Union’s Jillian ‘Monster’ Worthen flashes the No. 3 with her left hand while her right hand is raised by the official after triumphing in the Class 1A championship match at 130 pounds last Friday, Feb. 7, at Xtream Arena in Coralville during the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) state wrestling tournament. With the win, Worthen became a three-time state champion. Also pictured, Union assistant coach John Simon, visible on the left side of the photograph, looks on. PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER

CORALVILLE – For All-American Jillian ‘Monster’ Worthen, last week’s girls state wrestling tournament ended on a triple high with the Union High School senior taking home her third state wrestling title – a feat that places her among the best of the best wrestlers in not only the Knights community but also the state of Iowa.

“My high school story is finished and it flew by fast, but man I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. … this year was special,” Worthen wrote on Facebook on Saturday, Feb. 8, following the completion of the two-day Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) state wrestling tournament held at Xtream Arena in Coralville. She went on to write that what made the season so special was not its finality but rather how it capped off an adolescent wrestling career full of the highest highs but also some challenging lows – lows that only made her stronger.

“[This season was for] the girl that decided to put on a pair of wrestling shoes 10 years ago. The girl that was the only ponytail in the practice room. The one that went home from tournaments crying because she just wanted to be good like her big brothers.”

“For the girl that had no hope because she lost every match she wrestled for [two] years. The girl that would wait patiently for a partner because no boys wanted to wrestle her. For the girl that didn’t see potential or a future in this sport. The little girl that missed out on a lot of stuff because she wanted a chance to be good, let alone great.”

“This is for that girl. Not just [for] my younger self, for any little girls out there. Give it time, smile and have fun, you never know where you’ll end up in this sport with a little love and dedication.”

PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER

After years of wrestling boys including at the high school level, Worthen earned back-to-back state championships with the first coming in 2022 at the Iowa Wrestling Coaches & Officials Association (IWCOA) Girls State Wrestling Tournament where she took gold at 100 pounds. The following season, she earned her second state title at 105 pounds during the inaugural IGHSAU-sanctioned state tournament.

After moving up four weight classes, Worthen finished fifth at state in 2024 in what proved to be a formidable 125-pound bracket – an experience she characterized at the time as going “to war in the toughest bracket by far.”

Similar to 2024, Worthen entered this year’s Class 1A state tournament undefeated at 24-0 and was the No. 2 seed at 130 pounds.

In her opening round on Thursday (Feb. 6) afternoon, she won by 15-0 technical fall after two minutes over No. 15 Charlotte Koether of MFL-MarMac before taking a swift pinfall win in 60 seconds over New Hampton/Turkey Valley’s Sophie Glaser (seeded No. 7) in the quarterfinals.

On Friday during the semifinal round, she faced No. 3 seed Lyni Gusick of Alburnett whom she defeated by 17-1 technical fall in the third period.

Union’s Jillian ‘Monster’ Worthen, left, adds her name to the 2025 IGHSAU State Wrestling Tournament 130-pound bracket sheet after winning the championship on Friday, Feb. 7 in Coralville. On the sheet, Worthen wrote “Monster 3X” to signify her third state title. PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER

Worthen then put an exclamation point on her high school wrestling career Friday evening by triumphing in the 130-pound championship match over Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s Miley Kirkpatrick, seeded fourth, with a pin in two minutes, 52 seconds.

For anyone who ever doubted Worthen was the real deal, this year’s state tournament certainly proved her mettle – something even Worthen herself at times doubted, per her Feb. 8 post.

“Last year opened my eyes, and I have had a couple (of) heartbreaks over this [past] year, be it at State or Fargo. I was pissed, I was working hard, but not getting the results I wanted. I thought I was doing this work for nothing, and I thought I was falling behind, slipping away. But I have the best coaches in my corner and by my side for wrestling and for life, and one of those really wise people I know comforted me in that time. They told me it’s okay (that) losses bother me, but I need to remember it’s not about state titles or national titles; but about the long term goals ahead. That those things are merely stepping stones, and eventually things will work out the way I want.”

Worthen ends her senior season undefeated with three state titles to her name. After thanking God, her family, coaches, and “anyone who ever supported me,” she signed off with a nod to the sport that’s taken her so far.

“Thank you, Iowa high school women’s wrestling, it’s been a great and memorable ride.”

North Tama's Addison ‘Addy’ Hochstetler has her hand raised by the official after triumphing in her first-round match over Mount Vernon's Addi Whisner (left) during the Thursday, Feb. 6 session of the Class 1A IGHSAU state wrestling tournament at Xtream Arena in Coralville. PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER

Bittersweet medals for Redhawk duo

Also at Coralville, North Tama junior Addison ‘Addy’ Hochstetler finished fifth at 145 pounds in Class 1A, while senior Briar Blake added a sixth-place medal at 170 pounds.

It’s a big step forward for Hochstetler, who went 1-2 in her state debut last year. She triumphed on Thursday (Feb. 6) by winning her first-round match by fall over Mount Vernon’s Addi Whisner before being knocked to consolations after a loss to top-seeded Anastasia Simon of Decorah. In her blood round, she pinned Lisbon’s Emma Dietsch to ensure a medal.

On Friday, she won her first match of the day by fall, was pinned in the consolation semi, but survived a 6-5 decision in the fifth-place match with Whisner for the medal.

“I think I was more nervous for regionals than I was for this,” Hochstetler said on Thursday following her blood round. “I just knew I had to win it. I just had to get my shots, my offense going, and that got me somewhere.”

Redhawk senior wrestler Briar Blake smiles after receiving her sixth-place medal on Friday, Feb. 7, at Xtream Arena in Coralville during the IGHSAU state wrestling tournament medals ceremony for the Class 1A 170-pound bracket. PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER

Following her final match on Friday, Hochstetler looked to the future: “This just gives me more confidence, now I know that I should be placing next year.”

For Blake, it’s a disappointing end to the top-seed in the 170-pound bracket. On Thursday, she opened the tournament by taking her first loss of the year in a 10-3 decision for Fairfield’s Samantha Lyons. Blake had pinned Lyons twice, including at regionals in Williamsburg on Jan. 31, but Thursday’s match was a different tale.

After a scoreless first period, Lyons escaped from bottom to start the second period and scored the first takedown on Blake 50 seconds into the second period. Blake escaped and escaped again from bottom position to start the third, but Lyons added another takedown and rode out Blake, adding three nearfall at the end.

“I didn’t really know what to do when I was down,” Blake said on Thursday. “I do, because I do it in practice every day, but in a match it was just different.”

North Tama head coach Andrew Knaack noted that Blake might have been the most anticlimactic blood-round winner Thursday night, smashing Humboldt’s Danica Diedrick in 60 seconds.

Redhawk Briar Blake, top, overpowers Humboldt's Danica Diedrick in her blood-round Thursday night during the girls state wrestling tournament – a win that ensured Blake a state podium finish for the second year in a row. PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER

“She really hasn’t been pushed like that all year,” Knaack said of the quarterfinals match. “I don’t think she’s gone to the third period all year and it just all caught up with her. But she’s gonna fight back. She was heartbroken but I told her that she wouldn’t be happy if she didn’t bring a medal home, and that we had to go out and get it.”

On Friday, Blake began the final day of the state tournament by quickly steamrolling Iowa Valley’s Raelene Hawkins in the third-round consolation before falling short in the final second of the consolation semis against Layna DeMoss of Benton and then losing by fall in the fifth-place match with Mount Vernon’s Gracie Pinckney.

“You hate to see a senior lose their last match,” Knaack said. “She’s upset, and she should be, she’s one of the best girls in that bracket. But she got upset early in the tournament and I don’t know if she truly bounced back to finish the day. I know she would have been really disappointed if she left empty handed though. So it may not be the color she wants, but it’s better than a lot of people get.”

For her part, Hochstetler said she plans to draw on her friend and teammate’s overall demeanor toward wrestling next season as a senior.

“Briar’s always been a calm person. So I think next year, just staying calm and working as hard as she did sounds good.”

North Tama junior Addison Hochstetler, right, reacts after scoring a 6-5 decision to beat Addi Whisner of Mount Vernon in the Class 1A fifth-place match at 145 pounds during the girls state wrestling tournament on Friday, Feb. 7, at Xtream Arena in Coralville. PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER

Redhawk wrestler Addy Hochstetler, center, smiles after receiving her fifth-place medal on Friday, Feb. 7, at Xtream Arena in Coralville during the IGHSAU state wrestling tournament medals ceremony for the Class 1A 145-pound bracket. PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER