Libby Dix was the 2024 girls’ state wrestling champion in the 190 lb. weight class, and she is preparing to reclaim her title in the upcoming 2025 season. Becoming a state champion takes work, grit, and determination, and Dix has surplus amounts of these while going into her senior season. 

The road to the state championships starts in the MVHS wrestling room in practice daily. Practices for Dix, and the rest of the MVHS girls wrestling team, consist of wrestling teammates, coaches, and conditioning. Dix says that she mainly wrestles with her coaches to prepare for the season, through this she can find what moves are working for her, and which are not going to be successful as she starts competing. Last season, the “sweep single” was her go-to takedown move. 

While conditioning in practice, Dix gives her all and does not quit or skip anything done in practice. “You have to stay determined and keep working to be the best you can be,” Dix said. She constantly works 100% to reach her full potential. While in practice, Dix puts all other thoughts out of her head. While in the wrestling room, she concentrates her thoughts solely on wrestling. This all-in mindset boosts Dix’s performance in practice, which ultimately relates to her match success.  “It all starts in practice, the more effort you put into practice, the more success you’ll have on the mat,” said Dix. 

Dix is not only motivating herself but is also a motivator and a positive asset to the entire team. “She is the hardest worker in the room, and she is the group leader. When we run in practice people don’t start running until she does,” said junior wrestler Kaylee Kintzel. Dix doesn’t shy away from helping to lead her team, while improving on her wrestling skills her grit inspires her teammates to do the same. She can lead her team while simultaneously improving her wrestling skills. “She is a great leader and pushes everybody to be their best,” said junior wrestler, Gracie Pinckney. 

Through all of this hard work in practice, she is ready to begin her competitive season. Before her matches, Dix gets extremely nervous, but she knows that keeping her nerves under control during her matches is her ticket to success. “The way I can win my matches is by being calm,” Dix said. To get ready, Dix listens to music, her favorite artists are Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, Bruno Mars, and Lil Yachty to combat her pre-match nerves. Dix says staying calm in matches is also important to keep her confidence high if things don’t go her way. “I have to keep my focus and confidence up in the whole match, that’s how I can get back on track,” Dix said. 

Pre-season preparations begin very early for Dix, as she attends pre-season nationals right here in Iowa. This past October Dix competed against girls from all over the country, including state champions from many states, such as Kansas and California. In this competition between girls all across the country, Dix placed second, an extremely notable accomplishment to be on Dix’s record. Junior wrestler Gracie Pinckney joined Dix at preseason nationals and said it was “a good experience, with a lot of tough competition, and we got a lot out of it.”

After this event, Dix has some new match experience that can help her to better know which moves are successful, which helped her to know which moves she should take priority of practicing once regular season practices started in November. This extra experience helped to steer Dix’s direction going into the season. 

Through Dix’s dedication and effort in practices, she feels ready to take on the season. Over the whole season, she will continue her commitment in practices, and continue to lead her team just as she has done in the pre-season. Dix says her overall goal for the season is to “keep getting better and hopefully become a state champion again.”  Libby Dix is ready to become a 2025 girls’ state wrestling champion.