Three Cardinals lock up state wrestling berths

DES MOINES — The Newton girls’ wrestling team has dealt with a plethora of injuries this winter.

And the Cardinals’ most experienced grappler was no exception.

Jessie Hutchinson sat out the Colfax-Mingo tournament last week as she recovered from an ankle injury she suffered over winter break.

The injury still bothered her at the Region 3 tournament at the Iowa Events Center on Friday, but the Newton senior did what she had to do to advance to state and she will lead a trio of Cardinals at this week’s state meet in Coralville.

Hutchinson finished second at 170 pounds and she’ll be joined by Elizabeth Elliott and Stella Cupples as state qualifiers in the first-ever sanctioned state tournament at the Xtream Arena.

“It’s been a struggle for sure,” Hutchinson said about the injury. “I am just really thankful for tape to be honest. I taped the brace, but I could definitely feel it during my matches.

“There was so much going on in my head I just had to calm my mind and let it out.”

Tenth-ranked Hutchinson was the runner-up at 170 pounds and third-ranked Elliott placed second at 100 to lead the Cardinals. Cupples qualified for state at 115 after finishing third.

Elliott and Cupples also dealt with the adversity of injuries. Elliott has had back issues throughout her career and also missed last weekend’s tournament to save herself for regionals.

Cupples suffered an injury to her hip flexor at regionals but battled through it in her last match and survived with a 7-4 win.

“Wrestling is a tough sport. At any moment you can get hurt,” Newton girls’ head wrestling coach Chad Garvis said. “You just have to be tough and grit through some of it. Most of the kids who were here today probably had something they were battling. That’s part of the sport.”

Newton was part of Region 3, which featured 25 teams. The Cardinals placed seventh with 77 points. Cedar Falls, a severely underrated squad, led the way with 275 points and the rest of the top five included Ankeny (215), Dallas Center-Grimes (180.5), West Marshall (160) and Wiliamsburg (131).

Seven Cardinals competed in the regional tournament.

Not all brackets were created equal. Elliott’s 100-pound bracket featured five wrestlers and the top four in each weight class advance to state.

After a first-round bye, Elliott (17-3) locked up a state berth with a win by fall in her first match. She lost in the finals by fall to finish second.

“I think I got into my own head,” Elliott said. “It feels pretty good to make it. But it’s been difficult in past years because of injuries and I then I got this far and have this feeling that I am letting others down.”

Cupples (21-11) wrestled four times and was 3-1. She opened with a pin and then lost a 7-2 decision.

After the loss, Cupples bounced back with back-to-back victories. She won 16-9 and then clinched third place with a 7-4 win. She had a sizable lead in her final match before suffering the hip injury. After that, she pushed through it and held off a late rally from her opponent.

“It felt good to actually make it,” Cupples said. “Knowing that I could and actually making it are two different things so it felt good when I got it done.

“I think I could have taken more shots, but it happens.”

Hutchinson’s path to the state tournament included three matches. She opened with a win by fall and then locked up a state berth with a 6-2 victory in the semifinals.

In a battle of ranked wrestlers, Hutchinson (17-6) lost 4-1 to ninth-ranked Averie Wittkop of West Marshall. She trailed 2-0 after one and 4-0 after two.

Hutchinson, who said she’s also dealing with an arm injury, is a two-time medalist in the non-sanctioned state tournaments. She felt more pressure this season because she’s expected to qualify.

“Having to qualify, I had so many more nerves this year,” Hutchinson said. “And I did feel like because I have done well before that I am expected to be there.

“I was more stressed about this one because of what was at stake.”

The other four Cardinals who competed at regionals were Claire Breuer, Brianna Aebischer, Abby Chance and Ashlyn Van Manen.

Aebischer (16-12) won two matches but fell short of a state berth. She opened her tournament at 145 pounds with a win by pin and a win by 4-3 decision.

Aebischer lost 8-5 and then ended her tournament with back-to-back losses by fall. In the 8-5 loss, she was down 4-0 before rallying to go in front 5-4.

Breuer got the team’s other win at 135. She was 1-2 and her win by pin was sandwiched between a loss by fall and a 3-1 defeat.

Chance (16-11) and Van Manen both finished 0-2 at 155 and 190, respectively.

“We wrestled well and were competitive throughout the day,” Garvis said. “When you expect more of yourself, you wrestle a little harder and are not scared of the opportunity. We wanted to come in today thinking we had opportunities to get there.

“It was a transition year for us. New coaches, new program, new this and new that. The kids will get used to the expectations as we go and hopefully we can build off what we did this year. Attitudes and expectations equal positive outcomes for the kids.”

While Hutchinson is a two-time medalist, Cupples won five matches at last year’s state tournament and didn’t earn a spot on the podium.

“Every time I have gotten into one of these big tournaments I get to the match right before the placing round,” Cupples said. “So that’s some motivation to not fall short again for sure.”

Elliott will be the No. 8 at the state tournament. Her first opponent will be 25th-seeded Genessis Corado (24-17) of Eagle Grove.

Cupples is the No. 25 seed in her 115-pound bracket and she opens with eighth-seeded Aaleyah McMaster (27-6) of West Des Moines Valley.

Hutchinson is the No. 9 seed at 170. She starts with 24th-seeded Aleah Eichenberger (28-18) of New Hampton/Turkey Valley.

The Iowa High School Girls State Wrestling Championships begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday at Xtream Arena in Coralville.