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Storylines abound for #1 Iowa women on busy opening weekend

by: Tanner Lafever14 hours agoTannerLafever
Reese Larramendy thumbs up
Reese Larramendy had a weekend worthy of two thumbs up - double dipping at the NWCA All-Star Classic, plus Iowa's home opener. (Photo Credit: Dennis Scheidt - @webcentrick on social media)

I told you it was going to be a busy opening weekend for Iowa wrestling.

Even with a delayed debut for the Hawkeye men’s team (this Thursday against Bellarmine), the top-ranked Hawkeye women competed at three different events to more than pick up the slack for Iowa fans who’ve waited for the college season to return since last March.

It was a heck of a weekend for the Black & Gold, too.

To start, 12/13 Iowa entries at Saturday’s Luther Hill Open reached the podium (top six).

Four of them were champs – including a pair who won finals matchups against their own teammate.

Just as a hectic day of action was wrapping up in Indianola, another Hawkeye was taking the mat against a premier opponent out in New Jersey at the NWCA All-Star Classic.

There, #2 Reese Larramendy gritted out a 4-3 win over 2024 Olympian Esther Kolawole (William Penn) – the top-ranked woman in the NAIA after storming to a title last season.

(We’ll have much more on Larramendy’s eye-opening victory later, plus a new category I’m adding to this year’s recaps.)

And finally, on Sunday afternoon the Hawkeyes opened their 2025-26 home slate – thrashing a pair of in-state foes at the ‘All-Iowa Duals’ by a combined score of 87-0.

The first Iowa wrestler to win a match at Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season was Val Solorio, via 10-0 tech. fall at 103 pounds. (Photo Credit: Dennis Scheidt – @webcentrick on social media)

I’ll be honest, Clarissa Chun’s team handled a wall-to-wall opening weekend of action much better than I did. This writer found himself breathing hard and walking slowly back to center as he tried to catch a second wind.

(That’s on me – and we’ll get it fixed in the weeks to come.)

But now, with the benefit of some rest, refueling and rehydration, I’m raring to go and recap a weekend that was as successful as it was busy for the Hawkeyes.

So, let’s dive in!

Luther Hill Open leaves early lineup battle impressions

With Iowa’s top-to-bottom talent and the new NCAA rules restricting teams to just 10 postseason entries we’ve all known there’d be lineup battles aplenty throughout this season.

Saturday’s Luther Hill Open gave us an early preview of that reality.

Iowa advanced three wrestlers to the semifinals at both 103 and 124 pounds. And it produced all-Hawkeye finals at both 124 and 131.

We’ll begin at 103, which could prove to produce the great ‘battle royale’ of this entire season.

In early pole position after Week 1 – Val Solorio.

There’d been murmurs that the sophomore – who barely missed out on Iowa’s 2025 postseason lineup amidst another loaded competition at 110 – was dropping down a weight class this year.

And thus far, the early reviews are incredibly promising.

Solorio topped a deep bracket, including a semifinal win over her two-time All-American teammate, Sterling Dias, and an 8-0 defeat of #10 Emme Hicks (Simpson) in the final.

That match with Dias was much more competitive than the final 11-1 scoreline would indicate, as Solorio broke things open with a four-point exposure off a nice shot by Dias late in the first period. From there, Dias was forced to chase, and Solorio capitalized with a pair of reattack scores to earn the tech. fall with 0:02 remaining.

As for the final, Solorio drew Hicks after the latter upset Iowa’s #2 Rianne Murphy in the opposite semi.

Murphy led that one 6-0 and was in on another deep shot before being thrown to her back and pinned seconds before the first period ended.

As a result, she and Dias met in a down-to-the-wire, NCAA-final-quality third-place match – won on criteria (2-2) by Dias.

NOTE: The final score should’ve read 3-2 in favor of Dias, but a scorer’s table error (one of several in the match) made for a confusing viewing experience. Thankfully, both wrestlers seemed to know the proper score (and wrestle accordingly) throughout – with Dias the rightful victor.

So, what’s my takeaway for 103 going forward?

  1. Val Solorio made an undeniably strong first impression.
  2. This spot still figures to be an absolute dogfight all season long – with none of these three current candidates out of contention to win it.

Switching to 124, Iowa could have a tug-of-war on its hands between two high-level competitors (depending on health).

The incumbent, #5 Cali Leng, went unscored upon in three matches on Saturday.

Among them was a 10-0 tech. fall of #7 Ashley Cannon (Simpson) in the semis. That was followed by a 6-0 finals win over teammate Ava Rose.

However, it was freshman Isabella Gonzales who seemed primed to become Leng’s finals opponent – and perhaps greatest internal competition this season.

After a tournament-opening 10-0 win, she was on her way to another (against Rose) in the semis. Unfortunately, leading 8-0, Gonzales appeared to tweak her (braced) right shoulder – and wound up injury defaulting from the match.

She’d medically forfeit her subsequent consolation matches to finish sixth.

Hopefully this won’t be a persistent issue for Gonzales this season – who has worn a shoulder brace/wrap at various points in her high school career.

**Gonzales did ‘take the mat’ again on Sunday, but that was to accept a forfeit.**

And finally, the other clash of Hawkeyes was a doozy between two talented underclassmen.

At 131, both sophomore Karlee Brooks and freshman Bella Williams were dominant en route to the finals.

Williams went pin/pin/tech fall – all without surrendering a point against her. Brooks matched her with three shutout victories of the TF/TF/pin variety.

The latter two of those wins – against a pair of top-six-ranked NAIA foes – each took 0:44 or less.

As for the final, Brooks (a 4-0 winner) struck twice for takedowns on beautiful ankle picks – the first just five seconds into the bout, the latter with 1:10 remaining. Both Hawkeyes also stymied a deep shot by their teammate using phenomenal defense.

Expect Brooks and Williams (who’s listed at 138 on the Iowa roster) to continue battling for the job at 131 along with #9 Skye Realin and Emily Frost.

(Because a three-person competition just isn’t enough, right?)

Freshmen forays

I’ve mentioned a pair of Hawkeye freshmen (Gonzales/Williams) already, but two others also made their collegiate debuts on Saturday.

At 117 pounds, Harlee Hiller made an impeccable first impression. The Evanston (IL) native swept five matches in Indianola.

Among her tally, three pins and an 11-0 tech. fall (all in the first period) – followed by a (12-3) finals win over returning national qualifier Layla Phillips (Simpson).

In the final, Hiller rattled off 10-consecutive points (incl. eight after intermission) to overcome an early 3-2 deficit.

Like her three fellow freshmen, Libby Dix started her Iowa career with a bang as well.

The Mount Vernon native – who’s still incredibly green in the freestyle discipline – hit some adversity after that, losing in the quarterfinals and fifth-place match. However, she did pick up her first ranked win over an (NAIA) opponent, defeating #15 Phoebe Burt (William Penn) via 8-4 decision.

Other Luther Hill Open results

Not to be forgotten, sophomore Cadence Diduch was Iowa’s seventh finalist on Saturday.

Diduch reached the 145-pound final thanks to back-to-back-to-back shutout tech. falls – the first of which came against NAIA #14 Lisa Hoeflich (Hastings).

That set up a high-quality final against Simpson’s #9 Annie Obermark.

Things got off to an inauspicious start, with Diduch down 6-0 and fighting off her back midway through the first period. But after extended blood time gave her a chance to reset, the Hawkeye came out firing and retook the lead before the break thanks to a takedown and two leg laces.

Her advantage held up until the final 40 seconds, when Obermark took the Hawkeye to her back once more – holding here there until time expired.

Iowa’s two other entries – Mia Goodwin and Danni Swihart – finished fifth and DNP’d at 131/138 pounds respectively.

Hey now, you’re an All-Star (winner)

“As for the (NWCA) All-Star Classic on Saturday evening, what a great early barometer for Reese Larramendy,” I wrote in my weekend preview.

“It’s safe to say that if Larramendy can hang with Kolawole on Saturday night it likely indicates she’s jumped level this offseason. And that would only be great news for the Hawkeyes.”

Well, great news, folks!

Reese Larramendy not only hung with William Penn’s Esther Kolawole on Saturday night – she went out and won the darn match.

Just to remind folks, Kolawole – a two-time U23 World bronze medalist – has competed at four Senior World Championships for her native Nigeria, as well as the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Last year, she led Hawkeye great Macey Kilty in the final minute of a match before Kilty got the winning takedown/fall. Kolawole is world-class – as further evidence by her fifth-place finish at Senior Worlds in September.

But on Saturday night, Reese Larramendy was her equal (and then some).

Despite giving up a quick takedown, Larramendy (ranked #2 in the NCAA) never wavered.

The Hawkeye drove an underhook for a step out point to cut the deficit to one at the break. Then in the second period, showcased some incredible savvy on the edge to turn a pair of Kolawole’s scoring opportunities in her own favor – the first on a slick slide-by takedown to take the lead.

After another step out, Larramendy would keep calm and cool amidst the chaos of the final minute. Kolawole (#1 in NAIA) scored a step out of her own and got to Larramendy’s legs once more, but the Iowa junior defended superbly to keep any more points off the board.

Arguably the biggest win of her career, Saturday night set the stage for what could be an awesome season for Iowa’s starting 145-pounder.

Dual domination

As expected, the result of Sunday’s afternoon’s All-Iowa Duals was all but a formality for the home team.

The #1 Hawkeyes welcomed in-state schools Central and Cornell College – who wrestled their own 29-18 dual (won by Cornell) before facing the hosts.

And just as they’d arrived, Iowa promptly sent them packing with 44-0 and 43-0 defeats respectively.

Iowa surrendered neither a team point, nor an individual match point across 18 contested bouts (two Hawkeyes won by forfeit).

In fact, no single match lasted longer than 2:08, as the Hawkeyes piled up 13 tech. falls and five pins.

Freshmen Harlee Hiller (117) and Bella Williams (131) both won their first contested match inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena – Hiller doing so on her 19th birthday, no less.

So too, did sophomores Val Solorio (103) and Karlee Brooks (131) – minus the birthday festivities.

But no moment was sweeter than Nyla Valencia’s victory at 110 pounds.

It was 1361 days ago that Valencia first signed with Iowa as part of its inaugural recruiting class.

Since then, she’s had to endure a traditional redshirt season, plus two more induced by ACL injuries (one in each knee).

But now that she’s back, Iowa adds arguably its most talented lightweight to a 110-pound weight class that already totes a pair of national champions – including current #1 Ava Bayless.

(I’ll have a feature story on Valencia published sometime later this week.)

Iowa also celebrated a past achievement whilst ringing in its home opener:

Combined with their results on the mat, it capped an all-around joyous day for the Hawkeyes.

Weekend awards

I mentioned adding a new category to these weekend recaps – and it’s finally that time.

First up, the award for ‘Best win.’

I’ll intentionally keep the criteria for these awards somewhat nebulous, but I think this category mostly speaks for itself.

And with that, the obvious winner is Reese Larramendy for her performance at the NWCA All-Star Classic.

Less than two months ago, Esther Kolawole led 4-1 in the final minute of her bronze medal match at the Senior World Championships.

That’s who Larramendy defeated on Saturday night.

As for our second award – this will go weekly to the ‘Grittiest win.’

And with its first edition, I’m going to fudge the rules a bit and select someone other than the aforementioned Nyla Valencia – because I’ll be writing about her at length later this week.

Instead, ‘Grittiest win’ goes to Danni Swihart for a wild consolation victory at the Luther Hill Open.

Swihart – one of the less heralded members of this loaded Iowa team – trailed 8-0 to Julia Chambers (Quincy), and twice before intermission had to fight off her back for long amounts of time.

But after the break, the redshirt sophomore summoned the will to pile up 10 points – the last two of which put her ahead for the first time in the match with 1:12 to go.

Swihart then methodically worked to secure the fall – finally earning a referee’s slap of the mat with just two seconds left.

The Michigan native may’ve been the only one of 13 Hawkeyes not to place at the Luther Hill Open, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve some pub here as the inaugural recipient of my ‘Grittiest win’ award.

Congrats, Reese and Danni!

We’ll see who takes home the hardware next weekend.

Short time

Alright guys, that’s going to do it for me.

Thank you as always for reading and/or following along with my Iowa wrestling coverage – be it here on the site or on social media.

We’ve got a long men’s/women’s season ahead of us, but it was awesome to get back in the swing of things this weekend.

Stay on the lookout for wrestling coverage of various sorts in the days to come.

We’ve got the men’s season opener against Bellarmine (KY) at home on Thursday. And on Saturday, the women return to the mat for another open tournament within state borders.

I’ll have all of that covered – plus my feature on Nyla Valencia.

So, thanks again, and I’ll talk to you all real soon.

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