Big winter dance or no Saturday evening, the Lady Panther wrestlers first had some business to take care of in Hays. A diminished Great Bend squad finished ninth out of 24 schools competing in the Prairie Classic. Hays, with 19 wrestlers, scored 156 points to run away with the team title. Trego Community, with just seven wrestlers, finished second with 99 points, and the Lady Panthers scored 63 points.
Third-ranked Daizy Gomez made it to the finals at 125 pounds. She picked up three quick pins, including a 34-second win in the semifinals, before getting pinned by third-ranked Kathie Chavez of Colby (4-1A).
Sophomore Danica Cline made the most of her day at 155 pounds, reaching the finals with three wins by fall. In the other half of the bracket, Trego senior Kaley Logue pinned her way to the finals and pinned Cline in the first period of the championship match.
Freshman Natalee Daniels saw round-robin action for a second-place finish at 190 pounds. She pinned her first opponent in 35 seconds and finished at 3-1 on the day with two pins. Her one loss was a pin against top-ranked and unbeaten senior Emilie Schweizer of Buhler.
Three Lady Panther wrestlers packed the 170-pound bracket. Kirra Stevens opened with a bye before winning a 16-9 decision against Junction City. Stevens was pinned by unbeaten and top-ranked junior Grace Johns of Minneapolis in the semifinals. Stevens won a 7-2 match on the back side before running into the same Junction City wrestler, this time falling 4-3 for fourth place.
Marissa Esparza also opened with a bye at 170, and was also pinned by Johns. Esparza finished her day at 0-2. Betsy Ramirez-Hernanded also dropped both of her matches in the bracket.
Sophomore Hannah Crathorne lost both of her contested matches at 115 pounds. Sophomore Gabriella Flores also went 0-2 in her bracket at 140 pounds, as did sophomore Melissa Martinez at 145 pounds.
The Lady Panthers went without wrestlers in seven brackets, including the three lightweight brackets and the heavyweight bracket. Great Bend returns to action Tuesday at home in a dual against Hays.