Iowa Lakes has 14 women's wrestlers competing at the National Tournament on March 1st and 2nd at the Mid-American Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. These fourteen athletes qualified for the NJCAA Women's Wrestling Invitational.
Head Coach Corey Muniz had this to say about preparations for the tournament, "The main thing we are doing now is getting our bodies as close to 100% as we can. Feeling good going into the national invite is a huge advantage with the nature of this grueling tournament. On the mental side, it's positive reinforcement. We know we put in the work all year long. It gets hard when the lights are bright and the stage is large, but we are focusing on the moment, and on the opportunity to make the most of it." When asked about the outlook for the tournament, Muniz said "The main outlook is progress. We are continuing to grow and develop as a program. We have our first ever wrestler seeded in the tournament, which is a testament to the growth thus far. If we come and compete are tails off, we look to improve on our 14th place finish from last year's competition. A lot has to go in our favor, but we embrace the position we are in and look to continue to prove ourselves."
For the Lakers, there are several ladies to watch while at the National Tournament. Muniz said, "First off, look to keep an eye out for Isabel (Izze) Jues and Leilana Kollasch, who are returning point scorers at the national tournament. They both have gotten much better and expect to improve on their second go around. There are a few bright spots for our freshmen. Holly Garrett leads the pack, being ranked in the nation @ 131. Riley Weiler, Willow Stewart, and Nina Aceves are all athletes that have combined for almost 30 victories this season. Lastly, for the freshman is 160 pounder Keyahna Phillips, who is the current program wins record holder with 21 victories so far this season."
The full lineup of Iowa Lakes wrestlers competing at the national championship tournament is as follows:
Anika Stearns- 110 lbs.
Lexi Timmerman- 117 lbs.
Alex Carty- 117 lbs.
Kylie Hessenius- 117 lbs.
Holly Garrett- 131 lbs.
Stevy Griffin- 124 lbs.
Isabel Jues- 131 lbs.
Leilana Kollasch- 138 lbs.
Riley Weiler- 138 lbs.
Nina Aceves- 145 lbs.
Willow Stewart- 145 lbs.
Keyahna Phillips- 160 lbs.
Hannah Baatz- 145 lbs.
Savanna Salen- 180 lbs.
Official brackets can be found here:
https://d2o2figo6ddd0g.cloudfront.net/9/j/glqsva4vanivjj/Womens25.pdf
The tournament begins on Friday, March 7th at 9:00 am and concludes Saturday, March 8th using double elimination format.
You can follow live updates on twitter: https://twitter.com/njcaawrestling
You can also watch streamed matches on the NJCAA Network: https://www.njcaa.org/network/landing/index
OTHER: 24-25 Roster: https://www.iowalakesathletics.com/sports/wwrest/2024-25/roster
24-25 Schedule: https://www.iowalakesathletics.com/sports/wwrest/2024-25/schedule
MEDIA: For more information, please contact Head Wrestling Coach Corey Muniz at 712-209-6660 or the Iowa Lakes sports information office at (712) 362-7928