Comet junior 190-pounder Leah Stewart takes 5th at Girls Wrestling State Tournament

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CORALVILLE — After leaving a noticeable impression on the first Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union-sanctioned Girls Wrestling State Tournament that is still evident today, the Charles City Comets returned to the scene of history with four state-qualifiers — two of them ranked — and again managed to advance a representative to the podium during the final day/night of the 2024 tourney, Friday at Xtream Arena.

Comet 190-pound junior Leah Stewart, a state-qualifier returning from the inaugural tourney, caused a little disruption in her bracket when she — seeded sixth — defeated No. 3-seed, Decorah junior Kamryn Steines, with a third-period fall victory during the quarterfinals on Thursday night.

That got Stewart to Friday’s late-morning session where West Lyon junior Jana TerWee was waiting for her in the semifinals.

Facing one of the best athletes in the state — TerWee is a state-champion thrower in the discus and shot put; and also has a state wrestling title dating back to 2022 — Stewart was able to battle TerWee to a standing stalemate through the first period. Taking the down position to start the second period, Stewart looked at times as if she was going to attain a standing base to pry herself free for an escape, but TerWee aggressively rode Stewart heavy back onto to the mat and eventually wore her down enough to turn her shoulders for a fall victory with five seconds left in the period.

In the subsequent consolation semifinal against East Buchanan sophomore Brooklyn Graham, Stewart got tripped up by some bad luck — literally.

Leading Graham 2-1 into the third period, Stewart — circling her opponent from the standup position — tripped and fell prone to the mat. Graham took immediate opportunity and pounced on Stewart for the 2-point takedown and 3-2 lead.

When the match was restarted within “short time”, Stewart — from the bottom position — managed to get to her feet and was in the process of breaking free of Graham, who was trying to ride Stewart out of bounds. It looked as if Stewart got free just as she crossed the circle boundary and the match ticked off its final regulation second. But the officials didn’t award Stewart the would-be tying point.

Later during the evening session, Stewart won a rematch with Steines with a 3-0 decision in the fifth-place bout while capping her season record at 37-7.

Mount Vernon junior Libby Dix pinned TerWee in the final seconds of their championship match.

Other podium 190-pound podium placers include Graham (3rd), Southeast Polk senior Bella Porcelli (4th), Steines (6th), Pella senior Elaine Babcock (7th) and Western Dubuque senior Sharidan Engelken (8th).

All of Charles City’s other state-qualifiers won their opening bouts but were eventually eliminated in the consolation brackets while each going 2-2 at the tournament.

They include freshman 100-pounder Sophia Calpito (24-20), freshman 125-pounder Edie Collins (34-15) and junior 155-pounder Destiny Kolheim (35-5).

With 35 team points, the Comets tied for 26th among the 160 teams represented. With nine state-qualifiers, Decorah was the meet’s team champion with 141 points — no other team accumulated more than 96 points.

At last winter’s state tournament, Charles City graduate Lilly Luft capped a stellar prep career with her third state title in a row before continuing her wrestling career at the University of Iowa. Her poster-board likeness still graces the cavernous hallways that twist inside Xtream Arena, and within the tournament’s official printed program commemorating Luft’s accomplishments and her being the recipient of the Iowa Bankers Association Student/Athlete Achievement Award that was presented before the championship round of last year’s state tournament.