Middle school girls wrestling program is approved

   With an abbreviated schedule for 2025, Monticello has begun a middle school girls wrestling program.

   A proposal to start a team for this season was approved by the Monticello School Board at its Jan. 27 regular meeting.

   Monticello activities director Tim Lambert stated the case for the team during the meeting, after which the item was approved unanimously.

   “The youth wrestling program has fired back up a lot heavier this year than it has in the last few years, and they have a lot of girls,” Lambert told the board. “Brian (Jaeger, superintendent) and I talked, and thought maybe it’s time.”

   Lambert said nine girls have shown interest, and that he met with each one of them.

   “I have nine that say they will be there, and I think they will,” he said. “These girls want to wrestle. They’re excited.

   “It’s just time to give them the opportunity. We want to do it right, but I think it’s time to get moving on this.”

   Three Monticello High School girls are wrestling with the Anamosa team this year, the third year of the cooperative program. Lambert said the long-term goal is “having our own high school team. We’re probably a few years away from having that with the numbers we have now, but long-term, it would sure be nice for those girls to be able to wrestle in a Monticello singlet.”

   “I look for it to only grow,” Jaeger added.

   The new team was scheduled to begin practice Jan. 28, the day after the meeting, and is being coached by Steve McCormick, who was a coach with the middle school boys’ team in November and December.

   Middle school girls wrestling began shortly after the holiday break, but Lambert said he has a tentative schedule of five meets in which a Monticello team can participate yet this season. The hope is to participate in a full season in 2026.

   “We thought we might want to ease into it this year with an abbreviated season, and see where it goes from there,” he said.

In other board business:

   • As part of the consent agenda, the board approved several personnel items, as follows:

   Resignations – Donna Niemaeyer as first grade teacher, and Markie Camp as special education associate at Carpenter.

   Appointments – Steve McCormick as grade 7-8 girls wrestling coach, Sally Siebels as special education route driver, Dylan Shaffer as volunteer middle school and high school track coach, Kain Luensman as junior varsity event wrestling coach at the high school, and the list of spring non-teaching coaches and volunteers. Stadtmueller, who is on that list, abstained from the vote.

     • The board approved an agreement and rider between the Monticello Community School District and OPN Architects pertaining to the design of the new elementary school.

   • The board approved the 2025-26 high school registration handbook.

   • The board approved the Jones County Regional Center/Kirkwood Program of Study. Board president Craig Stadtmueller abstained from the vote.

   • The board approved the first reading of a board policy pertaining to the disposition of complaint form.