September 11, 2024

Girls wrestling dominates at home

By CHEYENNE ROCHE
Evy Marlin (130) earns back points Thursday on Andrea Taylor before getting the pin early in the second period. Highway 34 topped Indianola 54-12 in the home dual.

Evy Marlin (130) earns back points Thursday on Andrea Taylor before getting the pin early in the second period. Highway 34 topped Indianola 54-12 in the home dual. (CNA photo by CHEYENNE ROCHE)

Every match ended in a pin Thursday at home as the Highway 34 wrestling team defeated Indianola 54-12.

“We were really focused on this one. Indianola’s a big school,” head coach Maggie Arnold said. “We just really wanted to finish this first half of our season on a positive note. We have a month left when we get back from Christmas break, so this was like a big exclamation point to that first half of the season.”

Six wrestlers won their bouts while only two fell to their opponents.

Quynn Foster got the team started with a pin over Elaina Labertew in 1:01 at 105.

Quynn Foster works for a pin against Elaina Labertew. She pulled off the fall in 1:01 to get Highway 34’s first victory of the evening.

Quynn Foster works for a pin against Elaina Labertew. She pulled off the fall in 1:01 to get Highway 34’s first victory of the evening. (CNA photo by CHEYENNE ROCHE)

Also with a quick pin was Mila Kuhns, (140) who topped Carlyn Lundberg in 1:34.

“I thought all the girls were definitely ready to go and focused on their matches,” Arnold said. “We didn’t have a whole lot of common opponents with them so it was hard to scout them. They bump around a lot at duals so it was hard to predict the lineup they were going to run. I thought everyone came focused on their job tonight.”

Alainah Galanakis defeated Elaina Merfeld in a 3:35 pin at 120.

Evy Marlin (130) took down Andrea Taylor in 2:35.

Grace Keeler (125) had a 3:44 pin against Callie Chapman.

Grace Keeler (125) gets a second-period pin on Callie Chapman of Indianola.

Grace Keeler (125) gets a second-period pin on Callie Chapman of Indianola. (CNA photo by CHEYENNE ROCHE)

Savannah Sistad rounded out the evening with a 3:03 pin at heavyweight over Jazelle Smith.

Siera Becker (100) and Summer Wolff (135) were the two winners from Indianola, topping Hope Woods and Zoey Vandevender, respectively.

“We’ll just keep hitting it hard in practice, tuning up some technique stuff,” Arnold said. “They are doing a much better job of being more technically sound than they were at the beginning of the season. We’re making improvements every single week and it’s really awesome to watch them grow and start to really come on to the sport.”

The girls return to the mat Jan. 5 in Ottumwa.

Cheyenne Roche

CHEYENNE ROCHE

Originally from Wisconsin, Cheyenne has a journalism and political science degree from UW-Eau Claire and a passion for reading and learning. She lives in Creston with her husband and their two little dogs.