ACH wrestlers earn All-American honors at women’s national duals

COULEE CITY — Karis Butler and Kyanna Garza from Almira/Coulee-Hartline earned All-American status after a strong showing in the 2026 Women’s National Duals in Westfield, Indiana that ran from June 16 to 20. 

“It feels really good,” Karis said. “It was very surprising last year when I got on here, and then this year they were like, ‘You can go to whatever weight class you want,’ and it made me feel very recognized for the hard work I've put in.” 

Wrestlers competed in freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman throughout the four-day tournament. Karis competed in both earning a 7-1 record in freestyle and 4-3 in Greco-Roman. Throughout her path in the tournament, she noted a lot of growth as a wrestler came out of it.  

“In between matches, people would talk to me and say things I can work on, things I can improve on, and there was a lot of fun team atmosphere,” she said. “Overall, it was a very beneficial learning experience, and I felt it was a learning experience last year too. It just came with a lot of growth with having so many matches and just a lot of time to learn.” 

For Karis, this was her second straight year competing in the national event. She emphasized last year as being impactful to her development and ultimately improving into a state champion in the 140-lb class at the 2026 Mat Classic.  

This years' experience taught her to be more aggressive on the mat, she said. Nerves have been a natural occurrence with bigger tournaments, but as time has gone on she has found a way to navigate it.  

“I kind of just reminded myself that I’m meant to be here, and all the girls are good, but it's all a team, we're working as a team to win, so it's not all up to you,” she said.  

Competing alongside Karis was fellow Warriors teammate Kyanna Garza, who went 1-3 in four freestyle matches in the 170-lb class and also earned All-American status. Garza, a rising freshman for the Warriors, got the invite only a few days prior to the start of the tournament, she said.  

“They lost their person to fill the spot for 170-lb,” Garza said. “I was a little bit unsure at first, just because it was all the way across the country, and it's a really intense tournament. It's not something everybody gets to do. Just winning one match I feel like is something. Just being out of wrestling and not practicing for so long. I feel like I'm pretty impressed with how I did.” 

Getting to experience a tournament at this scale for the first time has also taught her a lot in her short time wrestling.  

“Doing stuff post-season really does help with the high school season and everything. It really changes how you wrestle,” she said.  

Unfortunately, Garza’s experience was cut short due to a medical incident that prevented her from continuing. Though she did not disclose the issue, she said she is doing better now and is grateful for the experience and earning All-American status, as well.  

“I am the fourth or fifth person in school to do that, so just realizing that it's not something that happens every day is pretty cool, and I really appreciate the chance to do that,” she said.  

ACH Girls Wrestling Head Coach Josh Butler was elated that his wrestlers got to have the opportunity to compete on the national stage.

“It's really neat and exciting to kind of destroy the concept of we're just a small town or it's just a B school,” Josh said. “Because being selected for this team it means that across the entire state you've been recognized, all divisions, and it really helps feed into the ladies at these small schools that, ‘Hey, you're able to compete nationally, you're recognized by the state,’ and it really boosts some of that confidence of we're more than just a small town.” 

Both Karis and Garza said they would love the opportunity to compete on the national level again in the coming years as they continue to develop as wrestlers.

    Karis Butler holds a trophy she earned at the Women’s National Duals, where she competed in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.
  

    Kyanna Garza from Almira/Coulee-Hartline pins her opponent to the mat last season. Garza also earned All-American status at the Women’s National Duals.