Girls wrestling: A dream fulfilled
Feb. 3—CORALVILLE — Day two of the Iowa High School Girls State Wrestling Tournament provided a tougher test for Ottumwa junior Jasmine Luedtke.
After advancing to the semifinals with three consecutive first-period falls on Thursday, Luedtke was pushed beyond the first two minutes by S.W.A.T senior Adyson Lundquist in the 110-pound semifinals. It may have taken a little longer, but Luedtke secured her seventh consecutive postseason pin on Friday morning clinching a spot in the state championship match by pinning Lundquist in 4:54, moving within one win of a perfect run to a state title.
"It doesn't matter how long it takes me to win as long as I win," Luedtke said "I really just try to keep my composure, especially at this tournament. I can't get stressed. I can't show any emotion. I have to stay focused on what I'm supposed to do and I'm supposed to get that job done."
Luedtke brought home Ottumwa's first girls state wrestling championship on Friday night, winning 4-1 in the 110-pound title match over Vinton-Shellsburg junior Bree Swenson in Friday night's championship match. Swenson scored a huge upset earlier in the day, stunning top-ranked unbeaten Osage senior Jalynn Goodale in the state semifinals.
"It's all really about going into the match the same way. You warm up the same way and you should wrestle the same way regardless of who you face," Luedtke said. "I just have to treat it like any other match. It feels different, but I can't think about that. This is kind of like life or death at this point, but I just have to go out there and do my job.
"This is so big. I can't even put into words how big an accomplishment this is."
Before falling in the 120-pound state championship match to Pleasant Valley freshman Abigail Meyrer, 2-0, Moravia sophomore Layla Ewing was able to survive Friday's semifinal round edging Chariton junior Leah Chandler 11-8 to clinch her spot in the final. Ewing erased deficits of 2-0, 6-4 and 8-7 tying the match by escaping Chandler with seven seconds left before scoring a decisive takedown as part of a final three-point move as time expired.
"All I was thinking about was how much I really wanted that win and how much I wanted to be in the top two at state," Ewing said. "It means a lot to me knowing just how far I've come over the years."
Centerville teammates Audrianna Rosol and Sarah Lewis both clinched placewinner status at the inaugural girls state wrestling tournament. Rosol, competing in wrestling for the first time as a senior, upset fourth-ranked Ankeny junior Dana Cleveland scoring a fall in 3:32 on Thursday night to earn a spot in the 135-pound state semifinals.
"It was a really big thrill," Rosol said. "I got a headlock in and used a really big throw. I used it in every match (on Thursday) and it worked. I got with what works for me and that seemed to do the trick."
Both Rosol and Lewis were stopped in their bids to bring state championships home to Appanoose County on Friday. Top-ranked Fort Dodge senior Alexis Ross pinned Rosol in 2:48 while Lewis was pinned by third-ranked Waverly-Shell Rock junior Kiara Djourmessi with eight seconds left in the first period of the 140-pound state semifinals.
"I'm satisfied with what I've been able to accomplish so far," Lewis said. "It just would have been nice if I could have made it to that state championship match."
Lewis bounced back to secure a spot in the 140-pound third-place match against fourth-ranked Center Point-Urbana senior Moorea Brown. After being initially take down in the consolation semifinals by ninth-ranked East Buchanan sophomore Andelyn Cabalka, Lewis escaped and scored a takedown of her own late in the first period working her way to a fall with 35 seconds left in the opening period improving to 31-3 on the season.
"When she shot in, I realized it was time to go," Lewis said. "I got back to my feet and tried to do my move out there."
Things did not go as well in the consolation semifinals for Rosol, who was pinned by sixth-ranked West Des Moines Valley sophomore Cadence Bushong. Rosol (23-8) has a chance to place in the top five at 135 with a win over second-ranked Independence senior Dakota Whitman.
"This is everything I thought it would be and more," Rosol said. "I'm extremely excited to be part of something so huge, especially with it being the first year. I'm part of history."
— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.
