Photos: Pioneers of Iowa high school girls' wrestling, part two

Photos: Pioneers of Iowa high school girls’ wrestling, part two

Highlighting the young women who paved the way for future Iowa wrestlers

Geoff Stellfox Gazette Visuals

Gazette Visuals

Feb. 1, 2023 11:22 pm, Updated: Feb. 2, 2023 11:44 am

Anamosa’s Ava Scranton poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

West Fork’s Harmony Truax poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Rooosevelt’s Chloe Williams poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Roosevelt’s Kennedy Pahl poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Roosevelt’s Simone Standifer poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Anamosa’s Emily Watters poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Anamosa’s Maggie Wagner poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Anamosa’s Addy Appelhans poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Anamosa’s Kinzey Parton poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Anamosa’s Bree Brophy poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

DCG’s Bella Mulder poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Belle Plaine’s Lilly Wickwire poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

DCG’s poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Davenport West’s Jada Daily poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Lynnville-Sully’s Elizabeth Elliot poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Starmont’s Taylor German poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

DCG’s Leah Newell poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

DCG’s Nadia Slauson (left) and Asia Jahangir poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Mason City’s Layla Phillips, Kyleigh James, and Kamine Munson poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Highland’s Maddie Peiffer poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Waukee’s Jenna Jones poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Colfax Mingo’s Kylie Doty poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Abraham Lincoln’s Jacqueline Bunten (left) and Hannah Davis pose for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

BGM’s Kyla Andrew (left) and Chloe Etten pose for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

West Des Moines Valley’s Jazmyn Knutson (left) and Laurel Bierma poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Crestwood’s Addisson Hershberger poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Algona wrestlers poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Algona’s Ryan Haynes (left) and Jenna Stohr pose for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Algona’s Malyn Davis (right) and Sophie Denger pose for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Collins-Maxwell’s Gracie Leslie poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Emmetsburg’s Annika Poeppe poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Cedar Rapids Washington’s Carly Klein poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Iowa Valley’s Emma Peach poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

AGWSR’s Trinity Rogers poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Lewis Central’s Espie Almazan poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Lewis Central’s Dana Swedensky poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Baxter’s Zoey Gliem poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Mid-Prairie’s Madison Kelly poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

West Fork’s Preslee Dickman and Eastyn Petersen poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

West Fork’s Rose Rother and Autumn Stonecypher pose for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Earlham’s Haley Glade poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

MOC-Floyd Valley’s Addaly Miller poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Central DeWitt wrestlers pose for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

North Mahaska’s Libby Groom and Jalayna Shipley pose for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Sergeant Bluff-Luton’s Kendra Berglund poses for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Iowa Valley’s Claire Smolik (left) and Emma Peach pose for a portrait on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Anamosa’s Jozlynn Mitchell (let) and Leah Sleep pose for a portrait on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

Anamosa’s Emily Meyer poses for a portrait on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

During the 2022 IWCOA girls’ state wrestling tournament, Gazette photojournalist Geoff Stellfox set out to photograph at least one wrestler from each participating high school.

The goal was to document the pioneers of Iowa high school girls’ wrestling and those who made sanctioning possible. During the two-day tournament, he photographed over 200 wrestlers from more than 100 teams.

Though he was unsuccessful in capturing every school, the project is still ongoing. In the meantime, The Gazette wants to highlight as many of these wrestlers as possible as they paved the way for future generations, ahead of the 2023 IGHSAU girls’ state wrestling championships.

This is part two of five galleries.