The Lady Lion and Lady Redskin wrestling teams left it all on the mat last weekend, with both competing at the SuperGirl 64 tournament at Union.
McLoud had three girls place in gold brackets and was sixth overall as a team. Chandler had two place in gold brackets and came in at 31 as a team. Both teams had more girls who won their pools and wrestled in gold brackets, though they missed out on the top 6.
McLoud, the defending 5A State champs, brought about 13 girls to the tournament, and eight made it into gold brackets, which is the highest level and the only one that counts towards team points. Sophomore Remy Whitney placed third in 100-lbs., sophomore Carli Sisco placed second in 105-lbs and junior Alexus Jones placed fourth in 135-lbs.
Sophomore Yazmin Nevarez (110-lbs), sophomore Melania Nenaikita (235lbs), and senior Addison Adams (140lbs) all made it to the quarterfinals of their weights and the consolation rounds. Freshman Addison Flowers (100lbs) and sophomore Faith Robert Bruesch (140lbs) made it to the round of 16 and consolation rounds for their weights.
“It’s a tough one (tournament), because that one’s got a lot of 6A teams, and then there’s some good ones from Arkansas that come down, and where else? A couple from Kansas usually every year,” said McLoud girls wrestling coach Chad Whitney.
He added that it was amazing the team placed sixth overall, considering they were up against some big schools. However, Whitney is eager to unleash the team at full strength. A few wrestlers are still out for injuries, while another -- senior Launa Troutt -- dropped out of SuperGirl 64 due to an illness flare-up.
“I’m excited to see if we can get back to full strength, what that looks like. Because I think that we could be one of the top 25-ranked teams in the country,” he said.
His prediction may not be that far off. At a national tournament in Colorado on Dec. 19 and 20, the team ranked eighth out of 54 teams from all over the country. Remy placed second, Jones and Nenaikita placed fourth, while Nevarez and Troutt placed fifth and Adams placed seventh, all in their respective weight classes.
Chandler’s team may be smaller, but they certainly pushed themselves at SuperGirl this year. Girls Wrestling Coach Kallie Jo Petrie said she took five girls and only one -- sophomore Lizzie Pryor -- was seeded prior to the tournament. Three girls won their pools, making it into the gold bracket.
“They were wrestling one of the toughest tournaments that they’ll wrestle all year,” Petrie said. “State champions… from all over, from different states, and two-time state champions or regional champions. Competition that they’re not going to see anywhere else. It was wonderful.”
Pryor ended up placing sixth in 115-lbs while sophomore Brylee Waldman got sixth in 155-lbs. Freshman Lexi Ledford won her pool in 100-lbs and made it to the gold bracket, where she was knocked out in the quarterfinal and made it through one consolation round.
Petrie said her freshmen and newer wrestlers were wrestling longer and harder and that some are still surprising themselves, especially when they win. She saw some, namely Ledford and freshman Bryleigh Hightower, pushed themselves farther than before.
“They just kept going and kept going and kept going,” she said. “They didn’t stop until they got what they were trying to get.”
Petrie said the team is excited and looking forward to the postseason.
The Chandler girls’ next home dual is on Jan. 22 against Bethel. McLoud will face off against Tecumseh on home turf Jan. 8.