Three Lady Eagle Wrestlers Qualify For State Championships

 

Lady Eagle wrestlers Haley Brooks, Macey Greene, and Ady Yoder turned in top-four all-district finishes at the Class 1, District 3 Girls Wrestling Tournament held at Nevada High School Friday, Feb. 14, and Saturday, Feb. 15.

The Lady Eagles wrestling team composed of Brooks, Greene, Yoder, Hayden Wright, Mila Turpin, Bobbie Diibon, Clara Ferguson, McCanna Gudde, and Taylor Hubbard finished in the top-10 with an eighth-place team finish among the 32 teams entered in the district tournament.

“The tournament itself was what I expected as the competition and all the girls tackled it the best they could have,” said Holden girls wrestling coach Ron Franklin. “We finished the way we did as a team because we had seven of our nine girls score team points. The more girls that advance, the more points you score as a group. The talent that we had in this group produced a respectable district finish, but as a competitive and greedy coach, I wanted more. But, I have learned over the years that you can never ask more of a girl than a girl can give.

For Brooks, Greene, and Yoder the all-district finishes mark the third state championship qualifications for the trio in as many tries as they look to close out their junior year seasons on the mats at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

“Haley, Macey, and Ady knew what to expect and knew how to navigate the tournament in the most efficient way for them,” said coach Franklin. “The results bear that out and is the reason why all three of them are three-time state qualifiers.”

Brooks emerged from this year’s district tournament with her third district title by placing first in the 110-pound bracket.
Brooks romped to the first-place match by recording wins by pin in both her first bracket match, and in her quarterfinal match. With the quarterfinal win, Brooks secured at least a top-four finish by pinning Eldon wrestler Hannah Truster in that quarterfinal match-up.

In the 110-pound semifinals, Brooks moved into the first-place match by recording a win by decision over Reeds Spring wrestler Skylea Sherer.

“My semifinals match, it was a really tough match,” said Brooks. “It was pretty good.”

In her first-place match, Brooks pinned Clinton wrestler Bailey Pack in the second period.

“I hadn’t wrestled her before,” said Brooks in regard to Pack. “I just went out, tried to win every period like I usually do. That’s worked the past three years, so why change it? I went in a little nervous, but having not wrestled her before was just like any other match, just try not to worry about it too much.”

Brooks now looks to prepare for her third state meet after earning an all-state runner-up finish last season as a sophomore and a fifth-place finish during her freshman season.

Brooks described her preparation for her pursuit of a third all-state medal as, “Practice hard, work on defending stuff that usually gets me, just working on stuff that I can work on.”

Greene advanced to the district title match in the 120-pound bracket by recording two early-round wins by pin, and a semifinal match win by decision over Eldon wrestler Mallori Edwards. In the first-place match, Greene fell by pin to McDonald County wrestler Anjelika Alarcon to give Greene the district runner-up spot.

“My main goal today was to just win my semifinals match,” said Greene. “I knew that was going to be a hard one, so going into the finals match, I just wanted to wrestle my best and whatever happened, happened.”

Greene’s McDonald County opponent provided a new test as Greene wrapped up her third all-district finish in as many seasons.

“She dropped from a heavier weight class,” said Greene in regard to Alarcon. “I’d never seen her before, but I knew she was pretty good.”

Yoder provided Holden’s third title match appearance at the district by recording four early-round wins to advance to the 125-pound first-place bout with Yoder ultimately placing second as runner-up in her weight class. A win by decision in the semifinal round over Carl Junction wrestler Jazmyne Blaney secured Yoder’s spot in the first-place match.

“I was very nervous before my semifinals match because I didn’t want to have to wrestle back,” said Yoder. “That was one goal I had set for myself was to not have to wrestle back, so once I secured my medal, I was kind of just ready for whatever to happen. Last year, I wasn’t as concerned because my semifinals match was some girl I had already beaten several times before. This time, I had never seen the girl before, and it was just a little more nerve wracking than it was last year.”

Last year, Yoder recorded a first-place finish as she qualified for her second straight state meet.

Wrestling in the 125-pound title match this year, Yoder fell by pin to Harrisonville wrestler Rylie Ingrassia.

“I was excited to wrestle in the first-place mach, but I wasn’t counting on just going out there and kicking butt,” said Yoder.” I had made it, and that’s what mattered to me most.”

Yoder ended last season on the medal podium at the state meet with her first-ever all-state medal after recording a fifth-place finish, and will be looking to repeat with an all-state finish this year.

Wrestling at 140 pounds at the district tournament, Lady Eagle junior Bobbie Diibon turned in a record of 3-2 in the two-day tournament. Diibon stayed alive in the tournament by recording two consolation round wins on the backside of the bracket before suffering her second loss to end her tournament run. Diibon ends the season with an overall record of 36-18.

Freshman 190-pound wrestler Taylor Hubbard matched Diibon’s tournament showing by posting a record of 3-2 with one win coming in the first round, and two wins coming on the backside of the bracket. Hubbard ends the season with a mark of 33-19.

Second-year sophomore wrestler Mila Turpin finished with a record of 0-2 at the district tournament. Turpin’s second loss was suffered by decision as her tournament came to a close, putting her season record at 29-17.

“Mila, Bobbie and Taylor came up short for one reason or another but are very important to the future success of Lady Eagles wrestling,” said coach Franklin. “The growth they have shown over the short amount of mat time they have had is very evident to me and hopefully recognized by others.”

Lady Eagle freshman Hayden Wright rebounded from a first-round loss in the 105-pound weight class by recording a win by pin in the consolation bracket. Wright’s tournament run was ended by a loss by technical fall as she closed out her first season of wrestling with a record of 14-28.

“Hayden actually wrestled her best in the most important tournament in her first year every on the mat,” said coach Franklin.

Second-year team member Clara Ferguson suffered two early-round losses to end her tournament showing as her season ends with a record of 15-21.

Senior first-year wrestler McCanna Gudde also suffered two early-round losses to end her first season of wrestling with a record of 15-29.

“Clara and McCanna were in brackets that were loaded with talent and were unseeded wrestlers that had some very difficult draws in the tournament,” said coach Franklin. “McCanna in her first year, and Clara in her second year were not able to navigate through those very difficult brackets.”

Greene tipped her cap to the newcomers on the team, and the team’s development over the season to end with a top-10 team finish.

“The team definitely came out,” said Greene. “A lot of new girls came far. I mean, Taylor’s a freshman and she got to the bubble match, and Bobbie has just improved so much since last year and she got to the bubble match. They were so close to making it, and everybody else wrestled really good, too. It was a good season.”

Coach Franklin summarized the team’s performance this season.

“They all improved throughout the year and gave me the best effort they could offer, and I am proud of all of them for that,” said coach Franklin. “The girls with the experience and knowledge were able to work their way into the state tournament. Our district tournament was full of talent at every weigh class there were six to eight girls in every class that were fully capable to represent our district well at the state tournament. The problem that presents is that they only take four as qualifiers, therefore there will always be good girls that fall short. Holden had some very quality girls that fell short, but so did most over the other teams in the district.

“We are what we are— the nine toughest girls from Holden competing in the toughest sport the state allows putting it out in front of everyone for pride, school and self satisfaction,” continued coach Franklin. “If it was easy, every girl in school would line up to compete. The reality is it is difficult and full of blood, sweat and tears, and most girls don’t like any of those things. The Three Amigos will represent Holden in the the best possible way, they have done it for years now, and I have no…

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