Waverly-Shell Rock is closing in on the team championship in the first IGHSAU state wrestling tournament.
The Go-Hawks enter Friday night’s final sessions with 117 points and will have three wrestlers going for individual titles at Xtream Arena in Coralville.
Decorah is second with 102 points, followed by Lewis Central (98), East Buchanan (97) and Osage (73). Decorah, Lewis Central and Osage have one finalist each. East Buchanan will have to depend on five wrestlers in the placing matches for additional points.
All three Waverly-Shell Rock finalists came into tournament as No. 3 seeds – Kiara Djoumessi at 140 pounds, Haidyn Snyder at 145 and Madison Hinrichs at 235. Djoumessi will try to put the finishing touches on an unbeaten season, taking a 51-0 record against top-seeded Mahri Manz of Lewis Central.
During the afternoon session, Waverly-Shell Rock got seventh-place finishes from Eva Heise at 125 and Lilly Sough at 130.
Decorah has top-seeded Naomi Simon in the finals at 170. She’ll take a 40-0 record against third-seeded Libby Dix of Mount Vernon.
Second-seeded Gable Hemann made the finals for Osage at 100 pounds and will go against top-seeded Katie Biscoglia of Raccoon River/Northwest. Biscoglia, a freshman, is 49-0. Hemann, a sophomore, has compiled a 48-2 record.
The Biscoglia-Hemann match is one of six pitting the top two seeds against each other. The lowest seeded wrestler making the finals was No. 10 Molly Sek of Sioux City North. She’ll go against top-seeded Molly Allen of Riverside at 115.
While no East Buchanan wrestler made the finals, the Buccaneers will have Keely Kehrli going for third place at 155 and four teammates trying for fifth – Destiny Krum (130), Andelyn Cabalka (140), Brooklyn Graham (170) and Alyson Krum (190).