By Mark Schafer | The News-Review
 WAPELLO – Nothing is easy in wrestling.
Just ask Sigourney-Keota’s Sadie Clarahan who had to survive multiple twists and turns during her regional qualifying meet at Wapello on Friday night.
At times it seemed like everything was lining up against to work against the junior, who was going for her first-ever State meet.
The 120-pound wrestler started off her tournament on the right foot as she was able to pin a WACO opponent early in the second period to gain the win.
Things went awry in the semifinals though as Clarahan was pinned in just 49 seconds. That defeat didn’t set Clarahan back. She came out determined in the consolation semifinals, pinning a Cardinal opponent in just 1:47.
That sent Clarahan to the third place match. There, she would need 3:40 to pin a Durant opponent and keep her hopes of the State tournament alive.
There was bad news awaiting Clarahan though. The wrestler she would have to beat to go to the State tournament was Eva Kriegel, an Iowa Valley wrestler that had already bested Clarahan twice at the South Iowa Cedar League wrestling tournament just four days earlier.
“I wrestled her twice in the last week and she was able to beat me both times,” Clarahan said. “I knew that she is a good wrestler on the top, so I tried not to get stuck on the bottom too many times. There were times when I thought I was going to get trapped on the bottom, but I just shook my head and fought out of that.”
Things went even more sour early in the match when Kriegel was able to take a slight lead on Clarahan. Losing the lead only seemed to motivate Clarahan more.
“I like to learn from my losses, so I remembered what I had done wrong in the other two matches,” Clarahan said. “I just knew that I needed to have the confidence in myself to do what I needed to do to make the right moves.”
Clarahan was able to quickly gain the offense, and didn’t allow herself to get trapped on the bottom. Soon, she had the lead again.
As the third period began, Clarahan was racking up the points, but soon she was going to make sure that there was no doubt who was going to the State meet. Â
“I had a lot of adrenaline going into the third period, that helped a lot,” Clarahan said. “I looked up at the score and then I looked at my teammates and my support people near the mat, that really helped me a lot. I realized in my heart that I had a pretty good lead, and I knew that I wasn’t going to give up.”
With the energy from the adrenaline and her crowd cheering her on, Clarahan was able to trap the shoulders of Kriegel and earn the pin. That gave her second place overall.
With the win Clarahan earned her ticket to the State tournament. There, she will wrestle as the 13th-seeded wrestler. She will have a familiar opponent in the first round, as she has a rematch against Assumption’s Valentina West, who pinned Clarahan in the semifinals at Wapello.
“Words can’t even describe what I’m feeling right now,” Clarahan said about qualifying to the State meet. “It is an unreal feeling, an absolute unreal feeling.”
Kia Montgomery was able to make the State meet last year, and she seemed more than motivated to get back to the Xtreme Arena. In her first match the 125-pound wrestler needed just 26 seconds to gain a pin.
In the semifinals she would pin her opponent in 4:44.
Although she was pinned in the second period of the championship match, Montgomery had previously beaten the third place finisher, allowing Montgomery to qualify for the State tournament.
“It was really great to wrestle some of these girls who I have never wrestled against,” Montgomery said about her run at the regional tournament. “I can’t wait until next week and I am really excited I get to return to the State meet.
Montgomery is seeded 10th at the State meet and will wrestle a Missouri Valley wrestler in the first round at State.
“Last year I learned that this is going to be one of the toughest tournaments I have ever faced,” Montgomery said. “I am going to take what I learned last year. I am going to let the nerves settle down and then my goal is to place this year.”
Aubrey Utterback finished fourth in the 110-pound division, winning her first match and her consolation semifinal match.
In the 130-pound bracket Nevaeh Beinhart finished fourth. Beinhart won two of her four matches with pins.
Izzy Heisdorffer was fourth in the 145-pound bracket. She won the quarterfinal match, but was pinned in the semifinals. After pinning her consolation semifinal opponent, Heisdorffer was defeated 3-1 in the third place match.
Karley Greiner was third in the 155-pound bracket. Greiner was able to pin her first opponent, but was defeated 13-8 in the semifinals. She was then able to win the consolation semifinals before winning the third place match with a third period pin.
Melanie Woodsmall was fourth in the 170-pound bracket. She was able to win the quarterfinal match. In the third place match she was pinned in 2:49.
The Cobras won the regional meet with 134 total points. Albia was second with 128 total points.
“To be able to win the regional tournament is big for us,” Montgomery said. “I know we don’t have anyone at the top of the podium, but to have two people going to State, that is really good.”
Photos by Mark Schafer
