FEB. 7, 2025 – UPDATE: Jalyiah Gardner made it to the final match after pinning her opponent in the semi-finals and then placed second overall in the class 1 A-140 pound bracket at the 2025 IGHSAU State Wrestling Tournament on Feb. 7 in Iowa. Gardner was ranked eighth going into the championship meet and fell to Teagan Carritt from Logan-Magnolia-Woodbine High School in Logan, Iowa, in the finals.
FEB. 6, 2025 – UPDATE: Gardner has won her first two matches at the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) girls state wrestling tournament, which guarantees her a top sixth finish with a medal.
JAN. 31, 2025 – UPDATE: Gardner took first place at regionals at the State Qualifying tournament on Friday, Jan. 31, in Williamsburg, Iowa, and punched her third consecutive ticket to state for KHS Girls Wrestling. The saying third time’s the charm doesn’t apply, as there is no luck involved in her systematic accent in the sport. Gardner, along with the champion and runner-up of each weight class at regionals will compete at the 2025 IGHSAU State Wrestling Tournament, which will be held on Feb. 6-7 at Xtream Arena, Coralville, Iowa.
—
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Jayliah Gardner heads to regionals for a third time with ‘high hopes’ to punch third consecutive ticket to state
KEOKUK, Iowa (JAN. 30, 2025) – After Jayliah Gardner’s first five practices ever, she went 5-0 at her first wrestling tournament the first year of the girls wrestling program’s existence at Keokuk High School and in Iowa in 2022-2023. Later that season she qualified for state with less than four months of total time on the mat. She is currently ranked eighth in the state in 1A at 140 pounds and will wrestle in the State Qualifying tournament Friday, Jan. 31, in Williamsburg, Iowa, to hopefully head to state for a third time in a row.
“I plan to win,” Gardner said. When asked why she believed she would, she answered, “Because I have already beat the other girls that I will wrestle at regionals.”
Wrestling Head Coach Tom Rose said Jayliah’s confidence is not only founded, but it is a huge part of what has helped her achieve each goal she has set for herself in the sport. Gardner is originally from New Mexico, a state that she said isn’t really into wrestling, and she moved to Keokuk in fifth grade. She doesn’t come from what is locally referred to as a wrestling family and she had no prior experience before deciding at the last minute to give it a try in 2022.
“Somebody said they didn’t think I could do it [compete in wrestling],” Gardner said. “So I just went and did it.” She identified herself as coachable and strong and Rose said she takes each thing he tells her and goes and does it, saying she is a “coach’s dream.”
That confidence combined with her mindset and strong work ethic has led to an additional tournament win each year of the last three, where she specifically targeted the tournaments that she lost in previous years. Also, notably she has increased her wins, as well as made it further at the state tournament each time. Recently, she took the title at the Louisa-Muscatine Girls High School Invitational, where she lost in 2023, and this year the head coaches voted and named her the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.
“She’s well known in this corner of the state,” Rose said. “Especially how she competes and how she wrestles, which has always had other area coaches respect.”
The Keokuk girl’s wrestling program is still growing as it started with seven girls in 2022-23 when the Iowa Girls Athletic Association Union (IGHSAU) sanctioned the sport. Nationally, girls wrestling has become the fastest growing sport in the country, according to the Associated Press.
“Jaliyah has been a trailblazer for girls wrestling at Keokuk,” Zach Summers, KHS Athletic Director, said. “Her exceptional work ethic, dedication, and determination to succeed will leave a lasting impact on Keokuk wrestling for years to come.”
IGHSAU has confirmed that state-wide girls wrestling has “experienced exponential growth,” and for the first time this year there are two classes to compete, 1A and 2A. Based on enrollment numbers in Iowa, the top 64 programs were placed in Class 2A and the remaining programs were placed in 1A, the champion and runner-up at each weight class advanced to the state tournament, per IGHSAU.
Wrestling is one of the oldest competitive sports in the world, even showing up on ancient cave drawings, and in Iowa it has been popular almost as long as the state has existed, specifically since the 1880s, Iowa PBS reports. University of Iowa formed a wrestling team in 1911 and exactly 110 years later in 2021 they started a girls wrestling team, becoming the first NCAA Power Five school to add it as an intercollegiate program, from uiowa.edu.
“I’m so glad we have girls wrestling now,” Rose said as he reflected on his 28 years of coaching wrestling in Keokuk.
“Girls wrestling has been a transformative addition for us in Keokuk, offering our girls avenues to success they may not have otherwise experienced,” Summers said. “Each year, our girls team has shown remarkable improvement, and it’s fun to witness their ongoing growth of the sport.”
This month, at the collegiate level the NCAA historically added Women’s Wrestling as a Championship Sport and the first tournament is set for 2026. This is a move from the sport’s previous designation as an NCAA Emerging Sports for Women, which clearly indicates its “rapid growth and increasing popularity,” released by “Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.”
“If you can make it through a [wrestling] season, you can make it through life,” Rose said as he explained the importance of students participating in wrestling. “It is a very demanding and hard sport, but winning is only a bonus, this sport helps athletes become good citizens in society through a strong work ethic.”
Gardners work ethic shines through her academic achievements as well, she is a member of the National Honor Society and is ranked in the top of her graduating class. Her plans for the future include majoring in real estate at the University of Northern Iowa.
Gardner’s career record as of Jan. 29, 2025:
- 22-7 (wins/losses) in 2022-23 as a Sophomore and won three tournaments.
- 28-5 in 2023-24 as a Junior and won four tournaments.
- 36-3 in 2024-25 as a Senior and won five tournaments.
- 86-15 total in high school career wins versus losses.
Last year, Gardner missed several events due to a knee injury and then about 10 more this year due to a broken hand, which Rose said contributed to the fact that she didn’t quite make it to a 100th win, which is a coveted level to achieve in wrestling.
DID YOU KNOW? In the top states to produce championship wrestlers, Iowa ranks number six, but if you compare Iowa by population, it is “ the most impressive state, … it is one of the smallest states to have large numbers of NCAA qualifiers, All-Americans and champions,” per Flo Wrestling’s statistics.
