CORALVILLE, Iowa – Katie Biscoglia just keeps piling up the victories on the wrestling mat, with a piece of history still in her sights.
Biscoglia, a senior in the Raccoon River Northwest program, pinned her two opponents at 110 pounds on Thursday in the opening session of the Class 2A state tournament and is now two wins from becoming the first four-time state champion since the IGHSAU began sanctioning the sport in 2023.
Now 51-0 this season and 205-1 in her career, Biscoglia helped put her in team in position for another historic feat. RRNW, the defending champion, has the early lead in the team race with 71 points and is trying to become the first to win two team titles.
Biscoglia is one of six RRNW wrestlers who advanced to Friday’s semifinal round. Two others are alive on the consolation side of the bracket. The RRNW wrestlers compiled an 18-8 record in Thursday’s action at Xtream Arena in Coralville and earned bonus points in 11 of the victories, including six by pins.
Ankeny is second with 57 ½ points, putting three in the semifinals and keeping another three going in the consolation matches. Southeast Polk is third with 54 points, Cedar Falls has 53 and South Tama 42.
Southeast Polk, Cedar Falls and South Tama also have three wrestlers each heading to the semifinals. Waverly-Shell Rock, which is in sixth place with 38 ½ points, will have four semifinalists, including defending champion Lauren Whitt at 115. Whitt advanced with a pin and a major decision.
South Tama and Waverly-Shell Rock also have returning champions and both are at 170. Autumn Elsbury of South Tama began defense of her title in that weight class with two pins, while Waverly-Shell Rock sophomore Amalia Djoumessi moved up after winning at 155 last year. She also had two pins – one of them in just 10 seconds.
Also advancing after winning titles last year were Siera Becker of Indianola at 105 and Avaeh Smith of Lewis Central at 130.
Two others who won titles a year ago were upset in the quarterfinals. Tenth-seeded Nora Bockes of Ankeny pinned Nevada’s Ashlyn Leslie, the number 2 seed, at 115 and Iowa City West’s Eva Jara, who is seeded ninth, took down defending champ Briar Lundeman of Cedar Falls at 190.
Among the other winners Thursday was Southeast Polk senior Skylar Slade, who is trying to bookend her career with state titles. She won at 155 as a freshman in 2023, then finished third and second the last two years. She recorded two pins at 155 to improve to 40-0 on the year.
The tournament resumes at 9 a.m. Friday with Class 1A competition. The 2A wrestlers at 1 o’clock, with the finals in both classes starting at 6:30 p.m.
