East Buchanan is heading full steam into the semifinals of the Class 1A state wrestling tournament with a solid lead in the team race.
The runner-up in the single-class tournament the last two years, East Buchanan has compiled 53 points while advancing five wrestlers into Friday’s semifinal matches at Xtream Arena in Coralville.
The Bucccaneers won 11 of 14 matches in the opening rounds, seven of them with pins. They were especially impressive in the middle weights, where Destiny Krum (135), Andelyn Cabalka (140) and Tayla Stiefel (145) each pinned both their opponents.
Mount Vernon, with returning state champion Libby Dix anchoring the lineup at 190, is second with 42 points. Decorah (40 ½), Osage (39 ½) and Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (39 ½) round out the top five.
Dix pinned both her opponents and will be joined in the semifinals by teammate Kiersten Swart at 110. The Mustangs also have three wrestlers competing on the consolation side with a chance to add to the team score and reach the podium.
Decorah, last year’s single-class champion, has two semifinalists and two on the consolation side. The Vikings’ Anastasia Simon forged the fastest path to the semifinals of all those who advanced, barely spending just a little over a minute on the mat with pins of 20 and 48 seconds at 145.
Osage will have three wrestlers in the semis, while EBF has one plus three in the consolation matches.
The three other former champions in the field also advance with dominating performances, including Riverside’s Molly Allen in her bid to become a three-time champion. Allen, unbeaten in her career, recorded first-period technical falls of 20-3 and 17-2, the latter in only 51 seconds.
Sigourney-Keota’s Reanah Utterback (115) and Saydel’s Colbie Tenborg (135) kept their hopes of repeating alive by pinning each of their two opponents.
The meet resumes at 10 a.m. Friday with semifinals in both Class 1A and 2A, plus consolation matches. The championship, third-place and fifth-place matches begin at 6 o’clock Friday night.