Great Bend Post Sports
The Lady Panther wrestling team may be able to avoid the likes of top-ranked Dodge City at state this year but there was no avoiding the Demons Saturday in Dodge City. The hosts scored 232.5 points to dominate the field. Liberal finished second with 148 points. Great Bend scored 92 points for eighth.
Second-ranked Camdyn Post finished third in a tough 105-pound bracket. She went 2-0 in pool matches with a pair of quick pins and pinned Colby's Aspen Sharpe in the consolation finals. The No. 1 wrestlers from Class 5A and 6A battled it out in the title match with Dodge City's Elizabeth Ramirez pinning Newton's Brookelyn Treaster.
Kayle Baldwin made it to the championship rounds at 115 pounds where she finished third. Baldwin posted a 3-0 record in pool matches with a pair of pins. She lost matches to two championship-round wrestlers, including second-ranked Avery Hinojos of Newton, who won the bracket.
Sophia Bauer went 3-1 in pool matches with three wins by fall. Her one loss came against the eventual winner from Manhattan. In the consolation finals, Bauer was pinned by her Colby opponent to finish fourth.
Third-ranked Kirra Stevens placed fifth in a loaded 170-pound bracket. She pinned her first two opponents before getting pinned by sixth-ranked Alaina Fabrizius of Colby. Oakley's Atavia Cain, ranked No. 2 all-class, moved to 22-0 with a title.
Keira Leyva placed fifth at 110 pounds. She pinned her first two opponents before getting pinned by fifth-ranked Cadence Koch of Oakley.
Brooklynn Kelly saw one of the state's best en route to a fifth-place finish at 130 pounds. Kelly pinned her first opponent before going the distance in a 12-0 loss to Pratt's Wendy Candia, ranked No. 1 all-class in Kansas this spring. Kelly closed out pool matches with a 23-second win. Candia remains unbeaten with three pins in the championship rounds.
Micah Ellegood placed sixth in a tough 125-pound bracket that included another Pratt wrestler. She was sitting at 2-0 with a decision and quick pin before getting pinned by unbeaten Gracelynn Hembree of Pratt. Hembree, ranked No. 3 in 4A, went on to beat Hoxie's third-ranked Josie Bell in the finals.
Shatarah Newton was another sixth-place finisher at 145 pounds. Newton went 2-2 in pool matches with a 15-second pin and losses to ranked wrestlers from Dodge City and Manhattan. She was pinned by a different Manhattan wrestler in the fifth-place match.
Riata Stryker went 0-3 in contested pool matches at 140 pounds. She was pinned by her Hutchinson opponent in the seventh-place match.