Frontenac girls wrestling won the two-day Circle Invitational with 179 points, beating out runner-up Clay Center by 5.5 points on the final day Saturday.
Emerson Albright (105 pounds) and Harper Holmes (110) both won titles. Ella Blythe (115), Mya Courtney (120), Abby Albright (125) and Taylor Holt (170) each finished second. Karli Sickels (135) placed fourth, Andrea Wood (130) fifth and Lillyan Ensch (155) sixth.
Holmes, a two-time state champion with her first as a freshman at Frontenac and her second as a sophomore at Pittsburg, reached 100 career victories late during her junior season.
Emerson Albright (25-12) won 6-3 over Clay Center's Brooklyn Gordon for the championship match and her fifth win in two days. She also beat Gordon 6-2 in pool competition. Albright pinned Nickerson's Bella Brinkley in 1 minute, 31 seconds, Douglass' Malie Jones in 2:42 and McPherson's Kyla Lauw in 1:04.
Holmes (32-5) pinned Bluestem's Reagan Neal in 2:47 for the championship; before that, Holmes won 17-2 over Clay Center's Chloe Rott, won by medical forfeit against El Dorado's Kaylene Vance and pinned Chaparral's Makiya Louthan in a mere 27 seconds.
Blythe (22-11) won by 18-0 tech fall over Independence's Michelle Carranco and pinned Smoky Valley's Jaycie Falcon in 4:26 to reach the championship match, where she lost by fall against Circle's unbeaten Alexis Wall (20-0).
Courtney (7-2) pinned her first three opponents before a loss in the championship match, Chaparral's Mia Hunter in 30 seconds, Douglass' Skyler Gleeson in 1:23 and Augusta's Bracey Golden in 1:19. Clay Center's Josey Weller won 12-7 over Courtney.
Abby Albright (29-7) won two of her first three matches by fall, pinning Augusta's Carlyn Hollingsworth in 1:09 and Independence's Addison Augustine in 2:24, and won 6-0 over McPherson's Amara Dossett. Albright lost 1-0 against Coffeyville's Chloe Mund (28-2).
Holt (22-16) pinned Bluestem's Savannah Martin in 2:32, won a 8-0 major decision over McPherson's Heidi Fairchild and pinned El Dorado's Whitley Franks in 1:07. Council Grove's Brenah Cannon (24-2) won 11-4 over Holt for the championship.
Sickels (21-15) went 4-2 with all four of her wins and both of her losses by fall. She pinned Hillsboro's Riley Cummings in 2:19, El Dorado's Jazlene Rodriguez in 42 seconds, Augusta's Scarlett Smith in 1:51 and Smoky Valley's Roxana Riedel in 1:50.
Wood (15-16) also finished 4-2 in the tournament with all four of her wins by fall. She pinned Nickerson's Brooklyn Schneider in 3:07, McPherson's Izzabell Klamczynski in 2:52, Circle's Kambria Baker in 2:09 and Council Grove's Savannah Stewart in 2:42.
Ensch (16-17) wrestled 2-3 for the tournament, pinning Labette County's Lizzie Ludwig in 3:51 and Smoky Valley's Kaitlyn Schoshke in 2:54 for her two victories.
The Raiders wrestle next in the Class 4A East regional Friday and Saturday at Tonganoxie.
Raider boys finish 2nd at Circle
The Raiders were a distant second in the 35th annual Circle Invitational with 165.5 points; 4A top-ranked Andale, featuring seven ranked wrestlers, finished with 215 points. Frontenac also edged out third-place Clay Center by half a point.
Chance Wilderman (126 pounds), Kruz Pickle (138), Cash Wilderman (144) and Zane Aikin (165) each finished second. Dakota Leverich-Howe (150) finished third. Austin Weimer (106) placed fourth. Scott Sloan (157), Alec Douglas (175) and Rylan Relph (190) each were sixth.
Chance Wilderman (36-7) earned four wins by fall, pinning Clay Center's Thayne Pfizenmaier in 5:07 after his first three opponents were taken out in under a minute with El Dorado's Brody Karst pinned in 58 seconds, Augusta's Wyatt Weaver in 19 seconds and Labette County's Dawson Wiley in 50 seconds. Andale's Luke Seiler (35-10) won a 16-6 major decision over Wilderman for the championship.
Pickle (21-2) pinned his first three opponents, Douglass' Cooper Prather in 41 seconds, Labette County's Zack Caulkins in 1:44 and Northern Heights' Bradley Doombos in 1:31. Buhler's Sammy Hershberger (5-0) won a 14-4 major over Pickle for the championship.
Cash Wilderman (31-8) also pinned his first three opponents, Circle's Jackson Minton in 1:22, Smoky Valley's Wyatt Griffin in 1:20 and Clay Center's Chase Urban in 2:54. Wilderman lost 10-6 to Bluestem's Axton Vice (35-2) for the championship.
Like Pickle and Cash Wilderman before him, Aikin (23-10) pinned his first three opponents with Andale's Jordan Donnelly in 1:12, teammate Drew Long in 2:46 and Garden Plain's Carter Tatom in 5:54. Tatom owns a 35-6 record this season. Nickerson's Kristopher Monroe (33-2) then pinned Aikin for the championship.
Leverich-Howe (24-12) went 4-1 with his only loss 10-4 in a semifinal against Independence's Bryson Fulk. Leverich-Howe rebounded strongly, winning a 16-1 tech fall over Coffeyville's Angilo Fulcher and pinning Northern Heights' Mason Wilkens in 3:44 for third place. Leverich-Howe also pinned Clay Center's Aiden Argo in 40 seconds and Bluestem's Koa Willhite in 38 seconds.
Weimer (26-11) finished 2-2 in the tournament, winning a 9-1 major over Augusta's Brycen Pinckney and a 17-3 major over Clay Center's Romeo Beougher.
Sloan (27-12) went 2-3 and won his first two matches by tech fall, 17-2 over Wellington's Aiden Rains and 19-3 over Hillsboro's Phoenix Fickes. Douglas (23-11) also went 2-3 and pinned his first two opponents, Nickerson's Kobane Swift in 1:47 and Cherryvalle's Reyce Booe in 1:38. Relph (13-25) also wrestled 2-3 and he pinned Coffeyville's Kingston Herring in 1:30 and defeated Circle's Lennon Farner 2-1.
The Raiders are back at it Feb. 21 for the Class 4A Regional C hosted by Paola.
This sports reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/fund/support-local-journalism-project-fund/
