Pierce High Girls Wrestling
Girls Finish 2nd in Conference
At the Mid-State conference girls wrestling tournament, the Pierce girls finished with runner-up honors, and all seven girls who wrestled were medalists.
Ending as conference champions were Jayan Sackville (125) and Isabelle Kuehler (190). Second place medalists included Essynce Owens-Webb (105), Isabelle Streff (120), and Reniya Miller (235).
At 105, Owens-Webb received a bye in her first round, then pinned Bristol Engelhaupt of O’Neill and Aceley Hoff of Battle Creek to earn first.
Streff, who wrestled at 120, pinned Leilah Brachter from Wayne in the quarterfinals, then pinned Micheli Fisher from Norfolk Catholic in the semifinals. During the first place match Streff fell to Evelyn Freeman from Cedar Catholic, and she received second.
Wrestling at 125, Sackville claimed first after she pinned Ayvree Abler from Wayne and Bailey Salers from O’Neill in the semifinals and finals.
Evelyn Skrdla, at 130, earned fourth place after pinning Kyah Campbell from Wayne in the quarterfinals. Skrdla fell to Grace Drueke from O’Neill in the semifinals, but pinned Kya White from Norfolk Catholic in the consolation semifinals. During the third place match Skrdla fell to Payton Becker of Boone Central.
Also earning a medal was Lainey Jensen, who wrestled at 135. She pinned Charlee McGargill of Crofton-Bloomfield in the quarterfinals, but fell to Morgan Kuchta of Cedar Catholic in the semifinals. Jensen received a bye in the consolation semifinals, and pinned Payton Peter of O’Neill in the third place match.
Kuehler, claiming her fourth conference championship. Previous conference championships for Kuehler included last year at 155, at 145 her sophomore year, and at 140 her freshman year. This year Kuehler had a bye in both the quarterfinals and the semifinals, then pinned Elizabeth DeRoos in the first place match.
At 235, R. Miller finished second after receiving a bye her first round and pinning Charlotte Welsh in the semifinals. In the first place match R. Miller fell to Raegin Rahn from Crofton-Bloomfield.
The Pierce girls will be at the Norfolk High meet on Saturday, January 31, before heading into districts the following week.
Pierce Girls Compete at State Duals
By: Brenden Bolling
The Pierce girls wrestling team went back to the YMCA for the second day in a row, for girls state duals. The girls finished the day with a 2-2 record and placed 10th.
In the girls' first dual, they faced off against Palmyra, falling in a tiebreaker 42-42.
For the first two matches of the dual, Isabelle Kuehler and Candace Miller both won by forfeit, giving the girls 12 points.
The Bluejays had to forfeit at the next two weights, giving Evelyn Bryan-Aldrich six and Brylee Manley six points.
“The girls wrestled well, battling injuries has limited us on the dual side, but we will take the time to recover and be more prepared for the next meet,” assistant coach Grant King said.
Next to wrestle for the Bluejays was Essynce Owens-Webb (105), winning by forfeit, giving Pierce six points.
At 110, MaKenna Blecher pinned Narissa Wallace in a time of 1:23, extending the Bluejays lead.
The Pierce girls then had to forfeit, giving Rhiannon Tramp six points for Palmyra.
Isabelle Streff, at 120, then won by forfeit, giving the Bluejays another six more points.
At 125, Jayan Sackville then won by fall over Logann Buggi in a time of 5:10.
Following, Evelyn Skrdla (130) lost by fall to Ella Hammon, giving Palmyra six points.
Next at 135, Lainey Jensen pinned Chloe Weatherl in 1:40, giving the Bluejays six.
The Pierce girls then had to forfeit the next three matches against Kylah Krause, Shayla Buzby, and Sophia Larson-Neeman, costing them 18 points.
These three forfeits ended up costing the Bluejays the dual in a tie breaker, sending the team to the consolations where they would face Lyons-Decatur Northeast.
Pierce took down Lyons-Decatur Northeast with a score of 41-24.
To start this dual, Pierce sent out C. Miller at 190, who pinned Jalynn Redding in 2:12, scoring the first six points for the Bluejays.
Next was Reniya Miller, (235), who lost by fall to JaeLeigh Miller.
At 110, Owens-Webb pinned Mia Larson in 17 seconds, giving a quick six points to the Bluejays.
Pierce then had to forfeit at 115, giving Dakotta Erickson six points.
Sackville and Streff then gave the girls 12 points due to forfeits from the opponent.
Next up at 130, Skrdla defeated Jada Hall in a tech fall in 2:35 with a score of 18-0.
Following, Jensen (135) then won by forfeit, increasing the Bluejay lead by even more.
Pierce then had to forfeit twice against Alizabeth Whitley and Sidney Archer at 140 and 155, respectively.
Finishing the girls off with a win was Isabelle Kuehler, who pinned Katharine Tolle in 41 seconds, moving the Bluejays on to the next round against Southwest.
The Bluejays then went on to beat Southwest with a score of 41-30.
The girls had to start off forfeiting at 235 giving Madelyn Tryon six points.
Next, Owens-Webb lost by fall to Capri Sayer at 105.
Blecher, at 110, then pinned Addison McGuire in 1:48, scoring six for the Bluejays.
Pierce had to forfeit at 115, giving Katie Fegley six for Southwest.
At 120, Streff won by fall over Alyssa Koch.
Following Sackville, at 125, pinned Tori Hutchinson in 14 seconds.
Continuing the winning streak, Skrdla (130) tech falled Ashlynn Wolf by a score of 16-0, scoring five points for Pierce.
Jensen followed the trend and pinned Kenley Springer in 40 seconds at 135.
The Bluejays then forfeited the next two matches at 140 and 155, giving Jaidon Kimball and Adeasha Escobar six points.
Finishing the Bluejays with a couple of wins were Kuehler and Candace Miller, pinning both of their opponents at 170 and 190. Kuehler pinned Elisabeth Palos in eight seconds, and Miller pinned Madalynn Benson in 4:42.
This dual win sent the Blue Jays to compete for ninth place, where they would lose a close one to West Point-Beemer 42-36, ending the Jays with a 10th place finish.
First to wrestle for the girls was Owens-Webb at 105, pinning Willa Hughes.
Pierce then had to forfeit the following two matches at 110 and 115, giving Teagen Berg and Abbey Wolken both six points for the Cadets.
Sackville, again at 120, then won by forfeit for six points.
Following this win, Streff pinned Julianna Perez.
At 130, Skrdla won by forfeit, giving six more points to the Jays.
Jensen (135) pinned Shantel Beltran in 21 seconds, giving the Bluejays six.
Due to Pierce’s injury, the girls had to forfeit the next three matches against Ava Mahnke, Abril Rodriguez, and Katrina Moyer, costing the Jays 18 points at 140, 145, and 155.
Kuehler followed this with a pin over Brenda Carreno in 10 seconds at 170.
Pierce’s Miller then fell in a close battle against Analia Aguirre Flores at 190.
To finish the dual, Pierce had to forfeit, giving Lizbeth Gonzalez six at 235.
The girls wrestling team will be back in action on January 31 in Norfolk.
Pierce Girls Wrestling Wins at YMCA
By Brenden Bolling
The Pierce girls wrestling team competed in the first ever dual at the YMCA on January 22. The Bluejays had a dominant victory with a final score of 54-18 over the Norfolk Catholic Knights.
Giving the Bluejays their first six in the dual was Essynce Owens-Webb having a forfeit.
Due to injuries, the Bluejays had to forfeit their next two matches, giving Angeles Mendez of Norfolk Catholic six points as well as Janiza Schultz.
Next at 120, Isabelle Streff gets the pin in 1:59 over Micheli Fisher, closing the scoring gap between Pierce and Norfolk Catholic.
Following the pin, Jayan Sackville scores six points as well, winning by forfeit over the Knights.
Evelyn Skrdla at 130 pounds pins Kya White in 1:28, continuing the Bluejay’s streak of six points.
Giving the Bluejays six again is Cailynn Gardner having a forfeit, bringing the Bluejays up to 30 points.
Lainey Jensen, at 140, pins Lily Curry in 36 seconds, giving the Bluejays another six points.
Following, Norfolk Catholic’s Shelby Johnson wins by forfeit, scoring the Knights six at 155.
Pierce then scored 18 points straight from Isabelle Kuehler, Candace Miller, and Reniya Miller, all having forfeits.
There were two double forfeits at 145 and 100, bringing the final score to 54-18, giving the Bluejays another dual win.
Pierce will wrestle at Norfolk High School on Saturday, January 31.
