State Bound Six: Sigourney-Keota Sends Six Wrestlers to Wells Fargo Arena

Decked in their golden championship singlets, Sigourney-Keota wrestlers - senior Jack Clarahan, junior Reid Molyneux and sophomore Brady Clark punched their ticket to State as District Champions last Saturday, February 11 in Sigourney.  

The championship trio emerged victorious in the 170-pound (Clarahan), 152-pound (Molyneux) and 126-pound (Clark) Iowa Class 1 District 9 brackets. 

Joining them at Wells Fargo Arena this Wednesday, February 15 will be senior Dan Mclaughlin (132 pounds), junior Jake Moore (160 pounds) and sophomore Reanah Utterback (106 pounds) who all finished second in their respective weight classes. 

Having six wrestlers qualify for State was something head coach Corey Vandenheuvel was excited to see. 

“This is definitely a good thing,” Vandenheuvel said. “It’s a building block for the future. It’s a big reward for our efforts.”

Jack Clarahan, a former state qualifier, received a bye in the first round before winning his semifinal match against Gavyn Brown of Pekin, 10-4. A match he trailed after the first period, 2–1. 

In the finals Clarahan showed some true grit, grinding out a physically bloody championship match with Matthias Kohl of Lisbon, 10-4. 

“The last match was a grind for sure but I knew my conditioning was really great and I knew that I could out gas the kid to get the victory,” Clarahan said. 

Now he looks to close the book on his Sigourney wrestling career with a top finish at the State Tournament. 

“Jack has just been very solid since day one and we know he's ready to go.” Vandenheuvel said. 

Reid Molyneux, just like his senior teammate Clarahan, had a bye in the first round. Then, in the semifinals he pinned Braden Ballard of Cardinal late in the first period. 

The finals ended just like the semifinals with a Molyneux pin. This time coming in the second period. 

“Going into my championship match I just told myself that I’ve worked hard enough for this and I knew I had what it took to win,” Molyneux said. 

Brady Clark began his day with a 4-0 victory over Hayden Riggin of Louisa-Muscatine. In the Trailing 5-4 in the semi-finals to Kyran Spees of Cardinal, Clark maneuvered his opponent into a match sealing pin near the end of the first period. 

Clark sealed his bracket with a 7-4 decision win the finals over Cash Hatfield of Regina, Iowa CIty. 

“Brady’s mental aspects have come up to a pretty high level lately,” Vandenheuvel said. “I couldn’t be more proud.”

Returning to State for the second year in a row is Reanah Utterback who won her first match of the day 4-1 before falling in the finals to Wesley Sadler of Lisbon, 4-1. 

Wrestling for the final time in the Sigourney gym, Dan Mclaughlin won his first match with a pin in the first round. He followed that up with a tightly contested 10-9 victory over Korbin Camp of Van Buren County to reach the finals. Mclaughlin fell in the finals by pin to Carlos Valenzuela Highland. 

Jake Moore earned a 6-2 victory to start the day before winning his semifinal match with Pekin’s Logan Baker 8-1. In the finals he lost to Louden Huisenga by pin in the championship match. 

The Iowa High School Wrestling State Tournament begins this Wednesday at 9 a.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in downtown Des Moines. 

Heading into the biggest tournament of the year, Coach Vandenheuvel has his wrestlers zeroed in on their main focus of the tournament. 

“Advance. It’s an advancement tournament,” Vandenheuvel said. “Be confident in yourselves, know you’re there for a reason and be ready to compete.”