Utterly amazing Utterback

CORALVILLE – She seemed unbeatable.

For the last two seasons she was just that. Sigourney-Keota’s Reanah Utterback was rarely challenged in her last two years of wrestling. 

The now back-to-back 115-pound State champion finished her wrestling career with 104-straight victories. In total she had 184 total victories to her credit. Of those she had 130 career pins. All of those are school records. 

While she was dominating on the mat she was also helping her school build their own wrestling program.

Utterback never once missed the State tournament in her four years of wrestling. She is the seventh Sigourney-Keota wrestler to qualify for the State tournament all four years of her high school career. 

What separates Utterback from the other all-time greats in Sigourney-Keota wrestling history was her absolute dominance on the mat. 

“It has been one hell of a ride being able to coach her,” said Trevor Weeks, the head girls wrestling coach for Sigourney-Keota. “Honestly, I may not be able to put it into words how good she has been.”

When she started out wrestling in high school the foundations of girls wrestling becoming sanctioned sport were just beginning. Because there was no formal league for girls to wrestle, many girls wrestled on the boys teams. 

Utterback was one of them and she proved, rather quickly, that she was just as good, if not better, than the boys she was wrestling with. 

In her first year at the high school level Utterback was able to qualify for the IHSAA tournament. She also qualified for the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association girls State wrestling tournament. 

She won the IWCOA State tournament with a perfect record. At the IHSAA tournament, where she wrestled boys, she would finish the tournament 0-2. 

Things then got tricky for Utterback and Sigourney-Keota wrestling. 

In 2023 the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union would officially sanction girls wrestling. No longer would girls wrestle boys. 

Well, except for Utterback. 

Utterback wanted to keep wrestling boys, but with pushback from the IGHSAU it seemed that wasn’t going to be possible. The only way that Utterback could continue to wrestle boys would be if Sigourney-Keota would not form a girls team and also petition the IHSAA to allow her to wrestle with the boys. 

“I am very excited and happy to be where I am,” Utterback said. “Overall I am very lucky to have the support that I have had at Sigourney-Keota. From coaches to fellow students, and the fellow wrestlers, I am just happy to have everyone that has supported me.”

That’s exactly what happened, and Utterback, once again, was able to qualify for the IHSAA tournament (which in 2023 was boys only, except for Utterback). That year while the IGHSAU made history with their first-ever girls State wrestling tournament, Utterback made history as becoming the last female to wrestle at the IHSAA tournament. 

Not only did she wrestle, Utterback finished on the podium that year with a 37-11 overall record. She finished eighth in her weight class.   

“She knew she could hang with the boys and she proved that in her two years that she did,” Weeks said. “In two years wrestling with the boys, taking only 16 losses, there's a lot of boys that would love to take those kind of numbers. Wrestling the boys she learned to be sure to hit the shots she wanted to hit, and find ways to get leverage because strength wasn’t always going to be on her side.”

In 2024 Sigourney-Keota, not wanting to have to petition either the IGHSAU or IHSAA again, and having interest from other wrestlers, formed their own girls wrestling team. 

Utterback was at the forefront of that team. 

“I am just happy that I can be up there and start a stepping stone for the Sigourney-Keota wrestling team,” Utterback said. 

With the leadership of Utterback she showed what a little hard work and craftsmanship can do. 

Every day Utterback came ready to work in the wrestling room. She was always ready to help her teammates with improving their sport, while she improved herself. 

After winning the 2024 IGHSAU State championship Utterback said her goal for the next season  was not allow anyone to score takedown points on her. 

In 54 matches this season only a few wrestlers were able to score points on Utterback.

Over the last two years the dominance that Utterback has displayed on the mat has been outmatched by any Sigourney-Keota wrestler, male or female. 

“She’s a wrestler to a T,” Weeks said about Utterback. “She has always been one that tries to find the next best position and  more times than not, she was able to get to that next hold or move, and just make it look flawless.”

When Utterback was able to finish her last 104 matches without taking a single defeat she easily moved into the top position all-time in Sigourney-Keota’s all-time win list. Her four wins at the 2025 IGHSAU State tournament allowed her to finish her career with a record of 184-16. The next closest wrestler in S-K history is Kaleb Reeves who finished with a four-year record of 175-39.

For Utterback her career wasn’t about setting the records or just winning everything in sight. Especially the last two years. 

Instead she was focused on helping build the S-K girls wrestling program. Which is something that she has done.

“Last year I was the only one from my team that was able to go to the State tournament,” Utterback said after the regional State qualifier. “I am excited that we were able to have more wrestlers join me this season.”

Three Sigourney-Keota wrestlers were able to qualify for this year’s State tournament (including Utterback). A fourth S-K wrestler was the second alternate to the State tournament. 

Coach Weeks has also seen the influence of Utterback as girls wrestling continues to grow in the area. 

“At the beginning of the season I’d take junior high girls from Keota to Sigourney for practice in a school Chevrolet Suburban," Weeks said. “Well soon after that I had to request a passenger van to take all the girls to practice because we ran out of room in the Suburban. By next year I wouldn’t be surprised if I have to start taking a bus.”

That’s the impact that dominance and greatness has had on a school, that two years ago didn’t even have a thought of a girls wrestling team. 

“I just hope how overall supportive of this sport I have been,” Utterback said about what she hopes fans will remember about her.

Utterback has helped build a wrestling presence at both  Sigourney and Keota, and also has helped become one of the more recognizable names in Iowa wrestling history, which isn’t an easy task. 

Utterback plans to enter the military after high school, but her days wrestling and helping Sigourney-Keota’s wrestling program aren’t done. 

Utterback said she is going to try and make the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete wrestling team. In order to do that she just has to continue to win and prove how good of a wrestler she is. 

While she acknowledges all the records she has set, Utterback knows she is just setting goals for future S-K wrestlers. 

“I am glad I can be the support and the start of a new program,” Utterback said. “I definitely plan to come back to the program and help the program as much as I can in the future. I am happy to set a mark to see if future girls will be able to catch it.”