Brianna Lucero ’27

Brianna Lucero ’27, a new member of the Iowa City West girls wrestling team, moved from New Mexico earlier this year after placing at the state tournament there last season. Entering the Iowa state tournament as the No. 9 seed, Lucero brought strong determination and experience as she faced a competitive bracket.

Lucero opened the tournament against No. 8 seed Jordon Manson of Ottumwa. She scored an early takedown in the first period, but Manson quickly responded with a reversal. Manson added four near-fall points in the second period and a three-point takedown in the third, resulting in a 9–3 loss for Lucero.

Moving to the consolation side of the bracket, Lucero faced No. 16 seed Kaylee Hintze of Council Bluffs. Lucero controlled the match and secured a pin at the end of the first period to advance.

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Minna Abdalla

Brianna Lucero '27 waits as her opponent steps onto the mat at the Iowa state wrestling tournament Feb. 5.

She then faced No. 2 seed Ashlyn Leslie of Nevada. Early in the first period, Lucero rolled through Leslie’s headthrow attempt to score a takedown. Maintaining control from the top position, she quickly turned Leslie to her back and secured a pin just 44 seconds into the match.

Lucero then lost to sixth seed Kate Eggleston from Liberty High School, who she lost to earlier in the season. Eggleston scored a takedown at the beginning of the first, and remained in the top position for the rest of the period. The two started in neutral position going into the second, and Lucero scored a takedown that Eggleston later reversed. Lucero chose top going into the third and Eggleston escaped with a minute and eight seconds left. The match finished with a 6-3 win for Eggleston, who ended up getting third place.

Lucero moved on to wrestle for seventh place after her loss. She took on Cadence Pastor of Marion. Pastor scored a takedown at the end of the first. Lucero started in the top position and Pastor followed with a quick reversal. Lucero was also called for stalling in the second period, earning Pastor another point. No points were scored in the third, and the 6-0 loss secured Lucero an eighth-place finish.

Eva Jara ’28

Eva Jara ’28 entered the tournament as the No. 9 seed after battling through a season full of injuries. Although injuries limited the number of matches she was able to wrestle, Jara still finished the year with a winning record and entered the state tournament motivated to prove her capabilities on the mat.

Jara opened the tournament against No. 8 seed Aubrey Borcherding of Dallas Center-Grimes. The match remained close throughout the first period until Jara scored a takedown late. She quickly capitalized on the position and secured a pin with just one second remaining in the period.

Moving on to the quarterfinals, Jara had a tough opponent: first seed Briar Ludeman from Cedar Falls. Ludeman had pinned Jara last week in the regional qualifiers finals, so this was a rematch for the two.

No points were scored for the first two periods. Ludeman started in the bottom position going into the third period, and escaped in six seconds. With around a minute left in the match, Jara took Ludeman down, putting her ahead by two points. With only 16 seconds left, Jara was able to tilt her for three nearfall points. Ludeman followed with a reversal but it was not enough to secure her a win. Jara finished with a huge 6-4 over the senior.

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Minna Abdalla

During her quarterfinal match Eva Jara '28 goes up against the No. 1 seed in the tournament, after a hard fought battle Jara ends up winning by decision and advances to the semifinals.

In the semifinals, Jara faced Mallory Stutsman from Carlisle. Jara scored a takedown in the first, going 3-0 into the second. The two went neutral into the second, and no points were scored. Stutsman chose top going into the third and scored a four-point nearfall. Jara was able to score a reversal and a four-point nearfall of her own. Jara’s 9-4 win moved her on to the state finals.

In the finals, Jara faced Reagan Haynes of Algona. Haynes shot early in the match, and Jara initially defended with a quick sprawl. However, Haynes was able to continue the attack and turn Jara to her back. Jara attempted to fight off the position while caught in an arm bar, but during the scramble she dislocated her shoulder. The match ended with a pin in 38 seconds.

Despite the injury in the finals, Jara completed an impressive tournament run, finishing as the state runner-up, the second girl in all of West’s history.

When reflecting on the girls’ performance, head coach Michael Mettenburg emphasized how difficult it is to reach the state tournament and earn a spot on the podium.

“It’s hard to get to the Iowa State Tournament, and it’s hard to get on the podium. They did both. They got here, and they got on the podium. And I think now that they have experience here, they’re gonna come back with a vengeance. Can’t wait to see what they do next year,” Mettenburg said.

The West High boys wrestling team headed to Des Moines Feb. 18-21 after qualifying nine wrestlers at the district meet in Bettendorf Feb. 14. After taking seventh at the state duals tournament, athletes looked to compete against the best wrestlers in the state and secure a spot atop the podium. Headlined by second-place finisher Diego Robertty ’29 and third-place finisher Alexander Pierce ’26, the Trojans took home four medals.

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Tyler Shane

Diego Robertty '29 looks for an opening to score in his state semifinal match.

113: Entering as the third overall seed, Diego Robertty ’29 started fast with a 43-second pin over his first opponent to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinal match, he beat Cain Crosson of Indianola in a close decision 14-13, securing his spot in the semifinal. Facing Dowling Catholic’s Jack Wallukait, Robertty trailed 9-8 for most of the third period until he got a late takedown to advance to the state final. In the championship bout, he faced top-seeded Carew Christiansen from Waukee Northwest. Robertty instantly got to his offense, taking several shots and scoring two takedowns. However, Christiansen scored two takedowns and earned a second-period rideout, giving him the slight edge. Robertty couldn’t complete the comeback and fell short, finishing runner-up. 

120: Hugo Hughes ’29 was West’s biggest surprise of the tournament, advancing to the quarterfinals as the 11th seed. His first two matches went strongly, earning pins in 4:40 and 2:21, respectively. In the quarterfinals, he faced third-seeded Benjamin Walsh of Ankeny and lost by fall. He dropped his first consolation match to a Dubuque Hempstead wrestler, knocking him out of placement contention.

126: Senior Alexander Pierce came into the tournament undefeated with a record of 45-0, earning the second seed. Pierce cruised through his first two rounds, advancing to the semifinal with two tech falls in the round of 32 and the quarterfinals. In the semifinal against Lewis Central’s Weston Porter, he wrestled three tough periods to come to a score of 1-1 at the end of regulation. In the sudden victory overtime period, Pierce threw in a headlock in an attempt to pin Porter, which led to a scramble that Porter was able to come out on top of. Pierce bounced back on the final day and won two tough matches over Joey Cahill of Waukee Northwest and Cale Vandermark of Ankeny Centennial to secure a third-place finish.

138: Charles Barnhouse ’27 entered as the 16th seed in his weight class. In the first round, he lost a close matchup to his opponent from Carlisle. In the wrestlebacks, he lost by major decision, ending his tournament run.

144: Owin Koethe ’29 entered as the 11th seed in his first state tournament. In his first match against Luke Lindaman from Waterloo West, he secured an early takedown before losing position and getting pinned in 1:49. He then dropped his first consolation match to fifth-seed Trenton Byers by technical fall. He did not place.

157: Blest Woods ’29 entered his first state tournament seeded eighth. He suffered a second-period pin in his first match and fell to the back side of the bracket. He returned to the mat strong in his consolation matches, rattling off consecutive tech falls before losing to Alex Penzkover from Southeast Polk, narrowly missing the podium.

165: Campbell Janis ’26 came in seeded 13th in his final wrestling tournament. He started strong with a victory by fall over Ben Rotert of Ankeny Centennial before being pinned by fourth-seeded Cole Green from North Scott. He fought back in the consolation bracket, winning three of four matches to wrestle in the seventh-place bout. In this match, Janis was leading over Shannon Hughes from Bettendorf before Hughes was able to put Janis on his back and pin him with just 18 seconds remaining. Janis finished in eighth place, higher than his seeding. 

215: Ashten Holmes ’28 entered as the 20th seed, facing a tough bracket, and he dropped his first match to 13th-seed Alex Gassman of Western Dubuque. His first consolation match ended similarly, falling to 14th-seed Conner Bistricky of  Prairie.

285: Senior Kaden Stitt came into his first state tournament in Iowa seeded fifth. Following a first-round bye, he won his second-round match by decision 6-0. He then dropped his quarterfinal match to the fourth seed, Cary Cox of Pleasant Valley. He won his first two consolation matches before dropping another tough decision to Henry Mohr of Waukee Northwest. In the fifth-place medal match, he faced third-seeded Andrew Hine from Waukee. Hine was able to score a takedown and nearfall in the first period, getting an early lead. Stitt wasn’t able to score many more points, losing by major decision. Despite the loss, Stitt walked away with a sixth-place medal, earning a spot on the podium.