At the biggest tournament of her Park Hill South career, Abigail Monaco quickly proved she belonged.
Abigail Monaco walks alongside Park Hill South head girls wrestling coach Brad Jones after a win on Day 1 of the Class 2 state championships on Feb. 27.
The Park Hill South junior, a district champion and first-time state qualifier, finished fourth in the 120-pound division in Class 2 at the MSHSAA State Wrestling Championships held Feb. 27-28 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
Monaco scored 16 team points as the Panther girls’ only state qualifier. She reached the semifinals in an impressive debut on Missouri’s biggest stage.
She opened the tournament with back-to-back falls, pinning Raymore-Peculiar’s Danielle Totten in 2 minutes, 46 seconds before needing just 1:21 to secure another fall over Fox’s Stacy Ash in the quarterfinals. The fast starts propelled Monaco into the state semifinals on Day 2 and guaranteed her a podium finish.
Abigail Monaco closes in on a first-period pin in her quarterfinal match at Mizzou Arena.
In the semifinal round, Monaco ran into Belton’s Sydney Stifter, the eventual state champion who ended her senior season with just one loss. Stifter went up 13-0 and eventually earned a fall late after 4:44, sending Monaco to the consolation side of the bracket.
Monaco responded with a composed performance in the consolation semifinals, using a big second period to earn a 5-0 decision over Ryah Wurman of Marquette to advance to the third-place match.
Her tournament concluded with a fourth-place finish after Francis Howell’s Kenadee McDowell secured a fall in the first period of the third-place bout. Still, Monaco’s run marked a significant milestone as she earned her first state medal in her first state appearance, setting herself up for a promising senior season.
On the boys’ side, senior Wyatt Toigo represented Park Hill South in the 138-pound division of the Class 4 tournament.
Toigo drew a tough opening-round opponent in Farmington’s Aiden Hahn, the eventual state champion. Hahn secured a first-period fall in 38 seconds. In the consolation round, Toigo battled Lee’s Summit West’s Jaxton Fetters before falling by major decision, bringing his season to a close.
Though the Panthers’ boys squad did not produce a medalist, Monaco’s breakthrough performance provided a defining highlight for a rebuilding Park Hill South wrestling program.