CORALVILLE

After picking up a pair of wins on the first day of the State Championships at the Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Mid-Prairie’s Ashlee Farrier advanced to day two to guarantee her senior year would end on the podium.

With a top five finish in sight, last Friday Farrier fought for fifth at state and came away victorious to cap off a stellar final season as a Golden Hawk with a 5th place finish at 130 lbs in Class 1A.

“It’s pretty cool to come as a senior. That’s every senior’s goal. This is my third time here, but I’ve wrestled here quite a few times in the off season,” Farrier said about wrestling at state as a senior. “It’s nice to not be so overwhelmed by the atmosphere here. I think that’s the biggest benefit of being here so many times.”

Not daunted by the big stage, the experienced Farrier went 4-2 at state to reach her podium placement, ending her season with a 40-4 record.

Farrier’s first setback occurred in the quarterfinals, where she lost to Wilton’s Kaydence Boorn in heartbreaking fashion.

Despite being up 6-2, Farrier got caught and pinned to lose by fall in 5:45. This type of defeat against this opponent was all too familiar for Farrier.   

“I wrestled [Boorn] before, she pinned me with the same thing. Last time, I was up by seven points. This time, it was 6-2,” Farrier said about falling to Boorn in the quarterfinals. “Obviously it kind of sucks, to lose to the same person twice. Nobody wants to do that. She’s a pretty good athlete. I’m happy for her.”

Getting back on track after the loss, Farrier won her next two matches. The consolation semifinals is where Farrier suffered her second defeat, losing a close contest by 2-1 tie breaker to Alburnett’s Lyni Gusick.

Not settling for sixth, Farrier ended her state run by picking up a 13-5 major decision victory to earn her medal and fifth place spot on the podium.

Farrier wasn’t the only Golden Hawk to tackle state as she was joined by fellow senior Gabby Gingerich (115 lbs) and freshman Layken Lee (140 lbs), both making their state debuts. 

“I love my team. I think having my teammates here is a lot calming, it just lets you breathe a little bit, because you have your own little group. You’re not so overwhelmed,” Farrier said about having teammates at state. “You’re not going through everything alone. You always have somebody who can be in your corner, somebody to warm up with. It’s always really nice to have people here.”

In the first round Gingerich was met with the daunting challenge of facing Reanah Utterback of Sigourney-Keota, the returning state champion in the midst of her second straight undefeated season.

“We come into it, and I said, “You have nothing to lose.””, Mid-Prairie head coach Brock Moore explaining what he said to Gingerich going into her match against Utterback. “You’re going against a returning state champion. You’re going against a one-time boys place winner. You have nothing to lose. Just let it fly.”

It was a valiant effort by Gingerich but Utterback continued to display her  dominance in the domain of wrestling by defeating Gingerich by fall in 1:12. There was no stopping Utterback once again, as she went on to win the state championship with an unblemished 55-0 record.    

Gingerich earned her first state victory in round one of consolations, where she won by medical forfeit. In the next round Gingerich’s state run came to a close as she was defeated by fall in 1:22. She ends her year with a 26-13 record.

“[Gingerich] didn’t even wrestle the whole season last year. She came into the season about three quarters of the way through, and was trying to understand everything about the sport of wrestling,” coach Moore said. “She comes into it this year, and here she is, what an accomplishment. It’s just pretty cool to watch her come from not even seeing a mat to being at the state.”

Lee came into state after a courageous comeback performance at regionals and while her stay at state was short lived, dropping her first two matches by fall to end her season at 23-19, the experience she gained going will prove to be invaluable for the first-year wrestling going forward.

“I feel like it’s a huge stepping stone to be a freshman and to experience this and the caliber she experienced it in,” coach Moore said about Lee wrestling at state as a freshman. “Huge stepping stone for next year, gives her the knowledge of what it’s like, the feelings, everything that comes with it, and then that just helps build your mental side of this.”

With state serving as the season finale, Mid-Prairie says goodbye to seniors Farrier and Gingerich, but with excellent up and comers like Lee slated to return the state scene shouldn’t be deprived of Golden Hawks anytime soon.