Injuries add up for Iowa women’s wrestling at 136 pounds with 2 months to go in inaugural season

IOWA CITY — Iowa women’s wrestling will be without two of its 136-pound athletes for the rest of the 2023-24 season.

Nanea Estrella will miss the rest of the season with an injury, she announced last week on Instagram. Esther Han is no longer on the team roster, a team spokeswoman confirmed, after also suffering a season-ending injury.

Estrella and Han both suffered their injuries while at U.S. Senior Nationals last month.

Estrella was the No. 2 wrestler in her weight class in the National Wrestling Coaches Assocation’s most recent individual rankings. She competed in four of Iowa’s dual meets and won via technical fall each time.

“As I work through my recovery, I will continue to carry on the ‘for her’ mindset my team has embedded into our culture and strive to be better for the future athletes of our sport, my resilient team and for me,” Estrella said in her Instagram post. “See you on the mat next season, Hawks.”

Han, the No. 8 wrestler at 136 pounds in the NWCA rankings, had a first-place finish in November at the Missouri Valley Open. She said in an Instagram post announcing the injury last week that “finally getting to wrestle as a Hawkeye has put more than a smile on my face.”

“It hurts going through this injury a third time, but every single time I have learned more about myself and what I am capable of,” Han said. “My journey doesn’t stop here, for God has bigger plans for me. See you next season.”

It is unclear whether Iowa fans will indeed see her next season, though, now that she is no longer on the Hawkeyes’ roster. The team spokeswoman did not comment on whether Han’s absence from the roster is temporary or permanent.

With Estrella and Han out of the mix for the rest of the 2023-24 season, Lilly Luft is a likely candidate to continue filling the void at 136 pounds. Luft is one of the team’s eight freshmen and one of three Iowa natives.

Luft, who is listed on the roster at 130 pounds, already has been wrestling up since last month’s Soldier Salute. Luft finished second at the Soldier Salute and went 2-2 at the NWCA National Duals earlier this month.

Iowa Coach Clarissa Chun described the Charles City native earlier this season as a “student of the sport” and someone who is “very coachable.”

“We don’t worry about Lilly,” Chun said in December. “We could have 30 of them, and that would be awesome.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com