Ames-area schools ready to begin first season of sanctioned girls wrestling in Iowa
The wrestling landscape in Iowa changed forever on Jan. 12 of this year when girls wrestling was sanctioned by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.
“It’s a new era,” Ames junior Alexis Winkey said. “We get to be a part of it.”
There is still plenty to get worked out as the sport enters its first sanctioned season. There will be no girls dual meets this year, and the postseason format is still uncertain.
What is known is that there will be 14 weight classes, just like the boys. The girls will compete at 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 140, 145, 155, 170, 190 and 235 pounds.
The girls will also have to compete in Super Regional meets to qualify for the state tournament held Feb. 2-3 at the Xtreme Arena in Coralville. There will be four Super Regional meets with eight girls competing in each weight class, but schools won't know who is going where until the beginning of January.
“There are still a lot of questions to be answered by the Girls Union,” Ames head wrestling coach Andy Fecht said. “How are they figuring out who goes where for Super Regionals? What happens if there are not eight girls in a bracket? They kind of had an answer to that where they’re going to try a wild card-type system where they’re going to bring in girls from other Super Regionals to try and fill those brackets. It’s interesting to see how they’re putting it all together.”
While it may take some time to iron things out, area wrestling teams are excited to get the first sanctioned season underway.
“I think it’s really cool that girls wrestling is sanctioned,” Ames senior Leah Stagg said. “We get all the opportunities the guys have. It’s growing so much.”
Ames girls out to prove themselves
Last year was a learning experience for the majority of Ames girls as the Little Cyclones were forming a girls team for the first time.
“I didn’t know what it was like before, so getting to experience it – I enjoyed last year,” Ames wrestler Allison Metchske said. “I think it’s really neat that this is becoming a big thing.”
Metchske went on to win two matches at last year's state meet. Ames had eight girls pick up a victory at girls state in 2021.
More:What we learned from area performances at the girls state wrestling meet
The Little Cyclones want to do better at the 2023 state meet.
“Last year I said I wanted to get top three and I choked at state,” Winkey said. “It was very disappointing for me because I knew I could’ve done better. I’m doing little things to improve and pretty much sticking with that goal.”
Winkey earned three victories at last season's state meet. She will compete at 125 in 2022-2023.
Stagg is opening the season at 155, but she plans to go down to 145. She also plans to do well at Coralville in January.
“I want to place eighth or higher,” Stagg said. “I should’ve placed eighth last year, but I’m over it now.”
Greta Goodman is back after earning two state wins at 105 and Metchske picked up two victories at 170. Piper Bartmess also earned two wins at state last season.
"We’ve got a handful of girls who can place at the state tournament,” Fecht said. “The potential is there to have a pretty good score.”
Gilbert and Ballard will join Ames in having their own teams
Gilbert enters the 2022-23 season with an impressive roster of 19 girls. The Tigers bring back seniors Hadley Boshart, Alex Harswick and Fern Newbauer along with juniors Brooke Hamers, Jaedyn Henry and Bree Agnus.
"Our expectations are to have fun, appreciate and be thankful for the opportunity, learn how to work hard and learn about the sport to put ourselves in the best possible position to reach our potential," Gilbert head wrestling coach Scott Auderer said. "The girls that are back from last year are looking to improve on last year's experience and the new girls are working hard and some of them will surprise some people."
Boshart placed third in the Silver Division at 125 pounds during last year's IWCOA girls state meet. Harswick and Hammers both picked up two victories at state.
Ballard will have six girls competing in its first official season as a team.
"I am seeing these girls push themselves beyond what they think they can do," Ballard head girls coach Dillon Combs said. "They are becoming mentally tougher, more confident, and more athletic each day. The record books are currently blank, so it's very exciting to see how much they can learn about the sport of wrestling and how successful they can be this season."
Two Ballard girls, Noelle and Liberty Boettger, both wrestled at last season's girls' state meet. Noelle went 3-2.
Nevada to join forces with three other area schools
Nevada will inherit female wrestlers from Roland-Story, Collins-Maxwell and Colo-NESCO.
This is also the Cubs' first season as an official girls program. They will be led by Tawnia Leslie, and she is joined by her husband Mike, who coached several years at Collins-Maxwell.
"These ladies are ready to make history this year as the first all-girls team for Nevada High School," Tawnia Leslie said. "We are very proud of all these ladies that have come out this year with little to no experience wrestling and we are happy for those that have wrestled boys in the past to have the opportunity to wrestle all girls this year. We look forward to a fun year of wrestling."
Nevada will be led by sophomore Mackenzie Arends, who was last season's girls state runner-up at 190. Gracie Leslie, the daughter of Tawnia and Mike, went 3-2 at last year's state meet and she will wrestle at 135 this year as a junior.
Sophomore Dakota Hastings competed at state for Nevada last season and she will wrestle at 125 in 2022-2023.
The 2022-23 Iowa girls high school wrestling season begins next week. All four area teams will compete at the Nevada Invitational Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Nevada High School Field House.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ames-area girls wrestlers ready to begin first sanctioned season
