Nevaeh Briggs of English Valleys Picks Up Four Victories at Girls State

As the lone wrestler representing English Valleys-Tri-County, Nevaeh Briggs entered the IWCOA Girls State Championship tournament this past Saturday, January 23 determined to make an impact. 

The Bears junior, despite falling just short of placing in the top seven, did just that by winning four of her six matches. 

Winning one match at a State Tournament is no easy task, walking away with four is a confidence boosting achievement, especially for a wrestler who has one more year of wrestling to go. 

“Nevaeh loves to compete and she loves the sport, win or lose,” said English Valleys head coach Steve Hester. “The benefit of five matches on that first day was we were able to clean up some things we have been working on from the neutral position. I could see her improving each and every match at state.”

Briggs couldn’t have started off better, defeating her first-round opponent Payton Ruppert of Crestwood in a tight contest 8-6.

Getting the opening round victory went a long way in settling Briggs’ nerves. 

“Nevaeh was mostly excited for her first match - the venue was amazing and she kept saying that - she loved all of it - from the national anthem to the very last match she wrestled. So very little nerves but a lot of excitement,” Hester said.

Her second-round contest didn’t fare as well as Riggs lost to Mylei Henderson of West Liberty. 

This loss seemed to inspire Briggs as she rattled off three victories in a row, two by pin, finishing her day one with a 4-1 record. 

“Nevaeh’s first two times at girls state she came away with two losses in a row. So, for her to win on Friday was a big deal and for her to win four times was even better,” Hester said. “She knew her last match on Friday would be a tough one and she dominated that match. Never have I been so proud of an athlete as I was for Nevaeh there.”

Briggs pinned Avery Ballis of Okoboji and Sidney Minar of LeMars before defeating Trinity Rotgers of AGWSR 12-6.