By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The second annual Christmas Clash at Great Bend High School did not disappoint. The 2-day girls' wrestling tournament brought many of the state's best on teams from three corners of Kansas. Second-ranked Dodge City (6-5A) scored 219 points for the win, followed by No. 4 Garden City with 190 points, and No. 9 Manhattan with 162 points. Great Bend scored 154 points to edge Hays by a single point for fourth. Hoisington finished sixth with 151 points. Larned placed 19th with 64 points.
Russell junior Jaden Ney was the only area wrestler to leave with a title. Ranked No. 1 at 145 pounds (4-1A), she pinned all five of her opponents in the bracket, including fourth-ranked Lyrica Orosco in the semifinals and third-ranked Destiny Gonzalez of Goodland in the finals. Orosco placed fourth in the bracket, and Lady Panther sophomore Josephin Blevins finished 13th.
No Lady Panthers made it into the finals of their respective bracket, but three finished out the consolation side strong. At 170 pounds, junior Kirra Stevens pinned her first two opponents before being pinned by second-ranked Atavia Cain of Oakley (4-1A). Stevens went on to place third in the bracket. Junior Lea Nokes opened with a loss to No. 4 Hannah Simmers of Atchison County (4-1A) but rebounded to place 10th. Hoisington freshman Nevaeh Graves placed 12th.
Lady Panther senior Daizy Gomez entered the 130-pound bracket with a chance at a rematch against rival Ariana De La Rosa of Dodge City, who entered the touranment unranked. Gomez made quick work of her first three opponents with three pins in 41 seconds or less. De La Rosa pinned her way to the semifinals where she defeated Gomez 11-2. De La Rosa pinned fifth-ranked Abbygayl Jackson of Oakley (4-1A) for the title. Hoisington junior Lillian Gradig pinned her first two opponents before a loss to Jackson. She went on to place ninth.
Lady Panther sophomore Natalee Daniels pinned her way to the semifinals where she was pinned by fifth-ranked Hayleen Martinez of Liberal. Daniels was able to finish third.
Great Bend freshman Camdyn Post, ranked No. 5 at 105 pounds, opened with a bye before pinning her first two opponents in 45 and 60 seconds, respectively. She was pinned by top-ranked Kimberlyn Crabbs of Buhler (4-1A) in the semifinals. Post lost to second-ranked Isabela Gutierrez of Liberal in the consolation finals to finish fourth.
The 125-pound bracket was good for area wrestlers. Hoisington senior Daijah Jones, ranked No. 6, pinned her first two opponents and won a 9-2 decision to reach the semifinals. There she was pinned by third-ranked Ashlyn Hahn of Stockton. Jones rebounded to finish third. Lady Panther sophomore Kaylea McMullen, ranked No. 4, needed less than a minute to pin each of her first two opponents, then snuck out a 13-12 decision against sixth-ranked Elaina Twitty of Junction City. The road only got more difficult as top-ranked Maya Tarbet of Garden City pinned McMullen on her way to the title. McMullen placed fifth. Larned's Reese Watkins placed eighth, and Lady Panther freshman Aly Feil finished 16th.
Area wrestlers also had success at 235 pounds. Hoisington junior Haylee Holinde advanced with a pair of byes before pinning Ellinwood's Emma Hahn. Holinde was pinned by fourth-ranked Alexa Castillo of Emporia in the semifinals. Holinde rebounded to finish third. Hahn placed seventh, and Hoisington's Ameri Hinz finished ninth.
A pair of Lady Panther freshmen won early matches at 100 pounds. Kayle Baldwin pinned her first opponent but was pinned in round two en route to an eighth-place finish. Trinaty Aumiller pinned her first opponent only to be rewarded with a match against top-ranked junior Jaidyn Alvarado of Junction City, who pinned her way to the title. Aumiller finished 15th.
Hoisington sophomore Clair Birzer pinned her first two opponents at 135 pounds. A loss to Hays put her on the back side of the bracket where she placed sixth. Great Bend freshman Kaydence Demel pinned her first opponent only to run into third-ranked and eventual champion Hailey Ramos of Dodge City. Demel finished 15th.
Larned junior Liliana McKenna pinned her first two opponents on the way to a sixth-place finish at 110 pounds. Dodge City's second-ranked Ashley Alonso won that bracket.
Hoisington freshman Marly Brewer pinned her first two opponents in a tough 140-pound bracket. She was defeated by third-ranked and eventual champion Lexi Burton of Hays. Brewer went on to place eighth. Larned sophomore Mia Munden finished ninth in the bracket. Burton defeated top-ranked Kaydawn Haag of Ellis (4-1A) 6-4 in the championship match.
Ellinwood junior Gracyn Dombroski had a tough draw at 155 pounds with a tech-fall loss to Oakley freshman Brooke Smith in round one. Smith entered the bracket unranked but pinned three of her five opponents for the title. Dombroski went on to place 10th. Hoisington junior Peyton Schneider palced 12th, and Great Bend junior Marissa Esparza finished 13th after a round-one pin.
No area wrestlers placed at 115 or 120 pounds. Junction City's second-ranked Bre Villanueva won at 115 pounds, and Manhattan freshman Kayla Cramer, ranked No. 4, won a loaded 120-pound bracket.