GIRLS 2023 CLASS 1 STATE CHAMPS!

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On Tuesday, we left KHS and traveled to Columbia, MO, to compete in the MSHSAA State Championship. Going in, the deck was stacked against us. With only FOUR qualifiers, we knew our work was cut out for us, and our bracket draws were incredibly tough. That did not phase our Girls. Everyone wrestled their absolute best tournament of the season when it mattered most.

Freshman Riley Walker finished her incredible freshman campaign with a 4th-place finish at 105 lbs. She jump-started the team race with an opening round pin. She ran into a game opponent in the 1/4 final round and dropped a tough match. After a slight hiccup, Riley stepped up big and wrestled through the backside to the 3rd place match. She was up 8-0 and got caught and pinned in her 3rd place bout. Nonetheless, a 4th place finish as a freshman is a fantastic season; we can't wait to see what the next three seasons bring.

At 110 lbs, Bailey Martin did what Bailey Martin does. She came out firing, pinning her first two opponents with her patented cradle. In the semifinal round, she matched up with Brookfield's 51-1 Nationally ranked Jayden Keller. Bailey didn't back down but was ultimately pinned and put into the consolation bracket. In true Bailey fashion, she pinned and tech-falled her remaining opponents, and her 3rd-place win secured our team title. Bailey is now a 2x State medalist as a sophomore and will be a problem for anyone who steps in front of her for two more seasons.

Savannah McDowell went on a Cinderella run! The junior started her season with a losing record. At the beginning of January, she was still a sub .500 record but steadily stacking wins. In the second part of January, Savannah caught fire and never looked back. She went into the tournament ranked 23rd. She left as the 4th place wrestler in Missouri at 120 lbs and did it the hard way. She chipped away and gutted out close decision wins to the semifinals, where she lost to the eventual champion. Her consolation semifinal win was over an opponent who had beaten her three times this season, putting us in the driver's seat to close the team race. Savannah is blue-collar, hard-working, loyal teammate and leader. We are lucky to get her back as a senior next season.

Hailey Romero, our loan senior qualifier, was on a mission for redemption. After an outstanding junior season where she won prestigious tournaments such as The Wonder Woman and the KC Stampede, she stumbled at the 2022 state tournament and did not place. Determined to right that wrong, Hailey wrestled all over the country during the off-season and put in the hours to right that wrong. She pinned the #1 ranked wrestler in her 1/4 final match and gutted out a gritty semifinal win to punch through to the Championship match. Ultimately Hailey would finish as the State Runner-Up at 170 lbs. Hailey has been an integral part of the building phase of our Girls program. She has been steady, reliable, and dependable and is a tangible example of hard work and perseverance paying off to her peers.

What these four girls did was amazing. I've been to many state tournaments, and this is the first time I've seen a team of four hoist the State Championship trophy. We defeated higher-ranked teams that had 3-4 more participants. We got every bit of effort and fight from all 4 of the girls, and the coaches couldn't be prouder of how they represented our program, KHS, and the Kearney community. Girls wrestling has only been around for five seasons, but we have solidified our spot on the map in Missouri.

-Coach Ward