By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
It was another memorable day for the Washburn Rural girls' wrestling team, with the Junior Blues breaking the Kansas state record for most state qualifiers on Saturday with 11.
Out of the 17 5A and 6A schools that competed at regionals, two-time state team champ Washburn Rural won the 17-school Class 6A-5 regional tournament by a 70-point margin with a score of 220.5 while Emporia was second with 150.5 points.
“I would have to really nitpick to find something I’m unhappy about,” Rural coach Damon Parker said. “Our wrestlers are wrestling better than I’ve ever seen it. We’ve been doing this for three years now and from top to bottom, we showed out today. I was very proud of the girls.”
Washburn Rural had top-four regional finishes in 11 out of the 12 weight classes, led by three regional champions.
Senior 115-pounder Kendall Reid (24-12 record), junior 120-pounder Addison Broxterman (39-2) and junior 132-pounder Alexis Fredrickson (38-4) were the gold medalists for Washburn Rural.
“The heart of our girls impressed me the most today,” Parker said. “ We overcame a lot of adversity today. I don’t know how many times today when we were in a deficit in the third period and came back and won or when we knocked off a higher-seeded wrestler. I think we had seven matches today where we knocked off higher-seeded wrestlers. That is uncommon.
"It’s pretty hard to improve upon that.”
Topeka West also had a regional championship, with sophomore 235-pounder Tristyn Johnson pinning Emporia's Megan Olson of Emporia in 18 seconds in the final.
Topeka High finished the day in seventh place in the standings with 50 points while qualifying three wrestlers for the state meet.
Topeka High sophomore 191-pounder Bran’Tajia Loggins (20-5) recorded a second-place finish, while junior 138-pounder Marilena Zuniga (25-7) finished third and freshman 101-pounder Ingrid Cabrera (14-7) finished fourth.
Topeka West had one wrestler finish in the top-four on Saturday.
CLASS 6A-5A REGIONAL GIRLS WRESTLING Team scores
Washburn Rural 220.5, Emporia 150.5, Derby 93, Salina Central 79, Kapaun Mount Carmel 75, Valley Center 62, Topeka High 50, Wichita Southeast 41, Manhattan 39, Newton 33, Wichita Heights 32, Salina-South 31, Junction City 30, Topeka West 27, Arkansas City 22, Andover 21.
Individual results
101 – Championship: Ehsa, Derby, pinned Rezac, Washburn Rural, 2:59. Third: James, Salina-Central, pinned Cabrera, Topeka High, 2:33.
109 – Championship: Geronimo, Emporia, dec. Morris, Washburn Rural, 5-1. Third: Stone, Salina-South, pinned Hunt, Wichita Southeast, 3:32.
115 – Championship: Reid, Washburn Rural, pinned Obregon, Emporia, 2:15. Third: Corrado, Valley Center, pinned Wilson, Wichita-Southeast, 3:40.
120 – Championship: Broxterman, Washburn Rural, dec. Buyno, Wichita Heights, 6-1. Third: Keosybounheuang, Emporia, pinned Goodwin, Junction City, 0:39.
126 – Championship: Griffin, Emporia, pinned Gallegos, Washburn Rural, 2:13. Third: Dong, Salina-Central, pinned Garcia, Salina-South, 0:59.
132 – Championship: Fredrickson, Washburn Rural, pinned Arguelles, Wichita-Kapaun Mount Carmel, 0:26. Third: Randle, Andover, pinned Snowbarger, Derby, 2:00.
138 – Championship: Munoz, Emporia, pinned Johnson, Wichita-Kapaun Mount Carmel, 1:20. Third: Zuniga, Topeka High, dec. Davison, Washburn Rural, 3-0.
143 – Championship: Murry, Newton, pinned Clark, Washburn Rural, 3:50. Third: Pendergrass, Arkansas City, pinned Coykendall, Salina-Central, 1:59.
155 – Championship: Rosario, Manhattan, pinned Timmons, Valley Center, 4:47. Third: Johnson, Washburn Rural, pinned Flores-Delgado, Emporia, 1:18.
170 – Championship: Williams, Derby, dec. Redcorn, Wichita-Kapaun Mount Carmel, 8-5. Third: Rhoten, Washburn Rural, pinned Blackwood, Valley Center, 1:19.
191 – Championship: Howell, Derby, pinned Loggins, Topeka High, 2:55. Third: Burr, Wichita-Kapaun Mount Carmel, over Coykendall, Salina-Central, 3-1.
235 – Championship: Johnson, Topeka West, pinned Olson, Emporia, 0:18. Third: Morales, Salina-Central, pinned Ross, Washburn Rural, 2:34.
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