Vote: Des Moines Register Iowa Ortho Athletes of the Week for Nov. 26-Dec. 2
The week of Nov. 26-Dec. 2 saw the beginning of high school boys basketball, wrestling and swimming in the state of Iowa.
Several male athletes in each sport turned in tremendous performances to open the 2023-2024 season.
High school girls basketball and wrestling were not to be outdone, with a number of female competitors standing out during the week.
Here are the Iowa Ortho female and male Athlete of the Week candidates for the week of Nov. 26-Dec. 2. Register readers vote to determine the winners, who will be announced at the end of the week. You only need to register once, so come back each hour for easy voting.
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Girls
Reanah Utterback, Sigourney-Keota
Utterback, who wrestled in the boys state wrestling tournament last season, took first at 115 pounds for the Sigourney-Keota girls wrestling team at both the Dan Gable Donnybrook Invitational held Thursday through Saturday at the Xtream Arena in Coralville.
She also came out on top at the Willard Howell Girls Invitational at Wapello on Saturday.
Utterback went 5-0 at the Dan Gable Donnybrook Invite. All five victories came by fall, including a victory over Bettendorf's Taylor Strief in 53 seconds during the championship match.
Utterback was 3-0 during the Willard Howell Invite with two wins by pinfall and one by technical fall. She pinned Pleasant Valley's Caitlin Reiter in 3:11 during the championship match.
Grace Knutson, Cedar Falls
Knutson was a terror on offense and defense for the Cedar Falls girls basketball team during a 66-31 home victory over Dubuque Hempstead on Thursday, Nov. 30.
Knutson put up 26 points and three assists on offense. She came away with eight steals on defense.
Trista Ohlmeier, MVAOCOU
Ohlmeier produced a triple-double for the MVAOCOU girls basketball team during its 90-17 rout of Missouri Valley on Nov. 27.
Ohlmeier went for 25 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists on the night. Ohlmeier nearly pulled off a quadruple-double after chipping in eight steals and she also had three blocks.
Eva Steffesen, CAM
Steffesen also turned in triple-double on Nov. 27.
Steffesen went for 14 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists during CAM's 72-41 victory over Ankeny Christian. She chipped in five steals and three blocks.
Kiara Djoumessi, Waverly-Shell Rock
Djoumessi placed first at 140 pounds during the Dan Gable Donnybrook Invitational girls wrestling tournament.
Djoumessi improved her season record to 17-0 with three pins and one victory by major decision during the tournament. She stuck Naomi Templeman of Raccoon River-Northwest in 4:29 during the finals.
Boys
Jonovan Wilkinson, Roland-Story
Wilkinson had an incredible night for the Roland-Story boys basketball team during a 94-87 victory over Gilbert that went four overtimes on Tuesday, Nov. 28, at Gilbert.
Wilkinson put up 44 points after making 14 of 26 field goals and 15 of 17 free throws. He also pulled down 15 rebounds and had three assists and one block for the Norsemen.
Dreshaun Ross, Fort Dodge
Ross, last year's 3A boys state wrestling champion at 195, took first at 215 during the Dan Gable Donny Brook Invitational.
Ross was 5-0 with three pins and two victories by decision. He pinned Bettendorf's Zander Glazebrook in 1:34 during the semifinals and won a tough 2-1 decision over Joey Favia of Marmion Acadamy (Ill.) in the finals.
Lincoln Jipp, Bettendorf
Jipp also took first at the Dan Gable Donnybrook Invitational boys wrestling tournament.
Jipp earned his championship at 165 after going 5-0 with two wins by decision, two by technical fall and one by fall. He defeated Jacob Luce of Dekalb (Ill.) by sudden victory in the semifinals (3-1) then scored a 16-1 technical fall over Matt Astacio of Woodstock (Ill.) in the finals.
Hayden Schwab, Don Bosco
Schwab placed first at 106 during the Dan Gable Donnybrook Invitational boys wrestling tournament.
Schwab finished 5-0 during the tournament. He won his first three matches by technical fall then earned an 11-2 major decision over Ankeny's Isaac Wignall in the semifinals and a fall in 4:31 over the Hawks' Benjamin Walsh in the finals.
Joe Broderick, Dowling Catholic
Broderick was a force on the boards for the Dowling Catholic boys basketball team during a 58-43 victory over Des Moines Roosevelt Saturday in West Des Moines.
Broderick pulled down 19 rebounds, including 10 offensive boards. He also scored 17 points and chipped in three steals and two assists.
The Des Moines Register's Athlete of the Week is underwritten by Iowa Ortho, which is not involved in the writing or editing of this story.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Vote: Des Moines Register Athletes of the Week for Nov. 26-Dec. 2
