Cedar Rapids Prairie twins realize dream - qualifying for girls’ state wrestling

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids Prairie’s 1-2 punch looks very similar.

That’s because the Hawks’ 100- and 105-pound wrestlers are twin sisters — Elizabeth and Marie Burns.

At a Class 2A girls’ wrestling regional on Friday night, the sisters got to punch their tickets to the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) state wrestling tournament, and they got to do it together.

“We both work hard,” Elizabeth said. “We both deserve it, and we wanted it.”

Elizabeth won the 100-pound bracket in dominant fashion. She defeated Ankeny’s Zoe Sullivan by fall in 5:19 and Linn-Mar’s Brooke Walrath by a 15-0 tech fall.

As for Marie, she had to wrestle back from getting pinned by Ankeny’s Lauren Watson in the semifinals.

She might’ve been down, but she was far from out.

“I really had to dig deep after losing my second match,” Marie said. “My dad was hugging me after that match, but I told him it wasn’t over yet.

“I had to keep wrestling, attacking, and doing my best.”

Marie faced Iowa City Liberty’s Taylor Cavanh, the defending Mississippi Valley Conference champion, in the wrestleback match. Marie came out on top with a 4-3 decision.

After the match, Marie jumped into her coaches’ arms — it was time to celebrate her goal becoming a reality.

“It was awesome,” Marie said. “This year I got it done. It feels so good to finally make it to state.”

A few people were in Marie’s corner during her wrestleback win — her sister and Prairie Coach Zach Becicka.

It was a nerve-wracking six minutes.

“I think I almost had a heart attack,” Elizabeth said. “I couldn’t watch her match. I was chewing my fingernails. It felt so good to watch her reach her goal.”

Becicka agrees that it was great to see Marie make it to state. He recalls her putting a note on her phone to remind her of the goal — to be a state qualifier.

“It’s exciting,” Becicka said. “Marie is one of them who didn’t make it last year, and her sister did. She was really driven this offseason. We talked about her goal before the last match.

“We told her to just go out there and chase it.”

As the duo reflected on their regional performance, they knew their success would not be possible without their counterpart.

Elizabeth knows they help each other improve.

“I have a built-in wrestling partner,” Elizabeth said. “We get a little scrappy during practice, but it only makes us better.”

Becicka has witnessed the twins show each other some tough love during team workouts.

He knows it only pushes them to be at their best.

“Sometimes, we hear some chirping, and they get after each other a little bit,” Becicka said. “Elizabeth was a state qualifier last year, and Marie didn’t like that. So, that forced her to step up her game.

“It’s a little competition between each other, whether they realize it or not. It’s fun to have.”

Prairie set a school record with eight state qualifiers in Elizabeth, Marie, Mackenzie Childers at 130, Claire Hynek at 135, Luisa Meade at 145, Addison Bowman at 170, Aliya Phillips at 190 and Emelia Reyes at 235. The Hawks also came in second in the team race with 186 points.

Ankeny won the Class 2A Region 2 title with 210.5 points.

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Linn-Mar finished in third with 150.5 points and qualified five for state — Kate Seery at 110, Lily Carlson at 115, Ally Jelinek at 120, Chloe Adamson at 125, and Brielle Parke at 130.

Additional area qualifiers include Anamosa’s Addison Appelhans at 140 and Isabella Taylor at 170, Jefferson’s Josephine Budederi at 135, and Iowa City Liberty’s Peyten Van Dyke at 155.

The IGHSAU state wrestling tournament gets underway at 10 a.m. on Thursday at Xtream Arena in Coralville.