It was a historic weekend for the West Platte girls wrestling team as they qualified two wrestlers for the state championships for the first time in program history.
The Blue Jays qualified sophomore 190-pounder Aylah Gray and senior 125-pounder Addison Bailey out of the Class 1 District 4 tournament held at Kearney High School Feb. 13-14.
Gray became the first-ever district finalist in program history, punching the Blue Jays’ first ticket to the state tournament. It took her just 36 seconds to get a quarterfinal pin before qualifying or state with another first-period pin in the semifinal. Ultimately, she was unable to secure the district title as she fell to Kearney’s defending state champion, Carli Vargas, in the district championship match.
Bailey was also a part of the historic weekend, placing fourth in her bracket after opening the tournament with a bye before securing a first-period pin and another pin in the third period. After getting knocked into the consolation side, Bailey responded well to punch her ticket to state with a third-period pin and eventually settled for fourth.
While not historic, North Platte/Mid-Buchanan also had a strong showing in Kearney, finishing as a district runner-up. They finished second with 196 points, trailing only the district champion Kearney’s 236.5 point tally.
North Platte sophomore Savannah Crook qualified as the No. 5 seed in the 170-pound division, making it to the semifinals after a pin and edging out a 4-3 decision. After falling in the semifinal to the eventual district champion, Claire Barton of Maysville, Crook rebounded well to edge out a 1-0 decision in the consolation semifinal to punch her ticket to state before getting a second-period pin in the third-place match.
Freshman Vivian Stockbauer had a promising run by winning her first two matches via third-period pin, but fell in the semifinal and consolation semifinal. Senior McKenna Cunningham also came one win from advancing to state after winning her first consolation match with a pin in 45 seconds, but her career concluded after falling in the consolation semifinals.
The team looked upon the Mid-Buchanan wrestlers to supply the rest of the scoring, highlighted by junior Sophia Smith winning the 135-pound district title. The Dragons also qualified the following wrestlers for state: Olivia Cunningham (105; 2nd place), Molly Meehan (115 pounds; 4th place), Zuzu Kountz (120 pounds; 2nd place), Dru Pearson (145 pounds; 4th place) and Tayja Hernandez (140 pounds; 4th place).
North Platte/Mid-Buchanan hopes to secure a team medal for the second straight year after finishing third at state last year, while West Platte hopes to have Gray or Bailey earn the program’s first-ever state individual medal. The Class 1 MSHSAA Girls Wrestling Championships are slated for Mizzou Arena Feb. 25-26.