Girls wrestling competed in the Class 2 District 1 Tournament on Feb. 14 – 15, where they finished in fifth place out of 21 teams.
Four girls won medals: senior Madeline Haynes, junior Kamauri Fowler, freshman Addison St. George and sophomore Kinzley Philipp finished first, second, third and fourth respectively.
Coach Kenneth Holmes praised the team for being able to remain composed while wrestling under the bright lights of the district tournament.
“The district tournament brings some nerves a little bit. But they came out and they wrestled, just like they have all season. We kinda talk about how ‘don’t let one match be bigger than [any other match]’. They just came out and they wrestled hard, win or loss,” Holmes said.
Although only two won medals, the underclassmen shined at this year’s district tournament. Nine out 12 of those sent to the tournament were freshmen — most of which had zero wrestling experience coming into the season. Holmes said that the large number of first-time wrestlers was challenging at first for the team, but ultimately was a sign of good things to come for the program.
“We kinda got off to a slow start, but as we progressed throughout the season, and the more experience they got, they just continued to improve. If they continue to put the work in into the offseason, I’m really really excited and encouraged to see where we go the next couple of years,” Holmes said.
Freshman Addison St. George, one of the four medalists, said that she thought she performed well.
“It was a good tournament for me, I think I just wrestled well,” St. George said.
Holmes said that the district tournament was a good performance that should give the underclassmen insight into how to improve their wrestling moving forward.
“I think [the district tournament] showed where we’re at and where we can be. Overall for our team, just them gaining that experience of wrestling at a district tournament [was important]. So coming back next year, they know the expectation, they know what it’s gonna take. If they want to qualify for state, they know what type of work they have to put in in the offseason and the months heading into next year,” Holmes said.
St. George also complimented her fellow freshmen for their effort throughout the season as well as their future potential.
“We had a lot of good rookies this year, so we have a good future,” St. George said.
Haynes, Fowler, Philipp, and St. George will all head to Columbia to compete in the Class 2 State Championship on Feb. 28 – Mar. 1 where they will look to continue their success.
