How all Iowa City wrestlers fared at the Iowa girls state tournament

The 2026 Iowa girls state wrestling tournament featured 12 local wrestlers and three teams from the Iowa City area — headlined by a breakout performance by Iowa City West sophomore Eva Jara.

Jara was the No. 9 seed at 190 pounds and shined in her state tournament debut. She placed second at state, securing victories over the No. 8 seed, No. 1 seed and No. 4 seed en route to the state finals.

Her biggest win was a 6-4 decision over former state champion and top-seeded Briar Ludeman of Cedar Falls.

«Last year was my first year wrestling and I was out for a good portion of it because of an injury to my clavicle,» Jara said. «This year I came in with a strong mentality, ‘I’m going to give everything I have’. A little bit of emotion stirred throughout the season, but I always tried to give everything I could and … plan for the worst, hope for the best.»

Jara may have come up short against the No. 2 seed in the state title match, but she flexed her grit against the best wrestlers in the state.

Iowa City High, Iowa City Liberty and Iowa City West were represented in Class 2A at Xtream Arena in Coralville from Feb. 5-6.

Here is how all three local teams and wrestlers fared at the Iowa girls state wrestling tournament.

Iowa City High

The Little Hawks had two wrestlers compete at state.

Shaona Emmanuel placed third at 155 pounds for the second season in a row. She also secured her 100th career fall at state.

Iowa City High’s Shaona Emmanuel looks back at her coaches during her 155-pound quarterfinal match Feb. 5, 2026 during the IGHSAU State Wrestling Championship at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa.

The senior went 4-1 at state, with three wins by fall. She pinned Natalie Ritter (Cedar Falls) in the first round and Bella Bruins (Raccoon River-Northwest) in the quarterfinals before she fell to eventual state champion Skylar Slade (Southeast Polk) in the semifinals.

More: 12 Iowa City-area wrestlers advance to Iowa girls state tournament

She closed out her run with a fall over Liberty’s Peyten Van Dyke and a 9-0 major decision over Benton Community’s Layna Demoss.

Junior Martha Willard fell in the first round to the top-seeded Abigail Meyrer of Pleasant Valley before she secured a 6-4 decision over Evelyn Faubus of Ballard in consolations. She went 1-2 at state at 120 pounds.

Iowa City Liberty

The Lightning had eight state qualifiers, with six of those reaching the podium.

Sisters Evelyn Eggleston and Kate Eggleston lead the charge by placing third in their respective weight classes.

At 140 pounds, senior Evelyn Eggleston pinned Ankeny’s Haley Togba in the first round before she fell to Calista Rodish of Racoon River-Northwest by major decision in the quarterfinals.

She rebounded with a tech fall and major decision before she won by medical forfeit in the consolation semifinals. She earned third place with a fall over Ames’ Lauryn Metcalf.

Freshman Kate Eggleston made her state tournament debut at 115 pounds. She opened her run with a fall over Spencer’s Jada Mingus-Alfaro in the first round before she was pinned by Linn-Mar’s Kate Seery in the quarterfinals. She proceeded to win three consolation matches before she pinned Nora Bockes of Ankeny in the third-place match.

Iowa City Liberty’s Peyton Van Dyke wrestles Raccoon River-Northwest’s Bella Bruins in a first round 155-pound match Feb. 5, 2026 during the IGHSAU State Wrestling Championship at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa.

Van Dyke made her third appearance at the Iowa girls state wrestling tournament. A season removed from placing eighth, the junior improved to fifth place at 155 pounds.

She came up short in a 3-2 tiebreaker in the first round before she rattled off three straight wins in consolations. After she was pinned by Emmanuel in the consolation semifinals, Van Dyke rebounded with a win by medical forfeit in the fifth-place match.

Like Van Dyke, Evalynn Karam placed fifth in her respective weight class. The 110-pounder fell in the first round by major decision before she rattled off three consolation wins in a row. After she suffered a loss by major decision in the consolation semifinals, Karam secured a 12-4 major decision over Camryn Andersen of Sioux City North in the fifth-place match.

Callum Wu placed seventh at 145 pounds. She lost in the first round before she earned back-to-back wins in consolations. After she lost round three of consolations, Wu closed out her run with a fall over Cedar Falls’ Lana Schafer in the seventh-place match.

Taylor Cavanh took home eighth place at 105 pounds. She went 2-3 at state. She secured a fall over Oskaloosa’s Alyssa Sheets in round one of consolations before she earned a 9-7 decision over Decorah’s Olivia Sheffield in the following round.

Iowa City West

The Trojans saw major production from their two state qualifiers: Jara and junior Brianna Lucero.

Like Jara, Lucero reached the state podium in her state tournament debut.

She went 2-3 at state. After she lost in round one, the 115-pounder earned back-to-back falls over Kaylea Hintze (Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson) and Ashlyn Leslie (Nevada) in consolations.

Marc Ray is the high school sports reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached at MARay@gannett.com , and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: How all Iowa City wrestlers fared at the Iowa girls state tournament