Pekin’s girls wrestling team crowned two regional champions and qualified three wrestlers for the state tournament at the IGHSAU 1A Region 8 tournament in Williamsburg on Friday, January 30th. The Lady Panthers tied for fourth place in the team standings with 109.5 points in a competitive 17-team field.
Team Standings
Williamsburg claimed the regional championship with 188 points, followed by BCLUW-SH (165.5), West Marshall (130), and a tie for fourth between Alburnett and Pekin (109.5). The complete team standings were:
- Williamsburg – 188
- BCLUW-SH – 165.5
- West Marshall – 130
- Alburnett – 109.5
- Pekin – 109.5
- Iowa Falls-Alden – 107
- Anamosa – 103
- West Delaware – 84
- Pleasantville – 83
- Don Bosco – 71
- Center Point-Urbana – 61
- Washington – 59
- PCM – 49
- Centerville – 40.5
- Moravia – 23
- Baxter – 14
- North Cedar – 4
State Qualifiers and Regional Champions
Lexa Nelson (110 lbs), the top seed and Loras College commit, dominated her way to a regional championship while reaching a significant career milestone. Nelson won all three of her matches by technical fall, defeating 8-seed Tateana Fikes of BCLUW-SH 21-5 with seven takedowns, 5-seed Anya Rivera of Williamsburg 15-0 with four nearfalls in the semifinal, and 2-seed Kylie Belinsky of Don Bosco 15-0 with three nearfalls in the championship match. Most remarkably, Nelson reached 100 career wins during the tournament outscoring her opponents 51-5—an incredible achievement considering her earlier years battling injuries.
Nelson won just three matches as a freshman before undergoing two hip surgeries. Last year, she became the first Pekin girl to reach the podium in the program’s history with a sixth-place finish at state. Now healthy and in her senior season, Nelson is making her final mark at Pekin before beginning her collegiate career.
Hailey Pedrick (145 lbs), the top seed at her weight class, delivered a flawless performance to capture the regional championship. Pedrick won by fall in the first period over 8-seed Sienna Edler of West Marshall (1:16), defeated 5-seed Hannah Crane of West Delaware by first-period fall (1:44) in the semifinal, and claimed the championship with a second-period fall over 3-seed Addie Koenig of Pleasantville (2:41). Most impressively, Pedrick didn’t surrender a single point throughout the entire tournament, posting shutout victories of 3-0, 3-0, and 5-0.
Lila Miller (120 lbs), seeded second, advanced to the state tournament with a second-place finish. Miller won her opening match by fall in just 10 seconds over 7-seed Addison Fry of PCM, then staged a remarkable comeback in the semifinal against 3-seed Ava Allen of Centerville. After trailing 10-1, Miller rallied to pin Allen in the second period (2:55). In the championship match, Miller fell to top-seed Erica Irvine of Don Bosco by fall in 16 seconds of the first period. However, she secured her state tournament berth by winning the second-place match over Allen by no contest.
All three state qualifiers are seniors who have wrestled all four years for Pekin, marking a fitting conclusion to their high school careers with trips to the state tournament.
Other Individual Results
Rylee Frye (190 lbs), seeded second, finished fourth after battling through a challenging bracket. Frye won her opening match by fall in 47 seconds over 7-seed Kasey Frommelt of Anamosa, but lost to 6-seed Kaitlynn Dickes of BCLUW-SH by fall in the second period (2:45). She bounced back with a first-period fall over 8-seed Lily Birkenholtz of PCM (1:41) but fell in the third-place match to 4-seed Gracie Helm of West Delaware by fall in the second period (3:20).
Bree Earnest (105 lbs), seeded sixth, had a strong start with an upset victory. Earnest defeated 11-seed Kaylea Throughton of North Cedar by first-period fall (1:21), then pulled off an upset over 3-seed Hailee Robinson of BCLUW-SH with a 29-second fall in the first period. In the semifinal, Earnest battled competitively against 2-seed Ryleigh Jones of Williamsburg in a close match, trailing just 9-7 before falling by pin in the second period (2:22). She lost her final match to 5-seed Kirra Whisler of Centerville by fall in the second period (2:49).
Alyvia Traner (115 lbs), seeded fifth, opened with an upset victory over 4-seed Holly Casey of Anamosa by fall in the second period (2:46). She fell to top-seed Khloe Neal of BCLUW-SH by fall in the second period (3:07) in the semifinal, then lost to 6-seed Evalyn Clark of West Marshall by fall in 32 seconds of the first period.
Autumn Coleman (125 lbs), seeded seventh, lost to 10-seed Kaydee Cossolotto of Moravia by fall in the second period (3:51) and to 5-seed Torri McVeigh of Centerville by fall in the third period (4:50).
Ella Rose (140 lbs), seeded seventh, fell to 10-seed Grace Greenwood by fall in the second period (3:34) and to 4-seed Ryha Wellington of Washington by decision 9-2.
Ivory Small (135 lbs), seeded fifth, lost to 4-seed Aubree Silvey of Iowa Falls-Alden by first-period fall (1:33) and to 8-seed Emerson Dermody of Williamsburg by fall in the second period (3:06).
Carly Clubb (170 lbs), seeded ninth, fell to 8-seed Abigail Janssen of Iowa Falls-Alden by first-period fall (1:57) and to 6-seed Emma Beyer of PCM by fall in the second period (2:33).
Reece Brisby (130 lbs), seeded 15th, lost to 2-seed Leila Wedgwood of BCLUW-SH by first-period fall in 48 seconds and to 10-seed Tayden Thurston of North Cedar by first-period fall in 44 seconds.
Coach’s Comments
Pekin Girls Wrestling Head Coach Jeff Follman expressed pride in his team’s performance and the achievement of qualifying three wrestlers for state. “It was an exciting night for the team, highlighted by two individual champions as Lexa (110 lbs) and Hailey (145 lbs) each capturing first-place finishes. Lila Miller added to the success with an impressive second-place showing,” Follman said.
He highlighted Nelson’s milestone achievement: “Lexa also reached a major milestone, earning her 100th career win during the competition.”
Follman acknowledged the competitive efforts throughout the lineup. “Rylee Frye battled through a tough bracket and finished fourth, while Bree Earnest and the rest of the lineup wrestled hard but came up just short in their matches. As a team, the group tied for fourth place overall in the team standings,” he stated.
Looking ahead to the state tournament in Coralville, Follman expressed confidence in his squad. “With three state qualifiers leading the way, the team heads to the state tournament with momentum and confidence, eager to prove themselves on the sport’s biggest stage in Coralville next week.”
The three Pekin qualifiers will compete at the IGHSAU State Wrestling Tournament in Coralville next week on Thursday and Friday, February 5-6 at the Xtream Arena.
Photography courtesy of Rylie Nelson and Amber Earnest.
