STATE BOUND: Two Bulldogs battle their way out of tough regional
MFL MarMac senior Mackenzie Bachman punched her ticket to the girls state wrestling tournament after placing second in the 125-pound weight class at the Jan. 31 Class 1A regional tournament at Osage. (Photo by Audrey Posten)
This will be Bachman's second trip to state. She previously qualified as a sophomore.
Freshman Charlotte Koether is making her first trip to Coralville, after winning a wrestleback for second place at 130 pounds.
Koether said her goal was to try her hardest and have fun. “As I started going further, I thought, ‘I’m glad about where I am. If I don’t move on, I’m happy,’” she said. “I was so scared at the end. I did everything I could. Now, I’m just so happy. I didn’t think I was going to make it to state.”
By Audrey Posten | Times-Register
Two MFL MarMac wrestlers have punched their tickets to the girls state wrestling tournament. Senior Mackenzie Bachman and freshman Charlotte Koether placed second in their respective 125- and 130-pound weight classes at the Jan. 31 Class 1A regional tournament at Osage.
“And not only two going, but two going out of an exceptional district,” said head coach Brent Pape. “The competition here from all the schools has been intense. It’s been a perfect atmosphere.”
Bachman, who previously qualified as a sophomore, came into the tournament knowing it was one of the toughest regionals in the state.
“Some weights were stacked,” she said. “But a lot of us came here today excited and knew anything could happen.”
Bachman cruised to the first-place match with falls in the quarter and semifinals—the latter in just 18 seconds. She looked well on her way to winning the title bout too, but, up 13-1, was caught and pinned by Jessika Ausborn of Northwood-Kensett.
Koether had a more circuitous route to state qualification. After winning her opening match by fall, she was pinned by eventual champ Sophie Glaser, of New Hampton/Turkey Valley, in the quarterfinals. Koether then won her next four matches on the back side of the bracket, including a fall, medical forfeit and major decision, capped off by a fall over Melanie Bruesewitz of Osage in the third-place match. The victory propelled her into a wrestleback for second place, where, losing with 30 seconds remaining in the match, she pinned Isabel Christensen of Sumner-Fredericksburg on the edge of the mat.
“Charlotte coming in here and beating that Sumner-Fred girl—that girl was ranked fifth in the state and has pinned Charlotte before. It goes to show, when you show up to wrestle, anything can happen,” said Bachman, proud of her teammate’s efforts. “When you go into a tournament like this, versus a normal tournament, a lot of girls let it fly and have fun. If they don’t, they know they’re the reason for holding themselves back. You’ll look back on the day proud of what you did.”
Koether said her goal was to try her hardest and have fun.
“As I started going further, I thought, ‘I’m glad about where I am. If I don’t move on, I’m happy,’” she said. “I was so scared at the end. I did everything I could. Now, I’m just so happy. I didn’t think I was going to make it to state.”
She acknowledged her teammates for their support all night—and season—long.
“This team is just amazing, and they’ve all lifted me up,” Koether said.
Sophomore Kennedy Bachman narrowly missed a trip to state. Her 100-pound bracket had the three top-ranked Class 1A wrestlers in the state, including eventual champ Ainsley Hemann of Osage and runner-up Chloe Sheffield of Decorah, who handed Bachman her only loss of the day in the semifinals. Bachman pinned third-ranked Sophia Calpito of Charles City in the third-place match, but was denied a wrestleback.
Other Bulldog wrestlers Ashlyn Blake (105 pounds), Veda Torkelson (110), Bayleigh Wood (135), Hannah Jacobson (155), Audrey Ruff (170) and Isla Henkes (190) lost both their matches and did not place.
As the team leader, M. Bachman was proud of all the girls.
“A lot of the girls had good personal strides, being more comfortable on the mat, doing their takedowns better. I think the more mat time girls get, the better they become,” she said. “I’m really proud of everyone and how everyone has come together, showed up and helped each other out.”
Pape credited a series of mindset classes for helping the wrestlers on and off the mat this season. Bachman agreed.
“A lot of girls’ mindsets are better. That was one big struggle for me that I’ve had to constantly overcome,” she said. “It’s good to remind ourselves that we’re here to have fun, here to let it fly, here to be aggressive and relentless and not be afraid of losing or making mistakes—to never give up.”
Now, M. Bachman is excited for the state opportunity.
“I still have not earned my hardware,” she said.
“We’re going down and looking for necklaces,” Pape stated.
The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) state wrestling tournament will be Thursday and Friday, Feb. 6 and 7, at Xtream Arena in Coralville. Class 1A opening rounds will get underway at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
