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West Liberty’s Silvia Garcia-Vasquez avenges last year’s loss for trip to state wrestling semifinals
Garcia-Vasquez pins Sioux City North’s top-seeded Molly Sek in 115 quarterfinal; West Liberty sister trio goes 8-1 on Day 1; South Tama sisters also advance; Kennedy’s Brown and Iowa Valley’s Peach meet in 235 semifinals
Feb. 2, 2024 12:32 am, Updated: Feb. 6, 2024 12:55 pm
CORALVILLE — West Liberty’s Silvia Garcia-Vasquez knelt down on the hallway floor.
She was flanked by coaches and later mobbed with congratulatory hugs from cheerleaders. Then, she shared a special moment with her sisters, Dionni and Bricsia, before they competed in quarterfinal matches.
The excitement was nearly palpable after her win over Sioux City North’s top-seeded and returning state runner-up Molly Sek.
“Wow,” said Garcia-Vasquez, enthusiastically clutching an energy drink. “Winning that match was incredible. I’ve never felt the same (feeling) before.”
The excitement was palpable after Garcia-Vasquez pinned Sek in the third period of a wild 115-pound quarterfinal during the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union state wrestling tournament Thursday night at Xtream Arena.
She avenged a loss by technical fall to Sek in last year’s semifinals. It was her only loss of the tournament, rebounding to place third.
“She’s really good,” Garcia-Vasquez said. “I came into the match not really thinking and during the match I felt like I was going to vomit. I’m not going to lie. It was really tough.”
Sek scored the opening takedown but Garcia-Vasquez answered with an escape, takedown and nearfall for a 5-2 lead after one. Sek notched another takedown before the pair exchanged a reversal and escape.
Garcia-Vasquez seemed in control with a takedown and back points but Sek’s reversal and nearfall at the end of the second nearly ended it. Garcia-Vasquez fought it off and added a two-point turn, securing the fall in 5:47.
“My coaches and my team helped me throughout this,” Garcia-Vasquez said. “They’ve always believed in me. Whenever somebody else believes in me I start to believe in myself, so I need that reassurance from my team.”
Garcia-Vasquez exclaimed you can beat anybody and it could happen anytime, even in the state quarterfinals. She had that mindset going into her matches.
“I just wanted to put all my work onto the mat,” Garcia-Vasquez said. “Tears, blood, everything.”
Dionni, a senior at 140, also reached the semifinals and secured a top-six finished. She used an escape with a little more than a minute to go for a 5-4 decision over Des Moines Public’s Diana Gale.
The trio of sisters swept through the first session, posting a 6-0 mark with five pins. Bricsia and Silvia both opened with two straight pins. They have a combined record of 98-10 after Thursday.
Things have been extremely successful since Silvia and Dionni persuaded Bricsia to come out and shelf her soccer aspirations.
“We convinced her to join,” Silvia said. “After that, we’ve been winning and winning. I feel what made us better was my high school team and our Sebolt (Academy) team. I feel our Sebolt team has helped us a lot, especially my little sister. She’s gotten a lot better. This is her first year.
“I feel like it’s genetics, I guess. We’re a pretty strong family. We grew up wrestling.”
Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s Ella Brown prevented a family sweep. The Cougars’ returning state medalist recorded a first-period fall over Bricsia, reaching the 235-pound semifinals.
With a spot on the podium, now it’s a matter how high she can climb. Brown was fifth at 190 last season.
“It’s definitely a flashback to last year, going into tomorrow knowing it will be a tough match,” Brown said. “As long as I keep wrestling the way I have been today and moving my feet then I have a good shot at winning this.”
Third-seeded Brown faces Iowa Valley’s No. 3 seed Breanna Peach, who tallied three pins to improve to 34-0. Peach won their consolation match last season, but their familiarity goes back much further than 2023, which is good and bad.
“Breanna is one of those special cases where I’ve known her since we were little,” Brown said. “I wrestled with (her sister) Emma. I’ve known the family forever. The biggest thing is knowing how she wrestles since I’ve wrestled her before.”
Brown is 31-0 and has altered her mental approach this season. She was more light-hearted, hanging out with teammates before matches and surrounding herself with positive vibes. Now, she’ll don headphones or find a quiet place to focus on an upcoming match, avoid distractions and repeat affirmations.
“Definitely, it is more the mental part and fine-tuning things that needed to be worked on,” Brown said. “In softball and wrestling, that is the one thing that my coaches and I thought was holding me back last year. I was getting in my head and it killed me during state.”
The quarterfinals produced a handful of notable upsets. Three returning state champions had repeat bids thwarted.
Cedar Falls’ ninth-seeded Apryl Halsor pinned Pleasant Valley’s top-seeded Abigail Meyer in 3:33 at 120. Ridge View’s No. 7 Destiny Brown beat Union Community’s No. 2 Jillian Worthen, 11-10, at 125. Anamosa’s Adison Musser received a medical forfeit over Cedar Rapids Prairie’s top-ranked Mackenzie Childers.
According to Prairie Coach Zach Becicka, Childers hit her head during a second-round victory. She suffered a concussion and was unable to return for the quarterfinals.
Decorah owned the team lead after Day 1. The Vikings have two semifinalists and tallied 79 points, leading Cedar Falls by 15. Decorah’s top-ranked 170-pounder and University of Iowa signee Naomi Simon moved to 46-0 after three pins to reach the semifinals. She was joined by teammate Chloe Sheffield at 100.
Mount Vernon, South Tama and Vinton-Shellsburg each had two semifinalists.
Kiersten Swart (110) and 190-pounder Libby Dix, a 2023 state finalist, advanced to the semifinals for the Mustangs. Vinton-Shellsburg’s Ellie Weets (115) and Bree Swenson at 120 earned a top-six finish.
The Trojans got into the sister act as well. South Tama’s top-seeded defending state champion Maeley Elsbury (135) and No. 2 seed Autumn Elsbury reached the semifinals. Autumn scored a reversal and two sets of two nearfall in the third period for a 6-5 decision over North Tama’s Briar Blake, avenging her lone loss of the season.
Waukon’s Mia Kurth (100), Solon’s McKenna Rogers (105), Sigourney’s Reanah Utterback (115) and East Buchanan’s 145-pounder Tayla Stiefel reached the semifinals. The Buccaneers were seventh with 54 points.
Action continues Friday at 10 a.m. with the semifinals and consolations.
Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com
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