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Iowa women's wrestling weekend preview: Where's Waldorf?

by: Tanner Lafever22 hours agoTannerLafever
Skye Realin pin
On Saturday, Iowa's Skye Realin returns to competition for the first time since this picturesque pin nearly 12 months ago. (Photo Credit: Isabella Tisdale/Daily Iowan)

Hello, good people, and welcome to the second weekend preview article of this Iowa wrestling season.

After the third-ranked Hawkeye men blanked Bellarmine (KY) on Thursday night, this will once again be a women-only edition of the weekend preview.

And that’s just fine, because they’re pretty darn good.

On tap for Clarissa Chun’s top-ranked squad is a trip to the Waldorf University Open.

There – a three-hour drive from Iowa City – ten different Hawkeyes will take the mat against a collection of wrestlers from 10 other in-state programs, plus a smattering of schools from throughout the Midwest.

Included among them are seven who wrestled at the Luther Hill Open a week ago, another (#1 Ava Bayless) who made her season debut at Sunday’s home dual(s), and two who will face competition for the first time in 2025-26.

Both of them – Emily Frost and #9 Skye Realin – will be worth keeping an eye on, too.

As usual, we don’t know which wrestlers other programs are sending just yet. But the likeliest candidates to supply some real challengers for the Hawkeyes appear to be #10 Wartburg (IA) and NAIA’s second-ranked Grand View (IA).

Now, with those pleasantries out of the way, let’s get you set for Saturday’s action.

How to watch

**all times Central Standard**

November 8 (Sat) – @ Waldorf University Open

  • Location: Forest City, IA (John K. Hansen Fieldhouse)
  • Time: 9:00 a.m. start
  • TV/streaming: live on FloWrestling

Keep an eye on

I mentioned Emily Frost and Skye Realin are little bit ago.

Frost – the lanky, headlock-loving junior – carries a 48-20 career record into her junior debut (incl. 40 wins by tech. fall/pin).

Meanwhile, Realin – ranked #9 at 131 pounds – hasn’t competed in almost a year.

Iowa’s presumptive starter in 2024-25, she suffered a bruised spinal cord during practice last November and was forced to sit out the remainder of the season.

Iowa senior Skye Realin poses for a photo at team media day on October 30th. (Photo Credit: Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen)

Now, she’s back – and entered (at 138) this weekend.

We’ll see if that holds throughout the season. If so, it makes her Iowa’s second surprise entry at the weight class – along with Ella Schmit’s descent from 145.

There, Realin – a 2024 U23 World team member who was 6-0 before her injury last year – and Schmit could battle with #5 Lilly Luft for the postseason spot in March.

Realin’s (potential) bump would also make 131 slightly less busy for Frost to navigate.

Karlee Brooks and Bella Williams both had excellent debuts last weekend – with Brooks besting Williams in a head-to-head matchup (4-0). But Frost’s experience and propensity for big moves certainly put her in contention as well.

At 124, perhaps we’ll see a finals rematch between #5 Cali Leng and Ava Rose.

The juniors met a week ago in Indianola (IA), with Leng the victor in a 6-0 decision.

Meanwhile, down at 103 another rematch could be in store between #2 Rianne Murphy and Sterling Dias.

Dias prevailed 3-2 (officially 2-2) in a down-to-the-wire, third-place bout last weekend, and they’ll be favored to hit in the finals this go around.

#1 Ava Bayless (110), Mia Goodwin (131), Danni Swihart (138) and Libby Dix (207) round out Iowa’s entries.

Dix, a true freshman from Mount Vernon, will look to improve upon her fifth-place finish from a week ago.

Short time

That’s all I’ve got for what should be one of the less busy weekends of Iowa wrestling we see all year long.

Even so, I’ll have up-to-date coverage on social media throughout Saturday’s action – with a full recap to follow on Sunday.

Thanks as always for reading/following along and enjoy the wrestling!

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