The STC girls wrestling held two dual matches at home on Tuesday, Dec. 3. At the end of the night, the Trojans won both, securing a 60-21 victory over Nevada and a 42-32 win over Iowa City Liberty.

The evening started with STC facing the Nevada Cubs. The Trojans got off to a dominating start, with the first five wrestlers securing pins over their opponents. Four of the five accomplished this in the first period of their match, including junior Ava Hendricks (115 lbs.), sophomore London Jaennette (120 lbs.), sophomore Brooklyn Mitchell (130 lbs.), and sophomore Ava Perkins (135 lbs.). In a more competitive match, freshman Abigail Wilson wrestled into the third period. However, she also gained a pin over Nevada’s Miah Huff.

Later in the match, two additional Trojans won by pinning their opponent: sophomore Paisley Bro (145 lbs.) and senior Abigail Chyma (155 lbs.). One of the most competitive matches against the Cubs came in the 235-pound class. STC sophomore Kinley Jimenez faced off against Nevada senior Mackenzie Arends, who was a state-champion in 2023. Jimenez battled Arends to the distance, but ultimately fell 4-0 at the end of the third period. The Trojan’s scoring was rounded out by points from three forfeits, putting the final victory at a score of 60-21.

The second match of the evening against the Iowa City Liberty Lightning was a much closer affair, going down to the final weight class. The first victory for the Trojans came at 135-pounds when Perkins gained her second victory of the night. Perkins quickly fell behind Liberty’s Elyse Caviel but battled back to pin Caviel late in the second period. But even after Perkins’ victory, the Trojans still trailed Liberty by a score of 20-18.

That all changed when STC’s junior Autumn Elsbury (190 lbs.) took the mat. With a pin over the Lightning’s Emma Sanders in the second period, Elsbury gave the Trojans a 24-20 lead in the team score. The Trojans took the next two matches, with wins for Jiminez at 235-pounds and sophomore Livia Smith at 100-pounds. But the Lightning came storming back and won the following two matches at 105-pounds and 110-pounds. This put the score at the narrowest of margins for the Trojans, leading 33-32 with two matches to go.

The Trojans responded with two victories to close out the match. Hendricks (115-pounds) secured her second victory of the night with a 6-0 decision over Liberty’s Mia Ungs. This was followed by Jaennette’s (120-pounds) second pin of the evening, giving STC an electrifying 42-32 team victory.

Up next for the girl’s wrestling team are trips to Benton (Dec. 12), and Vinton (Dec. 14). STC’s next home matches occur against CCA and Ames during the South Tama Activity Booster’s ‘Pin the Gym’ Event on Dec. 19 at the STC High School Gym.