Van Buren County’s girls wrestling team qualified two wrestlers for the state tournament and finished third in the team standings at the IGHSAU 1A Region 6 tournament in Wapello on Friday, January 30th. The Lady Warriors accumulated 117 points in a competitive 17-team field.
Team Standings
Sigourney-Keota claimed the regional championship with 134 points, followed by Albia (128) and Van Buren County (117). The complete team standings were:
- Sigourney-Keota – 134
- Albia – 128
- Van Buren County – 117
- Assumption – 115
- North Mahaska – 112
- Davis County – 101
- Mid-Prairie – 98.5
- Iowa Valley – 90
- Wapello – 80
- Fairfield – 75
- Louisa-Muscatine – 69.5
- Cardinal – 47.5
- Durant – 43
- English Valleys – 43
- Columbus/WMU – 24
- Mediapolis – 24
- WACO – 13
State Qualifiers and Regional Champions
Brystol Wiley (100 lbs), seeded second, captured the regional championship with an impressive upset victory in the finals. After receiving byes through the early rounds, Wiley opened with a first-period fall in 1:01 over Fairfield’s June Connor, the 7-seed. She then dominated 3-seed Grace Keltner of Louisa-Muscatine with a 10-0 major decision in the semifinal.
In the championship match, Wiley pulled off a stunning upset over top-seed Addison Terpstra of North Mahaska. After jumping out to a commanding 10-0 lead, Wiley secured the pin in the second period (3:09) to claim the regional title and advance to state as the first-place finisher.
Armoney Adams (105 lbs), seeded second, advanced to the state tournament with a second-place finish. Adams won her opening match by fall in the third period (4:24) over 7-seed Michaela Rader of Louisa-Muscatine after building an 8-2 lead. She continued her strong performance with a first-period fall in 1:48 over 3-seed Emiley Sieren of English Valleys in the semifinal.
In the championship match, Adams fell to top-seed Kenadee Helscher of Wapello by fall in the first period (1:57). However, she secured her state tournament berth by winning the second-place match over Sieren by no contest, earning the final qualifying spot from her bracket.
Other Individual Results
Lexie Wiley (140 lbs), seeded third, finished third overall and narrowly missed advancing to state. Wiley opened with a first-period fall in 1:09 over 6-seed Kylie Nielsen of Iowa Valley, but lost to 2-seed Macie Little of North Mahaska by first-period fall (1:09) in the semifinal. She rebounded with a first-period fall in 1:39 over 5-seed Isabella Moedano of Louisa-Muscatine, then defeated top-seed Layken Lee of Mid-Prairie by fall in the second period (3:26) in the third-place match to advance to the second-place match. In the critical state-qualifying match, Wiley fell to 4-seed Aubrey Major of Albia by decision 7-4, finishing third and just one win away from the state tournament.
Rylee Caviness (125 lbs), seeded fourth, also finished fourth after several competitive matches. Caviness defeated 5-seed Annabelle Hedges of Mediapolis by first-period fall (1:39), then engaged in a close semifinal battle with top-seed Ava Streeter of Durant. In a back-and-forth match that saw Caviness lead 4-3 and trail 6-4 at different points, Streeter ultimately prevailed with a third-period fall (4:36). Streeter went on to win the bracket and advance to state. Caviness dominated her next match, building a 13-1 lead before pinning 7-seed Millee Flahive of Albia in the second period (2:41). However, she fell in the third-place match to Skyler Hoyt of Iowa Valley by first-period fall (1:51) to finish fourth.
Teagan Sickels (170 lbs), seeded third, finished third in her bracket. After receiving byes through the early rounds, Sickels lost to 2-seed Raelene Hawkins of Iowa Valley by fall in the third period (2:50) in the semifinal. She won the third-place match by defeating Melanie Woodsmall of Sigourney-Keota by fall in the second period (2:49) to advance to the second-place match against Hawkins. The rematch ended in a no contest, with Sickels finishing third overall.
Arianna Harvey (120 lbs), seeded eighth, posted a 2-2 record. Harvey won her opening match by first-period fall in 1:38 over 9-seed Lillian Bishop of North Mahaska, but lost to top-seed Valentina West of Assumption by first-period fall (1:37). She bounced back with a quick first-period fall in 33 seconds over 11-seed Jessie Jones of Wapello, then fell to 5-seed Makayla Morrison of WACO by decision 9-5.
Willow Worley (145 lbs), seeded seventh, went 2-2 in her matches. Worley opened with a dominant first-period fall in 34 seconds over 10-seed Izabelle Felts of WACO, but lost to 2-seed Avery Kaster of Albia by first-period fall (1:18). She pulled off an upset victory over 6-seed Ashlyn Olinger of Davis County by fall in the second period (2:49), then lost to 4-seed Izzy Heisdorffer of Sigourney-Keota by first-period fall (1:41).
Rory Philips (115 lbs), seeded eighth, finished 1-2. Philips won a wild opening match over 9-seed Payton Love of Mid-Prairie by decision 18-15, but lost to top-seed Clara Ball of Wapello by first-period fall in 32 seconds and to 6-seed Emorry Davis of WACO by first-period fall (1:48).
Hadley Noe (135 lbs), seeded second, went 0-2 in close matches decided by points rather than falls. Noe lost to 7-seed Maddyn Sohn of Albia by decision 6-0 and to 6-seed Abyl McCulley of Sigourney-Keota by a narrow 1-0 decision.
Mallory Brauns (110 lbs), seeded sixth, lost to 3-seed Bradi Houston of Davis County by fall in the third period (5:41) and to 7-seed Avery Hollingsworth of Mediapolis by fall in the third period (5:38).
Rylee Philips (130 lbs), seeded ninth, fell to 8-seed Meika Spies of English Valleys by fall in the third period (4:13) and to 6-seed Kaiya Swafford of Mediapolis by first-period fall (1:02).
Adisson McLain (155 lbs), seeded seventh, lost to 2-seed Kiersyn Duncombe of Louisa-Muscatine by first-period fall in 28 seconds and to 6-seed Lizbet Herrera of Columbus/WMU by first-period fall (1:02).
Randi Grimm (190 lbs), seeded seventh, fell to 2-seed Myah VanLaningham of Davis County by first-period fall (1:27) and to 6-seed Madison Clarahan of Sigourney-Keota by first-period fall in 42 seconds.
Looking Ahead
Brystol Wiley and Armoney Adams will represent Van Buren County at the IGHSAU State Wrestling Tournament in Coralville next Thursday and Friday, February 5-6. Wiley heads to state as a regional champion, while Adams qualified as a second-place finisher. The third-place team finish demonstrates the depth and competitiveness of Van Buren County’s wrestling program in just its second year of existence.
Photography courtesy of Jessica Goehring.
