—Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Humboldt junior Kendal Clark competes at the Don Miller Invitational in Fort Dodge. Clark and classmates Deni McDaniel and Emily Zaugg, along with senior Mady Lange are competing on the wrestling and basketball teams this winter.

Humboldt’s Mady Lange loves competition and the Humboldt senior is no stranger to the spotlight.

The Wildcat senior has competed at state track and state softball and in her first season of girls wrestling, she will look for a state medal at the IWCOA Girls Wrestling Championships.

“I have competed in other state events, but I am still nervous going into the competition,” Lange said. “I’ve been at sate track and softball, but I’m always nervous leading into the competition, but it’s just because I’m ready to compete and the nerves usually go away.

“It’s (wrestling) something new and I’m just going to try my best and leave everything I have on the mat. We have all been working so hard and I’m excited to see how we do at state.”

Lange, who is 5-1 on the season with a championship at the Don Miller Invitational, will receive a first round bye at 126 pounds. In the second round, she’ll face the winner of Iowa City West’s Florence Assumani and North Tama’s Misheelt Tumurbaatar.

“It really means a lot to me that I am able to compete at girls state,” Lange said. “I think it’s awesome that I get to wrestle for the first ever Humboldt girls wrestling team. I wouldn’t want to be going with any other group of girls.

“It’s been really fun trying something new with this group.”

Humboldt head wrestling coach Chad Beaman will take 12 wrestlers to Waverly on Friday as the Wildcat girls will compete for state glory.

Humboldt enters with two ranked wrestlers. Junior Kendal Clark (7-1), who also plays basketball for the Wildcats, as does Lange, is ranked eighth at 170 pounds and senior Tia Woeste (5-5) is rated ninth at 195 pounds.

In their first season, the Wildcats have three seniors on the team. Along with Woeste and Lange, will be Beaman’s daughter Kirstyn Beaman (126). The Wildcats have three freshmen on the team.

Friday’s action will begin at 5 p.m. Saturday’s competition will start at 8:30 a.m. with place matches and championship matches.

In only its second year of existence the IWOCA Girls Wrestling Championships has more than quadrupled as 11 state titles will be handed out in Waverly on Saturday.

In the 2018-2019 wrestling season, there were 187 girl wrestlers. This year, 559 girls have joined their schools. This season there are 166 freshmen on the mat with 130 seniors. There are also 132 sophomores and 131 juniors.

Algona will send seven wrestlers to the mat. Sophomore Sophie Degner (152) is unbeaten in five matches, while classmate RayRay Thomas (113) has double digit matches under her belt (10-1).

Freshman Delaine Westcott (8-4) will represent South Central Calhoun at 132 pounds.

East Sac County will enter three freshmen and a junior. Freshmen Kiersten Caroll (113) and Olivia Villegas (126) have 10-plus victories.

Humboldt

106 — Ashlyn Sutterfield, fr., (6-3); 113 — Abby Satern, jr., (1-7); 120 — Bre Hotovec, jr., (2-9); 126 — Kirstyn Beaman, sr., (2-4); 126 — Mady Lange, sr., (5-1); 126 — Baily Beers, fr., (4-5); 138 — Deni McDaniel, jr., (3-3); 138 — Jali Beaman, fr., (5-1).; 145 — Emily Zaugg, jr., (3-3); 170 — Kendal Clark, jr., (7-1); 170 — Maria Elizondo, jr., (5-3); 195 — Tia Woeste, sr., (5-5).

Algona

106 — Elisa Schultz, fr., (4-5); 113 — RayRay Thomas, so., (10-1); 120 — Brooklyn Wille, sr., (2-3); 138 — Sydney Hoover, sr., (3-2); 145 — Bethany Carlson, jr., (0-8); 152 — Sophie Degner, so., (5-0); 152 — Maddie Gifford, so., (5-3).

South Central Calhoun

132 — Delaine Westcott, fr., (8-4).

East Sac County

113 — Kiersten Carroll, fr., (12-1); 126 — Olivia Villegas, fr., (11-2); 132 — Laryn Sharp, jr., (1-7); 145 — Chloe Cornelius, fr., (0-0).