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Hartz making 3rd trip to state tourney
by Matthew Dickinson, sports editor · Sports · February 05, 2025
West Branch senior Teagyn Hartz will make her third state tournament appearance this week to the Xtream Arena in Coralville after placing second at 190 at Friday night’s Class 1A regional qualifier hosted by Solon.
“It feels good,” said Hartz, who has qualified for all three sanctioned state tournaments while also making state each year she has wrestled in high school. “Just because of the fact I get to experience it.”
Bears Head Coach Brian Driscoll knew that the senior would be a top contender to advance through the regional.
“We knew Teagyn would probably make the finals and get through, which she did,” he said of Hartz.
Hartz (33-3) began wrestling in the quarterfinal, where she pinned Adlie Miller (8-24) of Solon in just 38 seconds. She faced a tougher test in the semifinal against Central DeWitt’s Serenity Roberts (23-6). Roberts had an aggressive start to the match, but Hartz was able to keep position and pin the Saber in 2:38.
“It felt good, just to get it done and fast,” Hartz said of advancing to the final.
In the final, Hartz squared off with the top-ranked wrestler in Mount Vernon senior Libby Dix (41-0), the defending one-class state champion at 190. Hartz battled the Mustang juggernaut into the second period, eventually falling in 3:11.
“She’s No. 1 for a reason,” Driscoll said of Dix. “She’s a defending state champion, I believe she’s a runner-up and champ. She’s just good. She’s very fluid, she’s very quick. We haven’t wrestled her in a couple years, and I’m okay with how it went. Teagyn was in the match, she fought, she wrestled hard, anything can happen.”
Dix enters the state tournament as the top seed, while Hartz slots in at No. 7. Hartz, who will face No. 10 Mary Bowman (145-9) in the first round of the 16-seed bracket, would not have to face the Mustang again unless both advanced to the final.
“We’re split up [in the bracket], so I don’t have to wrestle her again, which is nice,” Hartz said of facing Dix.
Hartz has approached this season with a relaxed approach, which has helped her battle both quality opponents and high expectations throughout the year.
“I just kept on thinking positive,” the senior said. “I wasn’t too bummed that I lost that [final], but I knew that I could stay positive.”
In her final run at the state tournament, Hartz will look to soak in the moment and capture an elusive medal with a top-eight finish.
“I really hope to place this year,” she said. “I think I have a good shot at that. I just need to work hard this next week to improve everything and just be on my top game.”
Driscoll said that Hartz’ career has been impressive regardless of what might happen at state.
“It’s not easy to do, and I hope she just realizes she belongs,” he said. “If she can go get that medal, she wants it so bad. We’re trying to get her up on that podium. It’d mean a lot if she gets it and it would just cap off her career, which is what she wants to do and what we want for her.”
Gisele Gross (27-11) came a placing shy of advancing with a third-place effort at 155.
Gross rested until the quarterfinal, where she pinned Chloe Denhartog (15-17) of Louisa-Muscatine in just 54 seconds. After falling to Mount Vernon’s Kaylee Kintzel (26-16) in the semifinal, Gross took the consolation semifinal by injury default against Union’s Ella Wagner (11-18) before eking out a hard-fought 3-1 decision against Louisa-Muscatine’s Chloe Denhartog (15-17). She did not have a chance to wrestle for true second place as Kintzel lost the title bout by injury default after suffering what appeared to be a severe arm injury.
“Gisele, we weren’t sure what was going to happen,” Driscoll said. “She was sick yesterday, so we weren’t sure what she would be like. And she came back, battled and got third. That last match was a battle, that wasn’t easy at all.”
The coach noted that Gross would be able to compete at state in the event of an injury substitution, so she would continue to practice as usual the following week.
Saylee Gingerich (12-6) came within a match of contending for a state appearance at 235.
Gingerich started her evening in the quarterfinal, taking a tight 11-10 decision against Central DeWitt’s Blaire Kueter (15-10). In the semifinal, Gingerich fell in 0:38 to Skylar Wegener (24-2) of Northeast before taking a 4-0 decision against Solon’s Haiden Wolfe (16-15) in the consolation semifinal. Gingerich then had a River Valley Conference tournament rematch with Kiera Turnis (26-7) of Cascade. After a tight battle, Turnis again had the upper hand by fall after 3:36.
The coach noted that Gingerich had to face “girls 30, 40, 50 pounds heavier” than her, adding that the junior “showed some guts there” and “was in every match.”
Gingerich and Gross had their strong performances after wrestling up weight classes, with Gingerich often facing wrestlers well above her size and Gross taking the slot left open by a season-ending injury to senior Hanna Lacina.
“Saylee had to bump up due to Teagyn being at 190,” Driscoll said. “She took on the challenge and went right at it.” Of Gross, he said that not having to “restrict diet” helped the junior “just worry about her wrestling” instead of trying to maintain weight at 145.
The Bears had three other wrestlers compete as West Branch wrestled at its new full strength of six grapplers. West Branch placed 11th as a team with 57 points. Mia Rice (115, 8-15) had a win by fall while freshmen Karly Shelton (130, 19-10) and Lyla Snyder (140, 9-21) gained a taste of the postseason.
Driscoll said that Rice had been snake-bitten by an early-season illness, which affected her conditioning. The coach added that Shelton and Snyder had a significant gap in experience as freshmen facing upperclassmen which will improve after a full year of varsity mat time under their belts.
West Branch will have plenty of returning talent as Hartz and Lacina are the only seniors from this year’s team. The Bears will also have some new talent rising up from the middle school ranks as freshmen in the coming year.
“I know we’ll be young, and that’s what we have to remember,” the coach said. “But we’re excited to have more wrestlers be able to fill out more weight classes and just keep building on the experience and their skill set next year. They’re going to take some lumps but hopefully that will help them in the long run.”
Team scores: 1. Mount Vernon 189 2. Solon 179 3. Mid-Prairie 159 4. Central DeWitt 129 5. Benton 128 6. Cascade 103 7. Lisbon 100 8. Tipton 88 9. Louisa-Muscatine 70.5 10. Union 59 11. West Branch 57 12. Durant 53 13. Northeast 43 14. Xavier 36 15. Maquoketa 29 16. Tri-County 15 17. Camanche 10 18. North Cedar 0.
115: Champ. Round 1- Mia Rice (WB) received a bye; Champ. Round 2- Mia Rice (WB) over Tori Jones (DUR) (Fall 0:19); Quarterfinal- Gabby Gingerich (M-P) over Mia Rice (WB) (Fall 2:38); Cons. Round 4- Mia Rice (WB) received a bye; Cons. Round 5- Olivia Tobin-Post (CAS) over Mia Rice (WB) (Fall 2:50)
130: Champ. Round 1- Karly Shelton (WB) received a bye; Champ. Round 2- Liliana Grosse (MV) over Karly Shelton (WB) (TF-1.5 5:03 (16-1)); Cons. Round 2- Karly Shelton (WB) received a bye; Cons. Round 3- Karly Shelton (WB) received a bye; Cons. Round 4- Gracie Green (CD) over Karly Shelton (WB) (Fall 3:23)
140: Champ. Round 1- Champ. Round 1- Lyla Snyder (WB) received a bye; Champ. Round 2- Layla Shilling (T-C) over Lyla Snyder (WB) (Fall 2:42); Cons. Round 2- Lyla Snyder (WB) received a bye; Cons. Round 3- Lyla Snyder (WB) received a bye; Cons. Round 4- Clair Brown (NE) over Lyla Snyder (WB) (Fall 1:47)
155: Champ. Round 1- Gisele Gross (WB) received a bye; Champ. Round 2- Gisele Gross (WB) received a bye; Quarterfinal- Gisele Gross (WB) over Chloe Denhartog (L-M) (Fall 0:54); Semifinal- Kaylee Kintzel (MV) over Gisele Gross (WB) (Fall 3:38); Cons. Semi- Gisele Gross (WB) over Ella Wagner (UNI) (Inj. 4:00); 3rd Place Match- Gisele Gross (WB) over Chloe Denhartog (L-M) (Dec 3-1); 2nd Place Match- Kaylee Kintzel (MV) over Gisele Gross (WB) (NC)
190: Champ. Round 1- Teagyn Hartz (WB) received a bye; Champ. Round 2- Teagyn Hartz (WB) received a bye; Quarterfinal- Teagyn Hartz (WB) over Adlie Miller (SOL) (Fall 0:38); Semifinal- Teagyn Hartz (WB) over Serenity Roberts (CD) (Fall 2:38); 1st Place Match- Libby Dix (MV) over Teagyn Hartz (WB) (Fall 3:11); 2nd Place Match- Teagyn Hartz (WB) over Serenity Roberts (CD) (NC)
235: Champ. Round 1- Saylee Gingerich (WB) received a bye; Champ. Round 2- Saylee Gingerich (WB) received a bye; Quarterfinal- Saylee Gingerich (WB) over Blaire Kueter (CD) (Dec 11-10); Semifinal- Skylar Wegener (NE) over Saylee Gingerich (WB) (Fall 0:38); Cons. Semi- Saylee Gingerich (WB) over Haiden Wolfe (SOL) (Dec 4-0); 3rd Place Match- Kiera Turnis (CAS) over Saylee Gingerich (WB) (Fall 3:36)
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