Senior Female Athletes of the Year: Reanah Utterback and Josephine Moore

Sigourney-Keota wrestler Reanah Utterback (right) prepares for a match this year. As a senior Utterback went undefeated in the wrestling circle and captured her second-straight State title. Photo by Mark Schafer

Sigourney’s Josephine Moore was a dominant athlete for Sigourney this year. She was a team-leader in at least one ore more categories on the volleyball and basketball courts. She also was an accomplished shot put and discus thrower as well as a hitter and pitcher on the softball diamond. Photo by Mark Schafer

Sigourney’s Moore, Utterback share senior Athlete of the year honors

By Mark Schafer | The News-Review

SIGOURNEY – In the end they were too close to separate.

This year two senior athletes in the area made an undeniable impact on the Sigourney sports scene. It is for that reason that there were named the co-senior female athletes of the year. Both Reanah Utterback and Josephine Moore are this year’s News-Review athlete of the year.

Utterback became a household name in Iowa wrestling as a junior when she finished the season undefeated and won the girls State championship. With all the pressure on her to repeat as the champion, Utterback went out and dominated everyone once again.

Over the last two winters Utterback went 104-0. she finished the season with her second-straight class 1A 115-pound title. In the championship match Utterback was able to pin her opponent in the second period to earn her second-straight State title, and it was the third State title of her career.

Utterback is the winningest wrestler, male or female, in Sigourney-Keota history, and more than deserving of the title of senior female athlete of the year.

Sharing the honor with Utterback is classmate, Josephine Moore. While Utterback was dominant in one sport, Moore was dominant in every sport she played in.

Moore started the season by leading the Savages with kills on the volleyball court with 193. She also had the most digs on the team with 284. Additionally, she had 28 aces, another team-leading stat for the Savages. She earned All-Conference honors for her work on the volleyball court.

During the winter Moore moved to the basketball court where she led the team with 451 points scored. She also was the team leader in rebounds with 278. She gained All-Conference honors for basketball too.

Moore brought home more accolades in the spring as she was a standout athlete in track, winning several shot put and discus titles.

During the summer Moore was named to the All-Conference and All-State teams after leading the Savages with 37 hits, including nine home runs. She also led her team with 39 RBIs and with 28 runs scored. Additionally, she was the top pitcher on the team with a 17-6 record. She struck out 192 batters, allowed 90 hits and finished the season with a 1.18 ERA.