Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s Ella Brown ‘fine tuning’ for postseason wrestling run

CEDAR RAPIDS — 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.

The junior pinned her way through the 235-pound weight class to win the title. Getting to the top of the podium might’ve looked easy for Brown, but she approached the tournament as anything but easy.

“I came into this not as cocky,” Brown said. “Even though I’ve beaten some of them before, I still had to come in with the chance that I could still get beaten. I just wrestled and worked on positioning.”

Joining Brown in the finals was her practice partner, Joscelyn Stricker, who fell to top-seeded Briar Ludeman of Cedar Falls by a 6-0 decision.

Brown believes she has one of the “best practice partners out there” in Stricker.

“This is only her second year wrestling, but we both push each other,” Brown said. “She is literally my best friend. We can goof off, and we can both flip the switch and go hard.

“Joscelyn doesn’t care and pushes through it. She just wrestles.”

Kennedy Coach Craig Mallicoat knows wrestling Brown is no easy task for Stricker. But, he knows the duo is learning from one another and making each other better — two of the most important things practice partners can do.

“Champions go together,” Mallicoat said. “Ella has done a good job of mentoring Joscelyn and bringing her to a high level. Joscelyn may not like wrestling her every day in the room, but she battles and fights hard.”

Continuing to work with her stellar practice partner, Brown is one of the state’s remaining unbeatens with a record of 27-0 and is ranked No. 3 by the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association (IWCOA).

With the postseason right around the corner, Brown is looking to have a calm demeanor when she steps onto the mat.

“I am fine tuning,” Brown said. “Postseason is all about technique and focusing on the little things.

“This year, I’m trying not to freak out if I get stuck, like I did last year. It’s only one or two points — it’s not the end of the world.”

As Brown continues to look ahead to arguably the most exciting time of the year — the wrestling postseason — Mallicoat has high hopes for the top Cougar.

“If she can just take a breath in the middle of her matches and stay focused, I think she can win it all,” Mallicoat said.

He also knows getting Brown to the top of the state tournament podium in a few weeks will need some momentum from the entire team.

“She (Brown) builds off of how the other girls do,” Mallicoat said. “If we can get a couple of wins at the lighter weights, she feels more confident. It’s an entire team effort, and we build off of each other.

“For Ella to keep going forward, she has learned that she has to step up and be that big cheerleader for the light weights. Then, they come and are behind her. That’s what our team does.”