With years of coaching experience, South Winn head girls’ wrestling head Coach Ethan Adams is looking forward to seeing his squad grow in competitive toughness and gaining quality competitions on the mats.
Coach Adams is back at the helm for his third season with Isabel Ihde and Tayton Bullerman taking the roles of assistant coaches.
A look back
The 2023 squad showcased six letter winners, two of whom had qualified for state the year prior.
A season of highs and lows culminated at the Region 8 qualifier in Mason City. The Warriors garnered 59 points on the day, finishing 14th in the 25-team field.
Highlighting the efforts, Kaydn Meyer not only won her 100th career match but was named the champion at 125 pounds. Battling a wrist injury, Maddy Jansen put on a gutsy display on the mats, finishing runner-up to punch her second ticket to the big show at 135 pounds.
In Coralville, Meyer earned a spot on the podium in eighth place and concluded her senior campaign with a 38-10 record, while Jansen went 1-2 at the tournament.
What lies ahead
“We have a very young team with our lone senior out due to injury,” noted coach Adams. “We will look to our juniors to lead our team.”
While young, the veteran coach knows the team is balanced with girls who now have some wrestling experience, allowing them to become more accomplished on a daily basis.
Returning letter winner and senior Abby Wagner will be sidelined this season after suffering a knee injury during softball, leaving Maddy Jansen, Sophia Dvorak, Izzy Goltz and McKenna Looby to lead the team.
Jansen, a two-time state qualifier, will wrestle at 135 pounds this season after she finished with a 24-11 record as a sophomore.
Joining the squad this season are Kenna Stanley, Violet Schmelzer, Gracie Walz, Grace Jansen, Jena Peters and Mackenzi Maxwell.
“With the new classes, it may open some doors for our younger girls, but many of the deepest teams in the state are still in Class 1A. It is on the state to effectively break up the powerhouse of eastern and northeast Iowa to get all of the best girls down to the state meet, but I feel we have a couple girls who are up to that challenge,” concluded coach Adams.
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