Lady Jay Wrestling Fights at Districts
By Brielle Unseld
Pierce Lady Jays traveled to Fremont on February 3 and 4 to compete for a ticket to state, and Pierce qualified four girls to head to Omaha to compete in the state tournament.
Starting out at 115 pounds, Hadleigh Collison punched her ticket to state with a fourth place finish. Collison first won by fall over Hannah Burris of Wayne in :27. She then won by fall over May Win of Omaha Benson for a time of 1:21. In the quarterfinal, Collison once again won by fall over Paityn Wyatt of Aurora at 3:40. However, Collison fell to Kylee Plowman of Conestoga in a time of 1:02 in the semifinals. She came back to win by fall over Arazel Terrazas of South Sioux City at a time of 1:45. In the 3rd place match, Collison fell to Morgan Maschmann of Beatrice in 4:40.
At 120 pounds, Isabelle Skrdla, another state qualifier, placed 4th. In her first round, I. Skrdla won by fall over Daisy Hill of Plattsmouth at a time of 1:08. She proceeded to win both of her next matches, winning by fall over Rebeca Perez of South Sioux City in 2:47 and winning by 8-2 decision over Dakota Gress of High Plains Community. In the semifinals, I. Skrdla fell to Corah Linnaus of Stanton in 1:44. She came back to win by fall over Alison Wheeler of Blair in 2:53. In her final match of the tournament, I. Skrdla fell to Nella Dolan of Omaha Skutt Catholic in :47.
“Our team worked really hard, and I'm proud of everyone's effort,” says senior I. Skrdla. “There was not one match we didn't have all the girls cheering at. The next couple of weeks we are really going to have to be zoned in, focus on the basics,and working hard so we go in fully prepared. I think the biggest mindset for me for state is to focus and take on one match at a time.”
Maggie Painter, wrestling at 125 pounds, finished with fourth place and a ticket to state. Painter started off strong, winning by fall over Meagan Petersen of Papillion-La Vista South in 1:39. She continued to push, winning her next two matches. She won by fall over Jasmia Rodriguez of Waverly in 2:22, and then Painter won by fall over Kelise Krivohlavek of Arlington in 5:29. However, in the semifinal, she lost by a 14-4 major decision to Kalynn Lyons of Omaha Westview. Painter bounced back to win by 12-6 decision over Ava Rediger of Seward. In her final match of the day, Painter fell to Briannah Kutschkau of Grand Island in 2:21.
At 140 pounds, Isabelle Kuehler placed 3rd and qualified for the state tournament. She received a bye in her first round and won her second round by fall over Annalyse Walton of Papillion-La Vista South in 1:53. In the quarterfinal, Kuehler won by fall over Breanna Smart of Louisville in 1:24. She then fell to Yvette Vargas of Millard South in the semifinals in 1:42. Kuehler came back to win by fall over Jaysie Garcia-Abalos of Blair in :59. In her final match of the day, Kuehler won in the ultimate tie breaker of 4-2 over Maria Lindo-Morente of Grand Island, securing the final and fourth state qualifier for the Lady Jays.
Other Lady Jays wrestling at districts were Mia Sackwille at 100 pounds who could not quite get that ticket to state. She first fell to Sophia Turpitt of Fremont in :38 and received a bye in her second round. In her third and final round, M. Sackville lost by 8-0 major decision to Aubrie Beed of Aurora.
Wrestling at 105 pounds, Icis Sackville fell short of qualifying for state. She first won by fall over Bre`Ann Mitchell of Omaha Westview in 1:47. In the quarterfinal, I. Sackville won by fall over Sofia Blanco of Fremont in 1:47. Unfortunately, I. Sackville fell to Addisyn Gates of Grand Island in 1:57. In her fourth match, I. Sackville fell to Elaina Fletcher of Bellevue in 4:05, eliminating her from the competition.
At 110 pounds, Jayan Sackville was another Lady Jay who did not make it to state. J. Sackville first fell to Kyra Gonzalez of Fremont in 4:32 and received a bye in her second round. In her final round, she fell to Sophie Johnson of Waverly in 1:34.
Angeline Skrdla, wrestling at 130 pounds, fell short of a trip to Omaha. In her first round, A. Skrdla first received a bye. She then won by fall over Mya Stanley of Louisville in a time of 5:22. However, she lost by 4-3 decision to Millie Jensen of Millard South. A. Skrdla bounced back with her next two matches. She won by fall over Nyla Bolles of Wayne and won by decision over Alma Valencia of South Sioux City 1-0. In her final match of the tournament, A. Skrdla lost by 7-2 decision to Libby Sutton of Weeping Water.
Likewise, Haylee Miller at 135 pounds fought hard for state but unfortunately fell short. She received a bye in her first round. Next, Miller won by fall over Addison Lueder of Louisville in 3:26. In the quarterfinal, she lost by an 8-7 decision to Angelina Leininger of Aurora. Miller came back to win by fall over Ariana Rodriguez of Waverly in 2:18. In her last match, Miller fell to Naomi Sohriakoff of Millard South in 2:39.
Claudia Riggert, wrestling at 155 pounds, battled hard but fell short. In her first round, she received a bye. Next, Riggert lost by fall to Gabrielle Landon of Conestoga in 3:40 and received another bye in her third round. In her final match of the tournament, she fell to Kadence Rees of Wayne in 2:21.
Shaylee Gardner wrestled at 170 pounds but did not obtain a state ticket. She first fell to Alexa Karch of Omaha Benson in :07, and then she fell to Nadjmina Akhmadzade of Blair in :32.
Mariah Eckert (190) battled through the whole tournament, but was not able to secure that state spot. First, Eckert lost by a 14-0 major decision to Kristyanna Dibbles of Beatrice. She proceeded to come back to win by fall over Clara Vargas of Grand Island Central Catholic in 4:28. Eckert then lost by fall to Hailey O`Brien of Fremont in 1:33 in her last match.
Lauren Ueding was another wrestler who could not quite make it to the state tournament. Wrestling at 235 pounds, Ueding first lost by fall to Melissa De La Torre of South Sioux City in :17. Unfortunately, Ueding lost by fall to Karlee Seitz of Central City in 0:22.
Head coach Les Painter comments, “I’m really proud of our girls going out and competing in one of the toughest districts out there. They’re definitely a family. They absolutely love each other and have been amazing to each other.”
The 2023 girls state wrestling tournament will be February 16, 17 and 18 in Omaha to compete for a state title.
