Tigerhawk tandem caps careers with highest-ever state finishes

CORALVILLE — Colfax-Mingo head girls wrestling coach Erin Hume preaches to his athletes about getting six points or going six minutes when it comes to competition.

That couldn’t have been more true about his two state qualifiers during the Iowa High School Girls State Wrestling Championships last week.

Senior Emma Cook found herself behind in four of her six matches and senior Lily Webster went into overtime in a pair of bouts, but neither Tigerhawk panicked and the end results were the best state finishes of their careers.

“They are great examples of what can happen when you trust the process, trust your teammates and trust your coaches,” Hume said. “They got everything they deserved.”

Cook capped her wrestling career with a third-place finish at 235 pounds and Webster ended her prep career in fourth place at 100.

They combined to win seven matches at the state tournament, both won more than 40 matches this winter and more than 100 in their career and both Tigerhawks earned a pair of state medals in the past four seasons.

“Both girls were part of a team which won three conference championships and both girls helped grow Colfax-Mingo girls wrestling,” Hume said. “The program is in a better place because of them. I love those girls.”

The two Tigerhawks scored 36 points and finished in 15th place in the final Class 1A standings at Xtream Arena.

Cook and Webster both lost their first matches of the state tournament last winter but would not be denied in their final tries this weekend.

Webster scored a pin in 32 seconds in her opening match against Maquoketa’s Semiya Gill (25-12) before advancing to her first state semifinal following an overtime win over sixth-ranked and sixth-seeded Mara Davis of Algona in the quarterfinals. That win secured Webster of a finish no worse than sixth.

Cook’s first match against Pekin’s Rylee Frye (22-23) ended in a first-period pin, but her hopes of winning a state title ended in the quarterfinals when she lost by fall to No. 9 and sixth-seeded Brooklyn Robinson of Humboldt.

Then, in an elimination match on the consolation side of the bracket, Cook rallied from a 7-0 hole to earn a medal following a win by pin against 12th-seeded Averie Gale (22-6) of Benton Community.

Gale put Cook on her back early in the match and the seven-point move gave her a significant lead.

“I knew I had to get out or I was done,” Cook said. “It was hard to come back from the loss, but I wanted the next best thing. You just have to keep going.”

Webster, who came into the tournament ranked fifth and seeded third, fell behind 3-0 to Davis in the quarterfinals. It stayed 3-0 until the third.

Webster (44-6) used an escape and a takedown to go in front 4-3, but Davis’ reversal put her back in front 5-4. Another escape by Webster forced overtime, and the Tigerhawk senior capitalized on her second takedown attempt to win the match, 8-5, in SV-1. Her first attempt landed but the wrestlers were out of bounds.

“I realized my shots would actually work. So I just got more aggressive,” Webster said about the two shots in overtime. “I just thought about what I needed to do to win and what I get after I win. It motivated me. I knew I had a lot more left. I just had to get past the hard part.”

Cook fell behind 3-0 to Robinson (43-6) before losing by fall later in the first period. But her only loss of the tournament came to the eventual state champion as Robinson claimed the 235 title with four straight pins.

Gale used a headlock to score a seven-point move against Cook seconds into their consolation match. But Cook got a reversal to gain some momentum.

From that point on, Gale stuck her head into the mat and kept her arms tucked inside to avoid getting turned to her back.

The official awarded several stalling points to Cook. It was 7-4 heading into the second period, but a takedown and another stalling call pushed Cook into the lead. She eventually got the turn and the fall with 12 seconds to go in the period.

“I was nervous. She was nervous. We were all nervous,” Hume said about the early near fall situation. “She’s tough and knows what was on the line. A medal or go home. I’m just proud of her for continuing to fight and having the mat sense to get to her belly.

“(Gale) was lying flat on the mat with her arms down. She was doing nothing. That official knew what was happening. And I appreciate him making those calls. It can be tough to make those judgmental calls in these big matches. I’m proud of Emma for staying with her plan. She kept going at it and that girl was going to have to open up or she would stall out.”

Webster began Day 2 with a semifinal loss to fourth-ranked and second-seeded Kenadee Helscher of Wapello. The final margin was 7-0, but it was 0-0 after one and 1-0 after two.

Helscher (35-1) ended up as the runner-up as she suffered her only loss of the season in the finals.

Webster had to win another overtime match in her first bout following the loss. She was scoreless with Wilton’s Audrey Cummings for three periods before getting a reversal to win 2-0 in TB-1.

Eighth-seeded Cummings (39-10) rode out Webster in the second period, but Webster returned the favor in the third. When she had the chance to score from the bottom in overtime, she got the points she needed to win and held off Cummings’ attempt at getting points of her own.

“I reminded myself that I pushed through one before so I can push through this one, too,” Webster said. “I was able to figure it out. Thankfully I was able to get out in overtime.”

Webster’s final match ended in a 4-0 loss to top-seeded and top-ranked Chloe Sheffield (39-5) of Decorah.

Sheffield, who was second last year, scored a takedown in the first period to go up 3-0 and then added an escape in the second.

Cook (46-5) fell behind again in her first match of the second day against No. 8 Ella Ray of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont.

Ray (31-8) scored a takedown early to go up 3-0, but Cook scored a point on an illegal hold before the period ended and then got a reversal and received a stalling point in the second to go up 4-3.

Ray’s strategy was similar to Gale’s in that she tried to avoid a turn from Cook at all costs. It led to another stalling point in the third, and Cook eventually won the match by fall 40 seconds into the final period.

“You just have to hope the official sees it,” Cook said of all the stalling calls. “It’s frustrating, but you just have to stick to the plan. Have to keep going. Anything can happen.”

That set Cook up with matches against a pair of multiple-time place winners.

The consolation semifinal match came against No. 3 and top-seeded Haley Armstrong of Atlantic.

Cook fell behind 3-0 again, but flipped the script with an escape, takedown and win by fall in the first period.

Fourth-ranked and second-seeded Jocelyn Buffum of Missouri Valley awaited Cook in the third-place match.

This one was scoreless until the final seconds of the third period. Buffum (39-8) was called for stalling with 1 second to go in the second and then Cook won the match 1-0 following a second stalling call in the final 10 seconds of the match.

Buffum’s last-second attempt at a takedown fell short, despite an argument from the Missouri Valley coaching staff. Buffum appeared to be gassed early in the match and Cook took advantage late.

“I was glad Emma was able to go the full six minutes in that last match,” Hume said. “She pushed the pace and got the calls to go her way. When you push the pace, you get those calls.”

Armstrong (37-4) was third last season and took eighth as a sophomore. Buffum finished second as a freshman and sixth in each of the past two seasons.

“Both girls had to work to get to where they ended up at,” Hume said. “This tournament is selfish. It doesn’t care what your record is or how your season’s gone. Everyone wants the same goal and everyone is battling. You just have to trust the process. Both girls did.

“We didn’t change anything or do anything fancy. What they’ve done all year has gotten them to this point so we just wanted to continue to do that.”

Webster finished fourth in her final season after placing eighth as a freshman and going 4-4 the past two seasons. She went 3-2 as the 11th seed as a sophomore and came within one win of another medal.

An illness kept her down last season as she went 1-2 as the No. 14 seed.

“It’s a big accomplishment coming from eighth as a freshman to not placing two years in a row,” Webster said. “This is amazing. The competition is tough. It feels so good. It’s definitely an improvement from last year.”

Cook was 1-2 at 220 as a freshman. She put herself on the map with a strong sophomore season that ended with a fourth-place medal. Cook was 6-2 as the No. 12 seed that season.

Her junior year was plagued by an ACL injury she never fully recovered from. She ended last year’s tournament with a 2-2 record. Cook lost to Buffum but defeated Armstrong that season.

“The goal was to get back here and place higher,” Cook said. “It’s been amazing. From placing as a team my freshman year to both qualifiers placing this year, it’s been awesome. And wrestling with my sister this year was amazing, too.”

Notes: Webster plans to wrestle in college. She has a couple of options but has not yet decided on her future destination. … East Buchanan won the 1A team title with 105 points. The rest of the top five included Mount Vernon (94), Osage (79.5), Decorah (74) and West Liberty (65.5). Eighty 1A teams scored at least one point.