McIntyre wins second straight state title
Some state champions walk off the mat satisfied with resting on their laurels.
Not Abby McIntyre.
The Glenwood senior, the 132-pound state champion at last year’s girls state wrestling meet, wasn’t satisfied and didn’t rest.
McIntyre turned the page al- most immediately after becoming the Rams’ first ever girls state wrestling champion in 2020 and laser focused on 2021.
The hard work paid off on Saturday when McIntyre pinned Waverly-Shell Rock’s Macy Smith in the first period to lock up her second state title at Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association Girls State Wrestling Tournament in Coralville.
“I was so nervous and the adrenaline was pumping so much I don’t even remember the whole match,” McIntyre said. She describes the feeling as a mix of “excitement, happiness,
accomplishment and relief.” Immediately after the win McIntyre ran from the mat, climbed the railing into the stands and hugged her mom. “It was a pretty emotional,” she said. “It felt like I had finally accomplished what I set out to do and I wanted to enjoy that moment with my mom.”
McIntyre won all five of her matches at state by fall; four coming in the first round. Not the least of which was the dominating performance of Smith, who entered undefeated.
“She’s on a different level than most of those girls,” said Glen- wood wrestling coach Tucker Weber. “I was hoping she’d get a little more competition. I’m not saying they weren’t all good wrestlers, they were. Abby is just on a different level.”
What sets McIntyre apart, Weber said, is a combination of a hard work mentality, tenaciousness and high skill level. The coach often sees her reputation proceeding her before some matches even begin.
“She’s so aggressive,” he said. “You can tell the girls in the state know who she is. They get a little timid and shy (on the mat) when Abby is going forward and at- tacking. They can’t stop her. She has an arsenal of moves that a lot of girls can’t stop. Hopefully she keeps improving and it carries on to the next level.”
If McIntyre was driven on the mat last year, she was downright business-like this year.
“This wasn’t a go in, mess around type of year,” she said. “This was go in, get a little mat time the first day and pin them and the second day was get it done.”
In the title match, McIntyre
jumped on Smith early, led 4-1 and then used the move that’s become her trademark – the fireman carry–to end it with a pin at 1:58.
“Macy Smith is a very good wrestler,” Weber said. “I don’t think she lost a match all year. She’s talented but Abby is Abby.”
It’s a bit ironic it was the fireman carry that wrapped up McIntyre’s second title. She admits it’s her best move but after last year at state, she worked hard to improve her repertoire of moves.
“They all expected the fireman’s carry, the move I’m known for, so they all knew what to do to prevent that from happening,” she said. “This year, it’s still my move but if they can prevent that, I can spin around with other shots and get takedowns, which was really good.”
McIntyre wasn’t the only Ram at state. Fresh- man Emily Lundvall also wrestled. The 120-pound- er notched a first round win before she dropped her final two matches.
“It was great to see her win a match in her first year down there wres-tling at state,” Weber said. “She got that expe- rience and wrestling with Abby a little bit will keep her working and improving and she sticks with the sport.”
Weber has already seen McIntyre’s success bring more girls into the Glen- wood program. She was the only girl out for last year’s team but that number jumped to four this year. The coach hopes that trend continues.
“Hopefully next year we can do some recruiting and get a dozen or more girls out and have a team compete at state,” he said. “It’s a great atmosphere just like the boys.”
Glenwood perfect in Des Moines
Glenwood was a perfect 4-0 on the day and won the team title at the McGivern/Blenderman Duals at Des Moines Lincoln Saturday.
The Rams were without head coach Tucker Weber who was in Coralville coaching the Glenwood’s wrestlers at the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Girls State Wrestling Meet. But the Rams didn’t appear to miss a beat in winning all four of their duals. Assis- tant coach Adam Buthe handled the team in Des Moines.
Vinny Mayberry (106 pounds), Matthew Beam (120), Gavin Connell (145) and C.J. Carter (195) all went 4-0 on the day for Glenwood.
With the wins the Rams improve to 19-5 in duals this season.
Rams split H-10 duals
The Glenwood wrestling team split a pair of Hawkeye 10 Conference duals at Clarinda Thursday.
The Rams knocked off Atlantic 48-27 and dropped a close 37-30 decision to the host Cardinals.
Vinny Mayberry (106 pounds), Matthew Beem (120), Tate Mayberry (152), Tyler Boldra (160), Zander Hayes (170) and C.J. Carter (195) all won two matches on the night.
Glenwood 48,
Atlantic 27
106: Vincent Mayberry, G, won by technical fall over Josh Hass, A, 19-3 (3:03). 113: Cruz Weaver, A, won by fall over Briten Maxwell, G, 4:49. 120: Matthew Beem, G, won by fall over Tristan Becker, A, 0:48. 126: Joe Weaver, A, won by fall over Thaine Williamson, G, 1:12. 132: Jaxson Bell, A, won by fall over Christian Eiseman, G, 3:01. 138: Kellan Scott, G, won by fall over Dante Hedrington, A, 0:59. 145: Brian South, A, won by fall over Gavin Connell, G, 3:52. 152: Tate Mayberry, G, won by decision over Tanner O`Brien, A, 6-2. 160: Tyler Boldra, G, won by fall over Jarrett Armstrong, A, 5:00. 170: Zander Hayes, G, won by fall over Cole Park, A, 0:33. 182: Mitch Mayberry, G, won by major decision over Payton Fewson, A, 12-1. 195: CJ Carter, G, won by fall over Brenden Casey, A, 3:28. 220: Devin McKay, A, won by deci- sion over Sully Woods, G, 5-3. 285: Trent Patton, G, won by fall over Tristan Dorscher, A, 3:37.
Clarinda 37,
Glenwood 30
113: Vincent Mayberry, G, won by decision over Kaden Whipp, C, 11-5. 120: Mat- thew Beem, G, won by fall over Ayden Sunderman, C, 1:26. 126: Leland Woodruff, C, won major decision over Thaine Williamson, G, 11-3. 132: Michael Mayer, C, won by fall over Christian Eiseman, G, 1:17. 138: Kale Downey, C, won by decision over Kellan Scott, G, 7-4. 145: Karson Downey, C, won by fall over Gavin Connell, G, 3:30. 152: Tate Mayberry, G, won by fall over Taten Eighmy, C, 0:28. 160: Tyler Boldra, G, won by fall over Tyler Raybourn, C, 3:54. 170: Zander Hayes, G, won by fall over Brayden Nothwehr, C, 2:27. 182: Jase Wilmes, C, won by fall over Mitch Mayberry, G, 5:05. 195: CJ Carter, G, won by decision over Cole Ridnour, C, 4-3. 220: Crew Howard, C, won by fall over Sully Woods, G, 1:42. 285: Logan Green, C, won by fall over Trent Pat- ton, G, 0:34. 106: Double forfeit.