Utterly Determined for Glory: The Story of Reanah Utterback

With a chance at glory on the line, Sigourney-Keota’s Reanah Utterback stepped up to the mat with a chance to accomplish something only one other person has done: place in boys state wrestling as a girl. Utterback defeated Dallas Conoyer of Earlhan by a 7-2 decision to secure a spot on the podium. 

The wrestling story of Reanah Utterback starts far before her days in a SK singlet. Utterback started wrestling in 2004 when she was about four years old. Wrestling has been ingrained in her since the early stages of her life. At one point in her youth, Utterback came to a crossroads of what activity she can continue to participate in. She was a dancer as well as a wrestler at this stage in her life, and needed to choose between the two. Wrestling was the choice, and the rest is history. 

Utterback started her SK career last year as a freshman, and showed her dominance immediately. She finished her first season as Cobra with a record of 35-8, and defeated Joel DeJong of North Mahaska via pin in the South Iowa Cedar League conference tournament to become a conference champion at the 106 weight class. In the district tournament, Utterback secured a first place spot on the podium, as well as a ticket to the state tournament, when she won by a sudden victory of 4-2 in the championship match. Utterback was knocked out of the state tournament after her first two matches. “I wasn’t as nervous this year (2023) as I was last year.” said Utterback on how the experience of going to state helped her in her most recent state campaign. She spoke on how the nerves were high when she first stepped into the arena. Overall, it was a good experience for her to understand the atmosphere and the nerves that come with performing at the state tournament. 

In her sophomore season, Utterback continued to be a force in the South Iowa Cedar League conference as she amassed a record of 36-8. She was unable to secure back to back conference crowns as she fell to Ryan Groom of North Mahaska in the championship match. With a second place finish, Utterback was able to make the trip back to the Wells Fargo Center in Des Moines for the state championship.

 At Des Moines, Utterback received a bye in the first round, and then defeated Erik Flores of Clayton Ridge. In her third match, Utterback fell to Jayden Rinken of Nashua-Plainfield. After the loss, Sigourney-Keota head coach Corey Vanden Hueval spoke of how he emphasized to her, “When you set a goal, you may not take the path you want.” This is especially important in wrestling because bouncing back is an important facet of the sport. This is an attribute that coach Vanden Hueval sees in Utterback: adaptability. She attacks each match one at a time, and is willing to adapt to whatever is needed to win. This was exemplified in the state tournament when Utterback bounced back in the next match to secure herself a spot on the podium in the 2023 IHSAA boys state tournament. Utterback went on to secure eighth place, and cement herself in the history books as the second girl ever to place in boys state. She joins Megan Black of EBF, who reached the podium back in 2012 as the first girl to ever do so. 

Utterback spoke on the accomplishments with. “It’s a great goal. It’s one of the biggest goals I have had since I was little. It was great to meet that goal, and to have everyone behind me supporting that goal in making history.” She went on to emphasize how great of a support system she has around her from her parents to her teammates and coaches. The Cobras have established a great culture within the team that emphasized lifting each other up. Utterback emphasized this when she spoke of how, “Even though I am a girl, they don’t view me as that. They see me as a teammate, and a part of the family.” Coach Vanden Hueval spoke about this too when he highlighted how great of a teammate Utterback is. He spoke of how she is always supporting teammates in their matches, as well as willing to help them on or off the mat. Overall, coach Vanden Hueval described her with, “She’s a diamond.” Lastly, coach Vanden Hueval described the season from Utterback as a, “very successful season,” and that he is extremely proud of her, and her accomplishments. 

Utterback has now concluded her first two seasons in a Sigourney-Keota singlet with over 30 wins accounted for in both years. Utterback spoke on having back to back 30 win seasons with, “It feels great because now I have a chance to get even more wins coming into the next season.” She doesn’t want to set an ultimate career goal for the number of wins, instead she lives by the mantra of, “If we get the wins, we get the wins.” Coach Vanden Hueval spoke on Utterback’s career so far as a Cobra with, “On the mat, she has proved herself. She is a very smart and mat savvy veteran wrestler.” He spoke of how in January this season he wanted to change the style in which she wrestles. The biggest thing he wanted to work on was, “increasing productivity in attacking and footwork.” He stressed that this was another example of how adaptable of a wrestler she is. 

The next season is sort of an enigma for Utterback. Girls wrestling was sanctioned in Iowa for the 2022-2023 season, but Utterback was the lone female wrestler for the Cobras. Coach Vanden Hueval spoke on this with, “It is a crystal ball. We don’t know right now.” He just wanted to emphasize that, “She is a competitor, and is a valued member of the Sigourney wrestling program.” When asked about what future holds for her, Utterback said, “It would be great to go back to the boys, and prove again that I can make it to state. The whole goal moving forward is to place higher than eight. I’ve placed, and now it is to improve on that.”