GIRLS WRESTLING: Three Valkyries medal at state

CORALVILLE — Friday saw the finale of the inaugural Iowa girls wrestling season at the state wrestling tournament in Coralville.

With a first-day attendance of more than 5,000 fans, the event proved the support behind the new sport.

The SWAT Valkyries, comprised of wrestlers from Nodaway Valley, Southwest Valley, Atlantic, Griswold and CAM) sent six wrestlers to the state tournament - Jazz Christensen (100), Adyson Lundquist (110), Evy Marlin (130), Grace Britten (170), Ellen Gerlock (190) and Haley Armstrong (235).

Marlin was unable to compete, but the other five did.

Lundquist, from Southwest Valley, came away with a third place finish, Britten of Nodaway Valley was sixth in her weight class and Armstrong, from Atlantic, took eighth.

Lundquist

The Valkyries were led by Lundquist, who won five of her six matches — only falling to the undefeated Jasmine Luedtke who would end up taking the 110-pound title.

Lundquist, ranked third, had a perfect first day, pinning all three of her opponents.

She defeated Johnelle Gliem (#30) of Baxter in a 44 second pin. In the second round, she pinned Cierra Elderbaum (#19) of Lewis Central in 1:05. Her final match of the day was a 1:39 pin over Josseline Hageman (#11) of South Winneshiek to advance to the semi-finals.

On Friday, Lundquist said she came into the day confident. “I thought that yesterday I wrestled really well. I took everything that was given to me and I used it perfectly,” she said. “I thought that all my preparation coming into this tournament was showing me that it was paying off and I was ready for this. Those girls had to qualify for this and I was beating up on them. I was really confident.”

Her first match saw her facing Luedtke of Otttumwa. Knowing the caliber of wrestler she is, Lundquist said she was nervous.

Lundquist fought, extending the match to the third period before falling with a minute left.

“I knew it would be tough,” she said. “She’s just a solid wrestler all around.” Lundquist said she wanted to at least do as well as she did last year when she placed third. In order to tie that place, she would need to win out.

Her next bout brought her confidence back as she defeated Trista Guinn (#8) of Graettinger-Terril/Ruthuen-Ayrshire in a 42 second pin.

The win sent her to the third place bout where she would face number-one ranked Jalynn Goodale of Osage — a familiar opponent.

“We’ve had really tough matches against each other, and today I felt really prepared for her,” she said. “With everything I’ve worked on this year, I thought there’s no way she can get me with what she’s been getting me with in the past.”

For the first time in the tournament, Lundquist had to wrestle the full six minutes. In a 10-7 decision, Lundquist would take the win and third place.

Britten and Christensen represent NV

Britten had a perfect 3-for-3 day Thursday to go to the semifinals, but she was unable to find a victory on Friday.

Seeded 10th, Britten opened the tournament needing only 47 seconds to stick Glorious Fridley of Southeast Warren/Melcher-Dallas on her back and pin her. She then had a tougher match in the quarterfinals, pinning 7-seed Leah Grimm of Osage in 4:47.

On paper, Britten’s biggest win came against No. 2 seed Bella Porcelli of Southeast Polk in 3:20.

“The feeling when I won was nothing short of phenomenal. I was super excited for that match and also a little nervous. Bella and I are friends and I knew it would be a good match regardless of the outcome,” Britten said. “During that match, I felt strong and confident and I felt I was wrestling smart. It gives me a lot of confidence in my abilities and I felt very confident even though the semis didn’t go the way I wanted them to.”

Third-seeded Libby Dix of Mount Vernon was able to catch Britten with 16 seconds left for a takedown and a fall in 5:44 during the semifinals.

Britten’s losses Friday came to South Tama County’s Autumn Elsbury by fall in 1:07 and East Buchanan’s Brooklyn Graham in 3:22.

Christensen also competed for the Valkyries, but two early losses found her out of the running. She lost a 9-3 decision to Spirit Lake Park’s Aroura Preston in the opener, then fought hard in an 11-5 decision to Daniela Salinas of Council Bluffs.

Christensen said first of all, it was an impressive thing to walk into the arena and see how massive the state tournament is.

“It felt really good because I’ve never really been to state and I didn’t really expect to come that far. I’m only a sophomore, so I have two more years in front of me. It felt amazing when I walked out there. I was exhausted through the whole thing,” Christensen said.

The caliber of wrestlers that were at the state tournament impressed Christensen.

“For my first year of wrestling I didn’t know what to expect. Wrestling those girls sometimes felt way longer than a six-minute match,” Christensen said. “I’m very excited for next year and to make it to state for my next two years of high school.”

Ellen Gerlock lost two matches after winning the first to end a fine season at 190 pounds.

Heavyweight Armstrong pinned her first two opponents Thursday, but was pinned by Buffum in her third bout. On Friday, she began the day with a pin, but two follow-up losses landed her at eighth place on the podium.

With 55 points, the Valkyries tied for 16th place out of 151 teams represented. Waverly-Shell Rock earned the team title with 123 points.

Britten said she’ll remember many things about this year’s state tournament. Top of the list is how much fun she had with her teammates and coaches. The support SWAT’s communities gave the program also meant a lot.

“I’ll also remember the massive amount of support from my family and community — all the messages and social media reposts, comments and everyone watching online. It all meant so much to me,” Britten said. “I’m very proud that the others and I can call ourselves the first qualifiers from our team. I really can’t wait to see where next year takes us.”

Adair County Free Press and Fontanelle Observer editor Caleb Nelson contributed to this report.