NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC senior Autumn Elsbury is lifted into the air by her father and assistant coach Danny Elsbury after her championship victory.

At the pep-rally for the eight STC girls wrestlers leaving for the state meet, head coach Jason Arp called the group ‘The Great Eight.’ This week is part 1 of a look at the group and their experience at the Iowa Girl’s State Wrestling Meet on Thursday-Friday, February 5-6, in Coralville.

CORALVILLE — Of STC’s eight wrestlers who participated in the state meet last week, half of them got a spot on the awards stand for the top eight finishers in each weight class. The Trojans were led by senior Autumn Elsbury, who won her second consecutive state championship at 170 lbs.

Sophomore Maylee Rucker (5th, 140 lbs.), junior Kinley Jimenez (6th, 235 lbs.), and junior Livia Smith (8th, 100 lbs.) were the remaining placers for STC. The other participants for the Trojans included: senior Ava Hendricks (115 lbs.), junior Brooklyn Mitchell (130 lbs.), junior Ava Perkins (135 lbs.), and junior Paisley Bro (145 lbs.).

As a team, STC (64 points) finished in 9th place, with a total of 61 teams scoring points in Class 2A. With eight athletes, the Trojans tied for second among all teams — in both classes — for the number of wrestlers qualified. Cedar Falls and Raccoon River-Northwest (a co-op of Waukee, ADM, and Van Meter schools) led all schools by bringing 11 wrestlers.

STC, Ankeny, Iowa City Liberty, Southeast Polk, and Waverly-Shell Rock all brought eight. “Overall I’m happy with all of our girls,” STC head coach Jason Arp said about his team’s performance at state. “You get down here and everybody is good. But all of our girls were in their matches. They gave it their all, and that’s all I can ask for as a coach.”

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC assistant coach Danny Elsbury (right) lifts STC assistant coach Logan Arp (left) into the air after Autumn Elsbury's championship.

The Champion

How do you top an undefeated, state-championship season? In her junior season last year, Elsbury went 45-0 on her way to winning the state title at 170 lbs. And, yet, her run to this year’s championship might be more impressive. Elsbury’s senior season included overcoming obstacles, marching through the state’s most difficult bracket, and, all the while, rewriting the history books at STC.

Elsbury openly admitted to media outlets after her championship that it was a difficult season for her. When asked about competing this year with a target on her back as a returning state champion, Elsbury said the road was tough.

“Honestly, at the beginning of the season, I could not have seen myself here,” she said. “I was thinking that I’d be lucky to even place at state this year. I just wasn’t mentally in the right place at the beginning of the year. I was having a really rough time.”

Elsbury also suffered a bitter loss in front of her home crowd to North Metro’s Payton Traynor in the 170 lb. championship match of the state-qualifying meet on Friday, Jan. 30. Elsbury still qualified for state as the runner-up, but it led to some doubts about the week ahead.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC senior Autumn Elsbury is acknowledged as the winner in the semifinal match at 170 lbs.

“I came in and I wasn’t sure about how it was going to work out this year,” she said.

Elsbury knew coming into the meet that it was widely-recognized that she had the toughest single weight class among either class at state. Her bracket at Class 2A, 170 lbs., included two other nationally rated wrestlers. Elsbury herself came in rated #11 in the nation, while Decorah’s Ana Simon was rated #9, and Waverly-Shell Rock’s Amalia Djoumessi checked in at #10.

Elsbury’s run began with a win on Thursday afternoon over Spencer’s Abigail Young (fall, 1:54). She then faced Traynor in a rematch of her home loss from six days earlier. After a scoreless first period, Elsbury scored a take-down with four seconds remaining in the second period. Starting in the bottom position to start the final frame, Elsbury quickly scored a two-point reversal and drove Traynor into the mat for a pin with 52 seconds remaining in the match. Elsbury had earned redemption from the loss at the state-qualifying meet and now had to face the two nationally-rated wrestlers between her and her second straight title.

Her semifinal opponent on Friday afternoon was Decorah’s Simon. Elsbury was in control of the match the entire way. After a near pin at the end of the first period, Elsbury went into the second frame with a 7-0 lead. Extending her lead to 8-2 at the end of the second frame, Elsbury gained another takedown 15 seconds into the third period.

Holding Simon in that position for a full minute of action, the STC crowd reached a fever pitch. Simon scored some late points, but Elsbury dominated her opponent, ranked two spots ahead of her nationally. In the end, she secured her spot in the championship with a 16-8 major decision.

STC senior Autumn Elsbury signs her name on the championship line to complete her 170 lb. bracket at the Iowa Girls State Wrestling Meet.

Before a sell-out Xtream Arena in the Friday night championship session, Elsbury faced Djoumessi of Waverly-Shell Rock.

“I’ve watched (Djoumessi) wrestle. I knew her go-to moves. I tried to stay away from the stuff she likes and control the match,” Elsbury said after the match.

But Elsbury quickly found herself down 3-0, as Djoumessi scored a take-down a mere ten seconds into the match.

“She got the first take-down,” Elsbury said. “But I knew I couldn’t hang my head about that.” Twenty seconds into the second period, Elsbury scored a takedown of her own to tie the score at 3-3. From there, Elsbury controlled the match. After the wrestlers went out of bounds shortly after, Elbsury restarted in the top position. Over the next minute of action, she methodically rolled Djoumessi in circles and onto her back.

Elsbury was able to flip her with 27 seconds left in the second period and the referee quickly awarded her with the pin. Elsbury leapt off the mat in celebration, while her father, assistant coach Danny Elsbury, lifted assistant coach Logan Arp into the air.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC senior Autumn Elsbury hugs her sister Maeley Elsbury after her state championship at 170 lbs.

“It’s awesome,” Elsbury said after her win. “It’s absolutely amazing. A dream come true.”

With her second state championship, Elsbury finished her senior campaign with a record of 40-4.

She also rewrote the history books at STC, and there is little debate that she sits alone as the most decorated wrestler in school history. According to Arp, she is the only wrestler in school history — boy or girl — to place at state all four years of high school.

She finished in fourth place as a freshman; runner-up as a sophomore; and champion her junior and senior years. In addition, Elsbury is only the second wrestler in school history to win multiple state championships. The other was Isaac Judge, who won two titles at 152 lbs. in his junior and senior seasons in 2017 and 2018.

On the awards podium after her championship, Elsbury was given her medal by her sister, Maeley Elsbury. Maeley was a state champion for the Trojans at 135 lbs. in 2023, which was the first year that girls wrestling was an officially sanctioned sport by the IGHSAU.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC senior Autumn Elsbury receives her championship medal from her sister Maeley Elsbury.

“It was awesome having Maeley hand me the medal,” Autumn said. “I had my dad do it last year, so having them both do it means a lot. They have both been on my mat every step of the way.”

Elsbury also reflected on the community support she’s received. A strong and vocal STC contingent cheered on the entire ‘Great Eight’ in all the meet’s sessions.

“The whole community has been a big support system for me,” Elsbury said. “Everyone has had my back in the ups and the downs. I would not be here without them.”

With both of the Elsbury sisters’high school careers now ended, it is easy to reflect upon how Maeley and Autumn have set the pace in the earliest of days for STC high school girls wrestling. When asked what advice she would give to young girls in the Tama/Toledo area who wrestle, or who are considering wrestling, Elsbury responded in the following way.

“I would tell young girls to stick with it — even if they’re having a rough time. Because I was there once; I was a beginner once; I wrestled boys my first couple years of wrestling — it was not fun,” she said with a laugh. “So, just stick with it and work hard.”

STC senior Autumn Elsbury stands atop the 170 lb. podium at the Iowa Girls State Wrestling Meet.

Next week we will look at the state meet experience for the remaining wrestlers of STC’s ‘Great Eight.’

STC senior Autumn Elsbury hugs her head coach, Jason Arp, following the awards ceremony for her state championship.

STC senior Autumn Elsbury meets with members of the media following her state championship at 170 lbs.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC senior Autumn Elsbury enters the arena during the 'Parade of Champions' before the championship session of the Iowa Girls State Wrestling Meet.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC senior Autumn Elsbury is introduced before her championship match at 170 lbs.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC senior Autumn Elsbury is the victim of an early take-down at the hands of Waverly-Shell Rock's Amalia Djoumessi in the championship match at 170 lbs.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC senior Autumn Elsbury begins her methodical flipping of Waverly-Shell Rock's Amalia Djoumessi in the second period of the championship match at 170 lbs.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – The winning moment: STC senior Autumn Elsbury is awarded the pin and victory in the state championship at 170 lbs.