The SWAT (Southwest Area Team) Valkyries girls wrestling squad will have six girls representing them at the IGHSAU State Wrestling Tournament this Thursday and Friday at the Xtream Arena in Coralville.
The team finished second in a superregional meet held last Friday at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City and are excited they experienced the level of success they did.
Top-4 finishers at the superregional were able to move on to state. Jazz Christensen was second at 100 pounds, Mia South was third at 140, Stella Beattie took fourth at 155, Grace Britten was runner-up at 170, Ellen Gerlock placed second at 190 and Haley Armstrong was fourth at 235. All six will be competing at state.
“All of the girls went out, wrestled with a lot of heart and left it all out on the mat, which is what we ask them to do,” SWAT head coach Tiffany South said. “Even our wrestlers who are either in their first season of high school wrestling or their first year of wrestling ever gave a match to the girls who were there. I’m super, super proud of my girls.”
Christensen and Britten are the girls from Nodaway Valley advancing, while Destiny Fry (27-13) and Addison Herr (13-20), also from Nodaway Valley, finished quality seasons with fifth place finishes.
Christensen (34-6) pinned her way through the first two matches she wrestled, falling to LeMars’ Brooklyn DeRocher in the championship by pin in 2:43.
“I could’ve done better against the girl who got first place, but I definitely did better, I thought, than last year. I have confidence in myself and always set a goal to prepare myself for what’s coming in my next match. I always listen to music, get myself pumped up, and talk to my dad, getting tips from him,” Christensen said. “I want to [go into state] with confidence and try to make it into the finals on Friday. I want to get myself prepared, get a lot of sleep and exercise so I go in loose, ready for matches and whatever’s next to come.”
Britten (36-2) won by fall in the first minute of her quarterfinal and semifinal round matches, but lost to Lewis Central’s Kalen Westerfield of Lewis Central, a wrestler she had a tough match with a week prior at Atlantic.
“I’m very excited about state this year. While there’s some pressure from being a return place winner, I feel confident and ready going into the tournament,” Britten said. “My goal is going to the top of the podium, of course, but ultimately, I just want to do the best I can and support my teammates through their first or second state experiences. It means a lot to me to feel the support from my community and see my teammates on the mats with me, because they absolutely deserve it.”
Coach South commented that Britten wrestled strong, even in the one match she lost. Christensen always has “that fire,” South said. She’s “happy, spunky” and wrestles her heart out every time she’s on the mat. South said she rarely sees Christensen get done and is excited to see how all six qualifiers seize the opportunity they’ve earned.
South, Beattie, Gerlock and Armstrong are the other four qualifiers.
Mia South is a senior who has worked very hard, she’s strong and is even-keeled, Coach South said.
Beattie is going to state as a freshman after wrestling back for fourth, and coaches say she’s a “force to be reckoned with.”
South commented Gerlock has a lot of consistency she’ll take to the state tournament.
Armstrong also is a returning qualifier that coaches are excited to see compete back at state.
Wrestling will start 10 a.m. Thursday with the first round, second round and first wrestlebacks. In the evening session will be quarterfinals, second wrestlebacks and third wrestlebacks.
Friday, which also begins at 10 a.m., will include the semifinals and the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh wrestlebacks. The evening session will be the championship round.
Not only are there six current SWAT wrestlers who have made it to state, there are others in new programs or sharing agreements who used to be SWAT wrestlers that also made it to state this year.
“That just makes my heart very happy. In my heart, we have nine girls making it to state,” South said. “We want to make a name for SWAT. I don’t think a single member of our team is out for themselves. We want to place in the top 10 at state, and with six wrestlers, we have a good chance if they wrestle to the best of their ability.”