NEVADA — Allison Houston was at a loss for words. Ashlyn Leslie bounced back from adversity. Grayce Coree could hardly control her emotions.
All three Nevada girls punched their tickets to state during the Class 2A Region 4 girls wrestling meet at Nevada High School on Jan. 30.
“I am very happy with that,” said Nevada coach Tawnia Leslie. “The three that we’ve got going, I’m excited to see what they can bring to state for us. Win or lose, I’m proud of them no matter what.”
Houston claimed her first regional title by placing first at 105 pounds.
The Cub sophomore was on top of her game, pinning all three of her opponents to advance to Xtream Arena in Coralville on Feb. 5-6. Houston pinned Benton Community’s Victory Dursky in 42 seconds and Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Marie Burns in 2:52 to reach the finals, where she stuck Boone’s Poppy Malone in 2:34.
“It’s what I’ve been working for,” said Houston.
Houston caught Malone in a cradle near the edge of the mat early in the second period to claim her victory in the championship match. She will take a 37-9 record into state.
“I was looking for my cradle,” Houston said. “I knew I was going to win.”
Leslie entered the meet as a defending 2A state champion at 110. She went up to 115 this year, but she was unable to wrestle until regionals week after tearing her ACL in early July.
Leslie picked up her 100th victory earlier in the week after going 2-0 at the Heart of Iowa Conference meet on Jan. 26 at Saydel to claim a conference championship. She opened the regional tournament with a pin over West Des Moines’ Eden Fitzgerald in the semifinals, but she was upset by Algona’s Laura Stohr in the finals.
Stohr caught Leslie and pinned her in 33 seconds.
Leslie was not happy after the match. But she showed great resilience and professionalism by calmly settling down and regrouping for the second-place match, where she earned her spot at state.
Leslie took complete control in the wrestleback match against East Buchanan’s Paige Eastman. She pinned Eastman in just 47 seconds to earn her spot at state, where she hopes an additional week of training will get her in position to make another run at a state championship.
“It was rough on me mentally at first, and then they (my coaches) talked to me, and I realized everybody else has gotten to lose and fix things throughout the season, and I’m just now being able to do it,” said Leslie. “To lose and learn now before state, that was my best opportunity I could have.”
Coree is a senior who had spent her previous three years behind two-time state champion Mackenzie Arends. Now it was her time to shine at 235, and she did not disappoint.
After receiving two byes, Coree pinned Algona’s Karsyn Myhre in the semifinals and then lost by fall to Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Emelia Reyes in the championship match. Coree then had to go up against Boone’s Brooklynn Elliott in a wrestleback match to secure second place and a spot at state.
Coree and Elliott locked up in an even tussle for about a minute, but then Elliott got the edge by getting Coree down on the mat. Coree kept her wits about her, and she managed to to turn Elliott’s momentum against her.
Coree stuck Elliott’s shoulders down on the mat and held on long enough to score the fall in 1:16. After the match, tears started dripping down her face and she could not contain a heart filled with joy as she was greeted by teammates, coaches, family and friends after the match.
“This year I’ve been trying to go out and prove myself and show that I am worthy of this,” said Coree. “This is my senior year, so going to state means so much to me. I thought there for a second that I wasn’t going to be able to do it, but I knew if I kept my mind determined that I’d be able to do it.”
Coree will take a 30-13 record into state.
Session 1 of the girls state wrestling tournament runs from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 5, and Session 2 takes place from 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. On Feb. 6, sessions 3 and 4 start at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively, and the championship matches will run from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Three Nevada girls wrestlers punch their tickets to state
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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