Riley Cole

On the back of West Delaware’s boys’ wrestling practice shirts is a simple slogan: “Earning it.” The fourth-ranked Hawks did just that with a 43-24 win over No. 23 Decorah in a Class 2A regional dual Tuesday night, earning them a berth in the Class 2A state duals tournament Saturday at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

Freshman Eleanor Pfab qualified for this week’s IGHSAU state wrestling tournament. She etched her name in history, becoming Cedar Rapids Xavier’s first state qualifier in girls’ wrestling.

Wrestlers on Friday will descend upon Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines, Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, the fieldhouse at Mason City High School and Tyson Arena in Sioux City in hopes of punching a ticket to next week’s Iowa high school girls’ state wrestling tournament, Feb. 1-2 at Xtream Arena in Coralville. Here are five storylines you should watch.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s Ella Brown has found herself at the top of the podium in every tournament she’s wrestled in this season. Saturday’s first “official” Mississippi Valley Conference tournament was no different.

Sophomore Kiersten Swart and junior Libby Dix wrestle on opposite sides of the lineup for the Mount Vernon Mustangs. This season, the dynamic duo is quite similar. Their records are nearly identical — Swart’s is 29-3, while Dix 29-1.

Marion’s Natalie Hedlund dislocated her shoulder and had to medically forfeit out of last year’s state tournament. Hedlund underwent shoulder surgery over the summer and continues to wrestle with a shoulder brace. But she is back now, with a record of 17-3.

Due to the strong reputation of wrestling at Clear Creek Amana, Halle Bormann knew she wanted to give the sport a try. Reflecting on her first season, she knew she made the right choice.

Off to a dominating start in her junior campaign with a record of 20-2 and ranked No. 1 at 130 pounds, Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Mackenzie Childers is using her state title from a year ago as her motivation for working hard.

At the beginning of the season, Independence’s Morgan Krall was not listed on the roster. She wasn’t going out for wrestling. That quickly changed after the Mustangs moved forward with their first practices of the season.

Union’s Jillian Worthen is one of the state’s top female wrestlers and is ranked No. 2 in the 125-pound weight class. But “Monster” has bigger goals, like seeing the sport grow in Iowa at the collegiate level

A North Cedar student and a wrestler for Anamosa, Adison Musser is having fun — and winning — during her final season. She is ranked No. 7 with a 20-1 record.

A senior on the Benton Community girls’ wrestling team, Madilyn Colburn will graduate in March and head into the National Guard, carrying on a family tradition.

A small group of Warriors are learning life lessons as well as skills on the mat, something to build on now and in the future.

Inspired by her brother and father, Linn-Mar’s Kate Seery has hopes for a high state finish this year in girls’ wrestling.

In track and field, Kylie Shoop qualified for the state meet for North Linn. And, on the wrestling mat, she punched her ticket to the inaugural Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s state tournament with West Delaware.