Madill High School’s wrestling team had four state qualifiers with three alternates for this week’s final state tournament to be held at The Big House in Oklahoma City.
TheLadyWildcatsopened the week with a sixth place finishinthe37-teamClass5A WestRegionalatCacheledby junior Madelyn Ritchie, who became the first Madill girls’ grappler in school history to reach the regional finals.
Joining Ritchie as state qualifiers were freshman Anglena Mendiola and Morgan Walls with Kaia Henry and Yatziri Flores finishing in state alternate positions.
On the boys’ side, the Wildcats claimed 15th in the tough Class 4A West Regional field with junior Triston Barnes leading the charge, qualifying for state again with a third place finish as Colton Sandefur ended as an alternate in sixth.
Ritchiehadanotherstrong performance by placing second in the 190-pound bracket while upping her individual season record to 29-8.
She dropped Akeelah Hayes of Douglass with a fall in 4:12, needed just 1:18 to pin Valeria Chavez from Lexington/Purcell and then dispatched Harrah’s Laycee Johnson with another fall at 3:47 in the semifinal match. Ritchie ran into top seeded Brook West of Comanche in the title tilt and took the contest to the third period before dropping a 4:47 fall verdict.
Mendiola was the top seed in the 235-pound regional bracket and received a first-round bye before stopping Comanche’s Mya Padilla with a 2:12 fall in the quarterfinals. She lost a 6-2 decision to eventual regional winner Melania Nenaikita of McLoud in the semifinals but rebounded with a pair of wins in the consolation bracket.
It took just 41 seconds for the Madill stalwart to pin J’Niya Mays-Morrison from Douglass and followed with another fall triumph over Padilla in 4:47 to improve to 31-4 on the season with a third place performance.
At 170 pounds, Morgan Walls claimed fourth after getting off to a great start with back-to-back victories, posting a 2:44 fall win against Hollis Harrall of Hinton and 5-3 decision versus Douglass’ Maryah McDonald. She lost a 14-6 major decision to top seed Ashlee Motes of Morrison but answered to down Mackenzie Manuel from Lexington/Purcellwitha3:53 pin fall for her final match.
Competing at 130 pounds, Henry rebounded from a loss in her first match to topple Gabi Baecker from Marlow in a 43-second fall as well as Douglass’ Tatiana Sanders with a 7-4 sudden death decision as being tied through three periods.
Flores also dropped her initial bout but bounced back with a pair of wins in placing sixth, knocking out Tuttle’s Hannah Rusher in a 20-0 technicalfallandBaileyMurray from Bethel in another 18-1 technical fall.
ThreeotherLadyWildcats scored regional wins but failed to place in the event.
Those included Karmony Pearson at 115 pounds, who recorded a 61-second fall overEvelynSchlottmanfrom Tecumseh and 19-2 technical fall against Hinton’s Aleyda Herbert.
Andie Wallace and Victoria Robles were the other two Madill wrestlers to win a match. Wallace notched a 17-1 technical fall over Kiya Lonelodge from Anadarko at 120 pounds with Robles adding a 1:49 fall triumph againstChristiannPatterson at 125.
Barnes battled through a tough 120-pound field in the boys division, improving his season record to 42-6 He took just 70 seconds for a first-period fall win against Taylynn Farris of Pauls Valley and then scored an 8-3 decision facing Bristow’s Kolson Seachris. A 9-4 semifi nal loss to Landon Jones from Sulphur sent him to the consolation bracket where Barnes responded well.
The Madill standout posted a dominant 14-0 major decision over Kyler Thompson from Weatherford and then a 1-0 verdict facing Plainview’s Marshal Mansfield.
Sandefur got off to a solid start in the 126-pound division, dropping Mason Arnold of Woodward in a 61 second fall ahead of a 17-2 technical fall loss in the quarterfinals. He stayed alive with a 1:34 fall triumph over Sam Krablin from Heritage Hall and a 1:08 fall against J’Airion Johnson of Douglass, finishing with a 3-3 mark. Brylon Gibson notched a pair of wins at 165 pounds, including a 10-7 extra frame triumph over Ethan Eppler from Lexington/Purcell in round one. He also scored a 4:29 fall against Perkins-Tryon’s Rodney Scherner.
Christian Robledo and AroddyCamachoeachposted 1-2 records at 157 and 132 pounds respectively. Robledo’s win came in a 1:05 fall over Eli Shelton of Elk City while Camacho picked an injury forfeit over Kreyson Ramey from Weatherford.