Des Moines Register's top-10 Iowa high school girls Wrestler of the Year candidates right now
Somehow, someway, the Iowa high school girls wrestling season only has three weekends left after it feels like it just got underway.
In a season with 13 of last year's 14 state champions returning to the mat, many of the same faces are making splashes across the high school scene. However, the Des Moines Register has narrowed its Wrestler of the Year candidates to just 10 names.
Of those 10, nine of them are undefeated and only one loss has been suffered by the whole group. Nine of them are returning state champions with one new, yet familiar face rounding out the crew.
While these are the Des Moines Register's current top 10, wrestlers in the state still have an opportunity to crack their way into this list with time remaining in the season.
With that being said, here are the Des Moines Register's top-10 girls Wrestler of the Year candidates heading into the final stretch of the season:
Stats are as of Jan. 13from Trackwrestling. Wrestlers are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
Molly Allen | Riverside | Junior
The Super 32 and Iowa state champion is off to another blazing start, sitting at 20-0 with 17 wins by pin. Eight of her wins by fall were in less than a minute. All of her pins have been in under three minutes. Competing in six tournaments this season, she's come in first place in every one.
Katie Biscoglia | Raccoon River | Sophomore
There are not many wrestlers who have gotten more reps than Biscoglia this year, wrestling in 29 matches. Winning by forfeit seven times, Biscoglia is 36-0 on the season with titles at the Central Iowa Kickoff, the Dan Gable Donnybrook, the Council Bluffs Wrestling Classic and the Raccoon River Wrestling ADM Invite.
In her high school career, Biscoglia is 82-0.
Kiara Djoumessi | Waverly-Shell Rock | Senior
The Hawkeyes didn't waste much time recruiting Djoumessi, and it's clear why. The headliner of a really tough Waverly-Shell Rock team with state title aspirations, Djoumessi is 29-0 with 21 wins by fall. She's pinned her opponent in under 30 seconds six times this season, including in as quick as 13 seconds over an opponent.
Maeley Elsbury | South Tama County | Senior
The gritty senior is 23-1 on the season, with 18 wins by fall. Back in December, Elsbury won the Vinton-Shellsburg Invite despite injuring her knee in the first-place match. She dusted herself off and won a tough bout over Vinton-Shellsburg's Chloe Sanders, a member of our preseason top-25 list.
Olivia Huckfelt | Spencer | Senior
Starting this season 31-0, with all of her wins via forfeit or pin, Huckfelt has now won 98 consecutive matches for Spencer. She's pinned an opponent in under a minute 17 times this year.
With Nevada's Mackenzie Arends out for the year, Huckfelt is the clear frontrunner for the state title at 235 pounds.
Jasmine Luedtke | Ottumwa | Senior
After winning a state title last year at 110 pounds, the Ottumwa senior is 28-0 with all but five of her victories coming by fall. She's back again in the same weight class and continues to set the tone.
Skylar Slade | Southeast Polk | Sophomore
The youngster has yet to be defeated in her career, sitting at a combined 86-0 so far and 37-0 in her sophomore campaign. More impressive than that, all but six of her wins have been by fall. Of those six wins not by fall, five are forfeits from her opponent, the other being a 17-2 technical fall. She's the favorite to earn another state title at 155 pounds in February.
Naomi Simon | Decorah | Senior
The second Hawkeye commit of our girls Wrestler of the Year candidates, Simon is setting out to be the first of them to be a four-time state champion. Undefeated on the season, every match she has won has been by fall or forfeit from the opposing team, flashing exactly why Hawkeyes coach Clarissa Chun is ecstatic to have her in the room next season.
"She's one that truly works hard and she's gonna bring that mindset and culture of making our program better," Chun said. "She's a selfless person."
Reanah Utterback | Sigourney-Keota | Senior
Utterback is getting the chance to wrestle with the girls this season after opting to wrestle with boys as a junior. Sigourney-Keota assembled a girls team, and she's been making the most of it. She's taken first place at nine different invites this season and is 32-0 in total at 115 pounds.
More: A team of five: Sigourney-Keota girls wrestling embracing the fun of program's first season
Jillian Worthen | Union | Junior
After winning the 105-pound state title last year, Worthen is up wrestling at 120 pounds and dominating. She's 11-0 on the year, up to 39-0 in her last two seasons. She'll be looking to add a third state title to her trophy case in Coralville in just a couple of weeks.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 10 Iowa girls high school Wrestler of the Year candidates 2024
