Pierce High Girls Wrestling
Girls Dominate at Winside
Although the 2026 girls wrestling team is only wrestling with eight healthy wrestlers, they still managed to end the day with 127.5 team points, grabbing second in the tournament at Winside Saturday, January 10.
Individually, junior Essynce Owens-Webb (105) and senior Isabelle Kuehler (170) each claimed individual championships, while Isabelle Streff (120) finished runner-up in their respective weight classes.
Owens-Webb scored 22 of the team points, pinning Javianna Chaves of Winnebago in the semifinals after receiving a bye in the quarterfinals. Owens-Webb pinned Maddisyn Lampman of NEN in the third period to claim her victory.
Kuehler scored 26 of the team points, pinning all of her opponents, including Maddy Aulner of Randolph, Jaden May of Plainview, Isabel Larson of Lyons Decatur Northeast and finally Madilyn Reese of North Bend.
Streff added 21.5 team points, as she pinned Natalie Mimick of North Bend, then won in a 19-3 tech fall over PaizLee Klug of Niobrara Verdigre, and pinned Sarina Redding of Tekamah Herman. In the first place match, Streff fell to Evelyn Freeman of Cedar Catholic to finish in second place.
Adding18 to the team scoring, Evelyn Skrdla (130) pinned Makenna Koch from Ainsworth in the quarterfinals after receiving a bye in her first round. Skrdla then fell to Makenzie Mosel of Plainview, but rebounded in the consolation semifinals by pinning Jada Hall of Lyons Decatur Northeast. In the third place match Skrdla pinned Peyton Thelen of Randolph.
Also finishing third for the Bluejays was Lainey Jensen at 135, who added 12 team points. Jensen started her day with a bye, then fell to Gracie Wortman of Randolph. Jensen came back to pin Nevaeh Newton from Plainview in the consolation semifinals, and in the third place match pin Shaylee Sanderson of NEN.
Another third place finisher for Pierce was Candace Miller, who wrestled at 190. C. Miller added 13 team points after losing by decision to Jaelyn Shaver of St. Mary’s 6-1. After receiving a bye in consolations, C. Miller won by injury default over Jalynn Redding of Lyons Decatur Northeast, and in the third place match C. Miller won by medical forfeit over Shaver.
Earning 15 team points and placing fourth was Jayan Sackville (125) who started her day pinning Ava Christiansen of Laurel-Concord-Coleridge. In the quarterfinals Sackville pinned Gwynn Kaupp of North Central. Sackville fell to Sophia Wortman from Plainview in the semifinals. During the third place match Sackville fell to Payton Olson from Tekamah-Herman.
Also wrestling for Pierce was Reniya Miller (190), who lost in a 4-1 decision to Redding of Lyons Decatur Northeast. In the first consolation round, Miller pinned Nadine Williams of NEN, but fell to Shaver of St. Mary’s in the consolation semifinals.
The wrestlers will be at Crofton on Thursday for a triangular with Crofton-Bloomfield and Bon Homme, South Dakota.
Girls Wrestling Take Four Medals Home from Columbus
By Arriah Ludden
The girls wrestling team traveled to Columbus on Thursday, January 8, and multiple girls ended up taking home medals and all of them put up a good fight.
At 105, Essynce Owens-Webb placed second. In the champ round 1, Owens-Webb won by fall over Isabelle Krause from O’Neill. Owens-Webb won by tech fall over Yarely Santiago, from Norfolk Catholic, in the quarterfinal, 15-0. In the semifinal, Owens-Webb pinned Aceley Hoff from Battle Creek. During the first place match, Owens-Webb fell to Haylee Trew from Johnson County Central in the third period.
At 115, MaKenna Blecher received a bye in her first round. In the second round, Blecher fell to Mollie Corkle from O’Neill. Blecher’s consolation round two was also a bye. In consolation round 3, she had a medical forfeit to Brianna Schloendorn from Thayer Central.
Isabelle Streff, wrestling at 120, placed fifth. Streff pinned Alicia Workman, from Thayer Central, in the championship round two. In the quarterfinal, Streff lost by decision, 8-2, to Leah Thompson from Yutan. Streff then pinned Sawyer Groetzinger, from Central City, in the consolation round four. In consolation round five, Streff won by fall over Bailey Gress from High Plains Community. She then fell to Hayleigh Meyers, from Ord, in the consolation semifinals. The 5th place match was a no contest match to Danika Janssen from Valentine.
At 125, Jayan Sackville had a bye in her championship round one. In round two, Sackville won by fall over Teela Bleich from Battle Creek. She then fell to Keirsten Heinrichs, from Thayer Central, in the quarterfinal. In consolation round four, Sackville fell to Chloe Kokes from Ord.
Evelyn Skrdla, wrestling at 130, pinned Peyton Melnick, from Ord, in the championship round one. Skrdla then fell to Grace Drueke from O’Neill in round two. In consolation round two Skrdla fell to Peyton Thelen from Randolph.
Lainey Jensen, wrestling at 135, fell to Di Maria Leininger, from Aurora, in championship round one. Jensen received a bye in consolation round one, but in consolation round two, she fell to Maci Peters from Central City.
Isabelle Kuehler, at 170, placed third for the Bluejays. In her first round, Kuehler received a bye. Kuehler pinned Elizabeth DeRoos, from Crofton-Bloomfield, in the quarterfinal. But Kuehler then lost by a 9-1 major decision to Emma Finecy, from Lakeview, in the semifinal. In consolation semifinals, Kuehler won by fall over Madilyn Reese from North Bend Central. Finally Kuehler pinned Libby Evans, from Elgin Public/Pope John, in the third place match.
“I think we did pretty good. I know a lot of us weren’t as strong as we have normally been since there is a little bit of sickness going around. But overall, I think for the toughness of this tournament, we did really well, and we all pushed through it,” Kuehler states.
At 190, Candace Miller placed fifth. C. Miller won her championship round one, pinning Brooklynn Anderson from Battle Creek. In the quarterfinal, C. Miller pinned Mia Hernandez Moreno from Elm Creek in 16 seconds. In the semifinals, C. Miller fell to Lainey Abell from Centennial. In the consolation semifinal, C. Miller lost in a 3-1 decision to Keleigh Gonzalez of Central City. In the fifth place match, C. Miller won by decision over Yareli Pantoja Martines from O’Neill.
Reniya Miller, at 235, received a bye in her first round. She then fell to Raegin Rahn, from Crofton-Bloomfield, in the quarterfinal. In consolation round two R. Miller fell to Khloe Weiss from Randolph.
The girls wrestling team will be back on the mats Thursday, January 15, at Crofton.
