

“Angelina has worked hard her entire career,” Highland coach Dylan Stewart said. “She has a great personality and attitude when it comes to wrestling and during her regional, she was really locked in and focused on getting to legs and scoring points.”

The first-place match is where she suffered her only loss of the night, to Mount Vernon’s Kiersten Swart by fall in 3:00, to ultimately place second to collect a bid to state. 

For Roling, this is the second consecutive year she has earned the right to compete at state, placing third in the regional qualifier as a junior. She will enter her second chance at state with an impressive 23-5 record. 

As a team Highland ended with 27 points to place 18th in the final standings. Abbie Grout, Jenna Bose, Peggy Miller, and Chloe Sexton were the other Huskies participating at super regionals. 

Grout, a senior wrestling at 100 lbs, lost her first match by fall in 2:58 and in her second and final match at regionals she lost by major decision, 12-1. She ends the season with a 15-19 record. 

Bose (145) began regionals with a win by fall in 1:29. She was defeated in her quarterfinal match by fall in 3:58. In her final match she lost by fall in 3:13. She ends the season with a 11-23 record. 

“Abbie and Jenna had a ton of growth this year. Both fought through some tough tournaments and stayed positive throughout the year,” coach Stewart said. “We focus a lot on the mental side of the sport and how it can benefit the student athlete long term and these girls really embodied that concept.

Miller (155) won her first match by fall in 1:26 but was defeated in her next match by fall in 2:00. Miller’s final match ended with her opponent, Solon’s Kendall Jenson, winning by sudden victory, 6-4. Miller ends the season with a 25-18 record. 

“Peggy this year just showed a lot of toughness. To improve on the level she did this year is really exciting to see. I don’t think she had over five wins last season so for her to have the success that she did shows how hard she worked throughout the season,” coach Stewart said. 

Sexton (190) caps off her freshman season by going 2-2 at regionals. She won her first match by fall in 34 seconds, but she lost her second match by fall in 1:10. In the consultation round she won her second match by pinning her opponent in 3:36. Her final match was a defeat by fall in 4:39. She ends the season with a 20-13 record. 

“Chloe being a freshman the expectations were just getting better and working hard,” coach Stewart said. “She far exceeded that with her attitude and effort on the mat. She won some tough tournaments and I think her love for the sport is going to carry her pretty far.”

Up next for Highland is for Roling to compete at the IGHSAU state tournament taking place at the Xtreme Arena in Coralville from Feb. 1-2.  

Lone Tree results 

It has been a historic season for Lone Tree as this was the first time they have had a girls wrestling team. With their sights set on state, the Lady Lions had juniors Kayleigh Rundlett and Alex Dautremont represent them at this regional qualifier event. 

The Lady Lions ended regionals with 13 team points to finish 23rd in the final standings.

Rundlett (135) won her first match by fall in 3:11 over Muscatine’s Mallory Bruhn. In her next two matches she lost by fall in 51 seconds and 2:40 respectively. Her second loss marked the end of her season and she finished her first year wrestling for Lone Tree with a 6-21 record. 

Dautremont (145) began her regional run with a loss by fall in 35 seconds, but she showed great resilience by winning her next two matches. Her two victories came by fall in 46 seconds and 3:13 respectively. 

Her run and season came to an end when she lost to Vinton-Shellsburg’s Haylee Karr by fall in 1:25. Dautremont ends her junior year with a 7-20 record.