CORALVILLE — West Marshall freshman Kielly Kasal can accept losing to a wrestler nobody else beat this season.

Her only wish is that it would have happened on Friday night instead of Friday morning.

Top-ranked Denver freshman Abigail Peterson improved 37-0 with a perfect run through the 100-pound bracket in Class 1A, winning the IGHSAU State Wrestling Tournament with four first-period pins. She bumped Kasal off course along the way, but only temporarily.

West Marshall’s freshman sensation completed her near-perfect push through the bracket to a third-place finish, bouncing back from her only loss to 1A competition with two more pins to secure the best state tournament finish in Trojan history.

Ranked and seeded seventh, Kasal exceeded the previous accomplishments of former West Marshall preps Elizabeth Kalinay, who took fourth in 2025, and Averie Wittkop, who scored fifth in 2024, by bagging bronze with a 4-1 record over the two-day state tournament at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

And while Friday’s proceedings got off to a rocky start, Kasal stayed the course without so much as a speed bump.

Kasal completed her season with a 42-10 record that included four pins at state and one big push into the offseason.

“I’m excited for the next few years at state,” she smiled. “I’m hoping to win at least one title.”

Peterson came out on the top side of an early scramble during the 1A semifinals to start Friday’s wrestling action, and after a restart, the Denver freshman locked in a chicken wing that Kasal said she wasn’t getting out of.

“Kielly did say that chicken wing was the tighest she’s ever felt, so I can’t say that I could have gotten out of it myself, so kudos to her for trying,” said West Marshall head coach Randall Kasal, Kielly’s father.

Peterson pinned Kasal in 1:25 to advance to Friday night’s finals, where she pinned No. 2 Audrey Cummings of Wilton in 2:42. Cummings was the only wrestler to reach the second period against Peterson at state, while Kasal was the first to survive the first minute.

Kasal came back without flinching, finding her way past MFL MarMac’s Kennedy Bachman (42-5) with a pin in 1:27. She followed it up with another pin, decking No. 6 Jersey Hilgenberg of Riverside (38-7) in 1:25 to secure third place in her state tournament debut.

“I just was wishing I was on the other side of the bracket so I could have a chance at second, but third is still pretty great,” Kasal said. “I was very nervous going into that match because I didn’t want to end the season on a bad note.

“I feel pretty good about myself. I’m excited to go home and see my dog.”

She also mentioned another wrestling tournament to prepare for in April: the U.S. Open Championships in Las Vegas.

“It shows that her hard work has paid off,” coach Kasal said. “She puts in a lot of time outside the room, so to me that proves her a life skill that she can make herself what she wants to be. Obviously she’d like better than third, but she’s not gonna complain.

“If she finishes that shot, things might be a little different.”

Kasal used her favorite method of attack — the cross step low single — to try and take Peterson to the mat during their semifinal bout, but the Denver star won the scramble that ensued.

“I like the way she wrestles and how she counters things,” Kasal said. “She’s right up there.”

Of her 10 losses this season, Kasal’s only defeat to 1A competition was to Peterson. The rest were to 2A state qualifiers — including a two-time state champion — and one wrestler from Illinois.

“I went against more 2A opponents, which I feel are better and stronger, so I think it prepared me to face the girls here,” she said.

“It’s just nice that she can realize that her work does pay off,” coach Kasal said. “It’s always worth it in the end, but it’s not always easy.”