The Pekin girls wrestling team finished fifth out of 11 teams at the BGM Holiday Brawl on Saturday, January 3rd in the team’s first meet of the new year. South Tama claimed the team title with 223.5 points, while the Panthers totaled 91.5 points.
The tournament marked a return to BGM, where Pekin finished third on November 22nd earlier this season, with Lexa Nelson and Hailey Pedrick both claiming individual titles. The BGM Holiday Brawl features festive Grinch-themed brackets and medals, adding a unique holiday touch to the competition.
Team Standings
South Tama led the field with 223.5 points, followed by South Winneshiek (141), Sigourney-Keota (134), Louisa-Muscatine (93.5), Pekin (91.5), BGM (70), Union Community (56), Lone Tree (48), Baxter (41.5), Midland (33), and Moravia (28).
Individual Results
Rylee Frye (190), seeded first, delivered a dominant performance to begin 2026 capturing first place. She won all three of her matches by fall in the first period and didn’t surrender a single point throughout the tournament.
Lexa Nelson (110), seeded first, claimed her second consecutive championship at the BGM Holiday Brawl. Nelson won by fall in 44 seconds over conference opponent Raya Nebergall of Lone Tree in her opener, recorded a 16-0 technical fall in the second period of her semifinal, and won by fall in the first period of the final after trailing 3-2. She now has a season record of 21 wins and zero losses.
Bree Earnest (105), seeded first, took second place. After receiving a first-round bye, Earnest won by fall with a second to spare in the first period after leading 9-6. She fell by fall in the first period of the championship match.
Hailey Pedrick (145), seeded first, also earned second place. After a first-round bye, Pedrick lost by fall in the second period despite leading 7-0. She rebounded to win the third-place match by fall in the second period.
Carly Clubb (190), seeded second, won her opening match by fall in the second period before losing by fall in the second period of her semifinal. She faced her teammate Frye and lost by fall to capture third place.
Autumn Coleman (120), seeded 10th, captured fifth place with a 3-2 record, including an upset victory in the fifth-place match over third-seeded Alexus Umbaugh of Union Community by fall in 58 seconds.
Ella Rose (155), seeded third, finished fourth after going 0-3. She lost by fall in the first period of her first two matches and dropped a heartbreaking 16-15 decision by fall in the third period of the third-place match.
Lila Miller (130), seeded first, suffered an upset loss by fall in the third period of her opening match and lost by fall in the first period of her consolation match.
Reece Brisby (125), seeded fourth, lost both her matches by fall in the first period.
Coach’s Perspective
Pekin head coach Jeff Follman praised the tournament’s competition level while acknowledging areas for improvement.
“BGM puts on one of the better tournaments we go to due to more diverse competition than we usually face. The competition was really tough today. We had seven place winners, which is always a great thing,” Follman said.
Follman identified conditioning as a concern after the holiday break.
“My biggest concern participating in a tournament over Christmas break is if we are still in good shape and not running out of gas during a match, which caught us today. Moving forward, we will be implementing more conditioning to try and prevent that from happening,” Follman said.
Despite the challenges, Follman remained positive about his team’s progress.
“We are still seeing great things from the girls who are working hard to improve in practice and showing growth during their matches,” Follman said.
The Panthers will look to address their conditioning concerns and build on their seven medal performances as the season continues on January 9th at Highland.
Photography courtesy of Rylie Nelson.
