Skip to main content
Iowa
Join Now

#1 Iowa readies for battle at rugged Missouri Valley Open

by: Tanner Lafever2 hours agoTannerLafever
Val Solorio
Iowa's Val Solorio will be looking to send her competition toppling head-over-heels in a loaded bracket at 103 pounds. (Photo Credit: Dennis Scheidt - @webcentrick on social media)

This past weekend, the Iowa men’s wrestling team competed in the premier multi-team event of its regular season schedule – finishing runner up at the National Duals Invitational.

Five days later, it’s time for the top-ranked Hawkeye women to take on a premier event of their own.

Welcome to the Missouri Valley Open.

This Friday/Saturday, hundreds of the best women’s college wrestlers from all corners of the country will descend upon Marshall, Missouri.

NCAA, NAIA, JUCO – they’ll all be there. And so too, will numerous talented high school and senior-level athletes.

Why? Because every year this tournament attracts that type of field. And every year, the action on the mat delivers.

Iowa will be making its fourth ‘MoVal’ appearance under head coach Clarissa Chun – equaling the program’s four years of existence. And every year, without fail, every other wrestler/team in the building is jonesing to get their shot at the Hawkeyes.

However, Iowa is usually up to the task – winning a combined 12 individual titles over the past three years (though just one in 2024).

This weekend, a total of 15 Hawkeyes will (officially) be in the field – including six with current national rankings.

  • 103 pounds – #4 Val Solorio, Sterling Dias, Rianne Murphy
  • 110 pounds – #1 Ava Bayless, Nyla Valencia
  • 117 pounds – Harlee Hiller
  • 124 pounds – #4 Cali Leng, Isabella Marie Gonzales
  • 131 pounds – #3 Karlee Brooks, Emily Frost, Bella Williams
  • 138 pounds – Skye Realin
  • 145 pounds – #2 Reese Larramendy, Cadence Diduch
  • 207 pounds – #2 Jaycee Foeller

They’ll be joined by a fellow Hawkeye who’s competing unattached at 180 – sophomore Naomi Simon.

The Decorah native – a 2025 All-American (third) – is redshirting in 2025-26 following an impressive freshman season in which she went 38-4 with 36 bonus-point victories.

How to watch

November 21-22 (Fri/Sat) – @ Missouri Valley Open

  • Location: Marshall, MO (Burns Athletic Center)
  • Time: 9:00 a.m. start (Fri) *runs through quarterfinals + 9:00 a.m. start (Sat) *finals at 1:00 p.m.
  • TV/streaming: live on FloWrestling

Be forewarned, good people – this tournament is not for the faint of heart.

Over 600 athletes entered last year’s field. That means big brackets which could require as many as seven wins to stand atop the podium. And if you fall to the consolations (esp. early), look out – because it can be a long road back.

Of course, those challenges for the athletes pale in comparison to the viewing experience at home – where one’s focus/attention can be pushed to the brink by following multiple matches for hours upon end.

(He says with the utmost sarcasm.)

But truthfully, this weekend is a marathon – for all parties.

My advice to those who’ll be following along: Get familiar with the FloWrestling event page, where you’ll not only find mat assignments, streaming links and general tournament info – but can also set push/text/email alerts for specific teams/wrestlers.

Or you can always follow me on social media – where I’ll have pertinent updates throughout the weekend.

So, now that you know what you’re up against, how about the challenge that lies ahead of these Hawkeyes?

Introducing the field

At present, no fewer than 22 ranked NCAA/NAIA teams are among the 46 registered for the Missouri Valley Open. And those numbers could certainly grow.

From the NCAA ranks, #1 Iowa, #2 McKendree (IL) and #5 Colorado Mesa have all sent contingents.

First-year varsity program Lehigh will also be there – and though currently unranked, the Mountain Hawks have several athletes who could be tournament favorites at their respective weight classes.

As for NAIA schools, the depth there is even more impressive.

Six of the top 10 teams (and 13 of the top 20) from the latest NAIA Coaches Rating will be in Marshall (MO) this weekend – including fellow state of Iowa powers #2 Grand View and #3 William Penn.

By my rough count, as many as 96 athletes ranked in the top 10 in either the NCAA or NAIA could be in the field this weekend.

And that figure doesn’t include the likes of nine unranked Hawkeyes who are absolutely top-10 caliber, nor numerous unranked athletes from other teams who will be major threats in their brackets as well.

It also doesn’t include club programs like Oklahoma State and Tarleton State (TX) – either of whom could become the next major Division I women’s program, and both of whom already have rosters littered with high-end talent.

But that’s still not all.

As Kyle Klingman details in this piece for FloWrestling, several elite high schoolers (including multiple age-level World medalists) will throw their hats in the ring as well. And so too, will senior-level names like Mia Palumbo – a three-time NAIA finalist who’s battled and/or beaten several Hawkeyes in recent years.

Simply put, there’s nowhere to hide at a tournament like this.

Fortunately, the Hawkeyes wouldn’t have it any other way.

Weights to watch

In all honesty, just about every weight class should provide some must-see matchups this weekend.

But to restrain myself (just a little), here are a few I’ll be keeping closest eye on:

103 pounds

All three Hawkeye hammers will be in the field – along with potentially eight other top-10 wrestlers – as we get another data point on this lineup battle royale, currently led by #4 Val Solorio.

But before they worry about one another, they may have to navigate names like star McKendree freshman, #3 Heather Crull, or high school superstar Jaclyn Bouzakis – who’s oldest brother just pinned a Hawkeye at National Duals last weekend:

110 pounds

Bumping up one weight class, 110 offers another smorgasbord of tantalizing matchup possibilities.

Iowa’s Ava Bayless enters the weekend with the number one NCAA ranking, but one could reasonably list her as the fourth or fifth favorite at this weight class – depending on who shows up.

(Yeah, this weight could be that loaded.)

Some of her greatest competition will come from Iowa teammate Nyla Valencia – who looks better and better with each match back from her extended absence.

131/138 pounds

Two more wildly competitive weight classes for Iowa are these back-to-back middleweights.

At 131, each of #3 Karlee Brooks, Emily Frost and Bella Williams have already won an open tournament this season. Williams was the latest victor, thanks to an excellent performance this past weekend in South Carolina.

Bella Williams explodes for a takedown in her home debut. (Photo Credit: Dennis Scheidt – @webcentrick on social media)

Meanwhile, Skye Realin will be Iowa’s lone entry at 138 – looking to build off her own fantastic showing down south – where she defeated some of the nation’s best amidst her own return from a serious injury.

If Skye soars again this weekend, it could stamp her as the favorite to earn this spot come the postseason.

Additional angles

OK, fine – I can’t help myself.

Two of the deepest weights this weekend will be 117 and 124 – each with the potential for double digit top-10-ranked entries.

How will Iowa freshmen like Harlee Hiller (117) and Isabella Marie Gonzales (124) fare?

Hiller’s lone defeat this season was to Emmanuel’s #3 Karissa Turnwall – who could be in this field. Meanwhile, what’s the health status of Gonzales – who looked excellent up until tweaking her shoulder during Week 1.

She may be the biggest threat to #4 Cali Leng for the starting spot at 124, but she’ll need to be healthy to prove it. Because one thing is for certain, Leng is an absolute workhorse who’s going to fight for every single inch – both in any given match and any (potential) lineup battle.

We have seen Isabella Gonzales since she accepted a forfeit at Iowa’s home opener. (Photo Credit: Dennis Scheidt – @webcentrick on social media)

Hopping over to 145, do we see a potential All-Star Classic rematch between Reese Larramendy and William Penn’s Esther Kolawole?

Both could be in this field, and it’d be fascinating to see the adjustments made on both sides after Larramendy pulled the upset in their previous meeting.

And what about the upper weights?

Word is that Naomi Simon feels as good and strong as she has in quite some time. But this will be her first competitive match(es) since U20 Worlds in August.

How quickly can she shake off any rust against a field with some heavy hitters at 180? If she’s in form, she’d be my pick to win the weight.

Finally, at 207 we’ve only seen Jaycee Foeller in dual competition thus far – albeit three dominant wins.

She could face two of her biggest NCAA competitors in Missouri – #1 Tristan Kelly (McKendree) and #3 Jayleen Sekona (Colorado Mesa).

Might the four-time NCAA/NAIA national runner up make an early season statement this weekend?

Short time

With that, I will leave you all to your preparations for the days ahead.

It’s set to be another busy weekend in the realm of Iowa wrestling – with Friday’s evening’s men’s dual between Iowa and Pittsburgh sandwiched between the back-to-back days of competitive chaos at the Missouri Valley Open.

Per usual, I’ll have updates and recaps throughout the weekend, so be on the lookout for both.

And most of all, embrace the grind.

Things are about to slow during the month of December as Christmas break winnows the schedule down to a select few events. So, until then, let’s put our collective heads down and sprint through these next 10 days.

I think you’ll be glad that you did – not to mention you’ll get to watch a ton of awesome wrestling in the process.

(Sounds like a pretty good tradeoff to me.)

You may also like