Linn-Mar’s Kate Seery has wrestling pedigree and determination

CEDAR RAPIDS — Linn-Mar’s Kate Seery’s young athletic career started on the basketball court.

After watching her brother wrestle and her dad coach, along with the sanctioning of girls’ wrestling in Iowa, Seery wanted to trade in the basketball shoes for headgear.

That trade has paid off.

Seery is ranked No. 5 in the 115-pound weight class (IWCOA) and won the Cedar Rapids Kennedy 110-pound title Monday night.

Granted, she wrestled just two matches in a six-person bracket. The time she spent on the mat was more impressive — 1 minute, 45 seconds.

“I go into every match with the same mindset, and I work hard,” Seery said.

Linn-Mar won the Kennedy Invitational with 210 team points, while Kennedy came in second with 173 and Dubuque Senior third with 142.

En route to her Kennedy Invitational title, Seery pinned Olive Miller of Iowa City Liberty in 20 seconds and Kennedy’s Elizabeth Renshaw in 1:25.

Linn-Mar Coach Mike Geers commends Seery’s drive to get after her opponents early.

“She comes out, is gritty and sets the tone,” Geers said. “She wants to get takedowns and falls right away.”

Geers isn’t the only coach in Seery’s corner. Her dad, Kelly, is an assistant coach for the Lions’ girls’ team.

A long-time wrestling coach, Kelly Seery enjoys the unique opportunity to be alongside his daughter and Linn-Mar’s girls’ program.

“When Kate decided she wanted to wrestle, I switched over right when they sanctioned girls’ wrestling,” Kelly said. “It’s been great and a lot of fun.”

Wrestling has become a family affair of sorts for the Seerys. Reece Seery wrestled for Linn-Mar’s boys’ wrestling team.

Kate’s initial interest in wrestling started with her brother and father.

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“My brother always wrestled,” Kate said. “And, my dad is my coach.

“I always wanted to wrestle when I was younger, but wasn’t interested in doing it until we had a girls’ team.”

Having also coached his son at Linn-Mar, Kelly knows coaching his kids is a special opportunity to bond through the sport of wrestling.

“My son wrestled, and it was a great experience,” Kelly said. “It was a good chance to spend some time with him. When Kate decided she wanted to wrestle, I switched and was able to coach her on the girls’ team. It just feels right.”

Coming off her eighth-place finish at state last season, Seery has set goals for her 2023-24 campaign, which include getting back on the podium at the ’24 state tournament.

“I want to come back and be a state placer,” Seery said. “I also want to help grow our team and get better. We are all one team and are working hard to accomplish our goals.”

Kelly will have a front-row seat to it all, watching Kate go after her goals on the wrestling mat.

“She’s got some really high goals,” Kelly said. “Being her dad, I get to watch her wrestle and coach her.

“I’m going to try and help her get to those goals.”