Mount Vernon-Lisbon sophomore Kiersten Swart isn’t sneaking up on anybody, any more.
Swart beat two Top 10 wrestlers Saturday to take the 110-pound title at the Anamosa Tournament.
“She fought hard,” MVL Coach Trevor Trende said. “We’ve known she was going to do well this season, but she’s kind of been under-the-radar for awhile now. But after today, knocking off two top six opponents … she’s going to make some noise.”
Swart won three matches Saturday, defeating Morgan Krall of Independence by pin in 5:19, topping No. 6 Kate Seery of Linn-Mar by decision, 8-6, in the semifinals, then edging No. 3 Lauren Whitt of Cedar Falls, 2-1 in overtime in the championship.
“She had an awesome day,” Trende said.
In the title match at 110, Swart and Whitt exchanged escapes through three periods. Tied 1-1, it went to overtime. Then a second. Swart chose down and got her escape. Then she rode out Whitt for 30 seconds for the victory.
“I was definitely hoping it would not go to overtime, but that was okay,” Swart said. “I know that I’m pretty good riding, and holding her down for 30 seconds.”
Also earning gold was 190-pounder Libby Dix. The junior, ranked No. 2, pinned Aliya Phillips of Cedar Rapids Prairie in the quarterfinals (1:50), pinned Ellie Fangman of Independence in the semifinals (3:19) and won by injury default over No. 5 Kamryn Steines of Decorah for the title.
Steines had topped No. 4 Brooklyn Graham of East Buchanan in the semifinals, but hurt her shoulder.
“We were kind of bummed,” Trende said. “We wanted to see that match happen. … We’ll see it, hopefully at state.”
Other Mustangs to earn a spot on the awards stand included Adeline Whisner, who was second at 140, and Gracie Pinckney, who was third at 170.
Eighth-ranked Pinckney lost to No. 4 Izzy Strickert of Independence in the semifinals (pin, 2:24) but came back to beat Isabella Taylor of Anamosa by decision, 5-1, and then beat Raelene Hawkins of Iowa Valley by pin (4:31) for third place.
“She doesn’t always get the credit she deserves, but she fought hard,” Trende said of Pinckney. “She lost a tough one and came back and got third.”
The Mustangs could have been battling a bit of fatigue Saturday after participating in the Benton Community Duals Tournament on Friday.
Mount Vernon-Lisbon went 5-0 at the Duals, beating Cedar Rapids Xavier, 66-16, Union, 78-6, Grinnell, 78-0, Johnston, 66-12, and Benton, 51-24.
“There were some forfeits, but the girls that were able to compete did really well and we had a lot of success,” Trende said. “We gave them a little time off over Christmas break, then came back to get some quality back-to-back competitions to see where everyone was at.”
Mount Vernon 135-pounder Meika Neal tries to break free of the hold of Linn-Mar’s Briana Clymer on Saturday, Jan. 6, at the Anamosa Tournament.