WINTHROP — Four Denver girls qualified for the state wrestling tournament, as did one from Janesville, during the Class 1A-Region 3 girls wrestling tournament hosted Friday, Jan. 31 at East Buchanan High School.
Winning gold for Denver were Violet Diaz at 105 pounds, Lilli Cooper at 120 pounds, and Kennedy Burk at 190 pounds. The Cyclones’ McKenna Broadhead placed second at 170 pounds, also advancing to state. Senior Jules Neubauer won bronze at 110 pounds, ending her high school wrestling career.
Janesville’s Addison Buseman, at 110 pounds, received silver and advanced to state. Presley Pugh, a freshman, placed fourth at 140 pounds, good for a medal.
The individual state championship tournament will be Thursday and Friday, Feb. 6-7 at the Xtream Arena in Coralville. There will be no dual team state tournament for the girls for 2024-25, per the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.
For the Class 1A (and 2A) regional tournaments, the champion and runner-up wrestler in each weight class advance to the state tournament, per IGHSAU rules. Girls placing first through fourth in their respective weight classes are awarded medals.
Denver placed third as a team, amassing 129 points, trailing the host by 101 and 34.5 behind Algona. Janesville was 11th of 19 teams with 56.5 points, edging Central Elkader by half a point while trailing Postville by 2.5. The top team gets a banner.
Here’s how it happened.
For first place at 105 pounds, Violet Diaz, for Denver (27-0), pinned Valeria Torres of East Buchanan (45-11) in 1:19. Diaz went 2-0, also securing a pin in the semifinal, on Friday.
For first place at 120, Lilli Cooper of Denver (30-1), won a medical forfeit against Malyn Davis of Algona (31-8). Cooper picked up pins in the quarterfinal and semifinal.
For first place at 190, Kennedy Burk of Denver (34-14) pinned Reagan Haynes of Algona (37-13) in 2:52. Burk has three pins that day, from the quarterfinal onward.
For second place at 110, Addison Buseman of Janesville (40-11) wrestled to a major decision, 11-1, over Jules Neubauer of Denver (20-14). Neubauer placed third. Buseman went 4-1, picking up pins in the quarterfinal, consolation semi and third-place match. Neubauer went 2-2 with pins in the quarter- and semifinal.
For second place at 170, McKenna Broadhead of Denver (38-13) pinned Gracee Tompkins of Midland (16-21), in 3:02. Broadhead went 3-1, also pinning opponents in the quarterfinal and semifinal.
For third place at 140, Emmy Owen of Algona (31-16) felled Presley Pugh of Janesville (20-10) in the first period. Pugh placed fourth. She went 2-2, winning by points in consolation round five and the consolation semi (major decision and decision, respectively).
