Decorah’s Chloe Sheffield goes from wrestling siblings to competing in the IGHSAU state finals

CORALVILLE – Chloe Sheffield is the second of seven children in her family.

One thing was constant with a rambunctious bunch.

“You have to fight for everything,” Sheffield said with a laugh.

She didn’t imagine rough housing with her siblings would have taken her so far.

Sheffield recorded a pin over Waukon’s Mia Kurth in the 100-pound semifinals of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union state wrestling tournament Friday at Xtream Arena. She was joined in the finals by friend and teammate Naomi Simon, helping Decorah wrap up the team title by the end of the third session.

“It means a lot,” Sheffield said. “I never ever thought in a million years I would be here.

“Originally, I just joined (because) it looks fun. I wrestle my siblings all the time. I might as well do it as a competition.”

Sheffield entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed, but knocked off Algona’s No. 3 Harley Tobin in the quarterfinals to set up a rematch with Kurth, who pinned Sheffield in the regional finals.

Sheffield flipped the script, building a 9-2 lead and getting the fall in 5:57. Sheffield pulled away with a takedown and two nearfall in each of the last two periods.

“The big thing for me is not thinking,” Sheffield said. “I went out there to wrestle because I want this and I love doing this. That was my mentality. Once I won (Thursday), it hit me that I was going to place at state no matter what. It just all came flowing to me.”

Simon carried her down the hallway to the warmup area in an adjacent fieldhouse after the match. Sheffield admitted she was intimidated by Simon’s reputation on the mat, but it didn’t take long to hit it off.

Now, they were together in the state finals.

“It’s so special,” Sheffield said. “Originally, I was so scared of Naomi. I was like ‘Oh my gosh, she’s a state champ. She’s so scary.’ We eventually became best friends over night.”

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Simon reached the state finals for the fourth time, counting two Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association state titles and last year’s 170-pound IGHSAU championship. The University of Iowa signee dominated her way to the finals, decking West Marshall’s No. 5 Averie Wittkop in 1:09.

Simon improved to 47-0 after the semifinal and reached the title bout with a 129-0 career record.

South Tama’s Autumn Elsbury advanced to the 170-pound final against Simon. Elsbury pinned Waverly-Shell Rock’s Karissa Oldenburger in 4:20 of the semifinal.

“I’m proud of myself to be here,” Elsbury said. “I’m extremely happy.”

Decorah is the first team besides Waverly-Shell Rock to win an IGHSAU or IWCOA team state title. The Vikings finished with five medalists. All nine qualifiers won at least two matches and seven won at least three. They blew away last year’s bronze effort. The Vikings had 132 points before Friday’s finals.

“We’ve always wanted to get first,” Sheffield said about her and Simon’s team aspirations. “Last year, we got third. We were super proud of ourselves because it was the first year girls’ wrestling was sanctioned, so that’s awesome.

“We’re like next year we’re getting first. We are doing this. Just to see it happening is amazing. It makes me want to cry.”

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Anamosa’s Adison Musser doesn’t subscribe to rankings and seedings. They’re just numbers to her and wrestling’s unpredictability renders them meaningless.

She was the No. 8 seed at 130 pounds and wrestled for a state title after pinning Bettendorf’s Lexy Petersen in 1:28 of the semifinals.

“The emotions were really high coming into the tournament,” Musser said. “My goals weren’t getting to the finals. My goals were the podium.

“It’s been a really hard season. A lot of struggles and stuff. Emotions were high. I didn’t come in expecting to make it to the finals. Stuff happens in wrestling.”

Musser hurdled the wall and ran up the arena stairs where she was met by her dad, Cory, who had been her wrestling coach from when she started until she began high school.

“Getting to share that moment with him was everything,” Musser said. “It really meant a lot.”

More hugs came when she continued up the stands to find her mom, Brooke, her sister, uncles, and boyfriend to celebrate her achievement. They were all key components to overcome the season’s grind.

“The support system is everything,” Musser said. “It helped me get through this.”

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Mount Vernon’s Libby Dix reached the 170-pound final last season, falling to Simon and settling for second. The Mustangs’ junior returned to the final with an upset of Southeast Polk’s top-seeded Bella Porcelli.

Porcelli scored a first-period takedown and an escape in the second for a 3-0 lead, going into the third. Dix reversed Porcelli to her back for the pin in 4:52.

“I just did what I had to do,” Dix said. “I just had to time it up right. I knew I needed more than three. Luckily, I went out and got the pin.”

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Iowa Valley’s Breanna Peach missed the finals by a couple points last season. She capitalized on another chance. Second-seeded Peach built a 4-0 lead and pinned Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s Ella Brown in 3:32.

Peach was motivated by last year’s conclusion.

“It pushed me to go a bit harder during practices sometimes,” Peach said. “Just to get myself better so I can make it back.

“It definitely was something I was aiming for. I thought I could get there.”

Peach, Brown and Spencer’s top-seeded defending state champion Olivia Huckfelt were all unbeaten to start the tournament. Only one will finish that way. Peach focused on her own performance and not the records.

“I was just trying harder and get to where I could be,” Peach said. “Keep telling myself this is just another match and it’s all going to be OK.

“I was trying to stick to what I already know because I know what works for me.”

West Liberty’s Silvia Garcia-Vasquez improved her third-place finish. She topped Riverside’s Carly Henderson, 4-2, to reach the 115 final and secure a top-two finish. Sigourney’s Reanah Utterback also reached the 115 championship match. She pinned Vinton-Shellsburg’s Ellie Weets in 1:10 for her fourth of the tournament.

Utterback won an IWCOA title in 2022 and placed eighth at 106 in the IHSAA Class 1A state meet last year.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com