Frontenac girls wrestling qualified eight wrestlers for the upcoming Class 4A state tournament and finished second in the 32-team Class 4A East regional Saturday with 157 points.

Top-ranked 4A school Wellsville won the regional title with 184 and Paola finished third with 135.5 points.

Harper Holmes (110 pounds) won a regional title, Mya Courtney (120) and Abby Albright (125) each finished second, Ella Blythe (115) placed fourth, Emerson Albright (105) and Karli Sickels (135) both took fifth, Taylor Holt (170) finished sixth and Lillyan Ensch (155) finished eighth.

Holmes (36-5), a two-time state champion who recently hit 100 career victories during her junior season, logged a tech fall, a major decision and two wins by fall Friday and Saturday. Holmes won 16-1 over Paola's Brookley McDowell in the championship match and won 14-0 over Fort Scott's Kenna Miles during their semifinal. Wamego freshman Nevaeh Beatty, who had been the top-ranked wrestler at 110 for the last couple weeks, placed fifth.

Holmes also pinned Parsons' Lylah Ritchie in 1 minute, 47 seconds and Baldwin's Haylee King in 32 seconds.

Courtney (10-3), who had missed most of her junior season, returned to the Raiders' lineup in recent weeks and she earned three wins by fall to reach the finals against Tonganoxie's Autumn Wilson (32-3). Courtney pinned Perry-Lecompton's Alaina Rhoads in 26 seconds, Anderson County's Ashlyn Nelson in 1:08 and Wellsville's Brinlee Hartman in 4:40. Wilson pinned Courtney in their championship match.

Abby Albright (32-8), who put together a steady and strong enough senior season to reach the state rankings in recent weeks, wracked up two decisions and one fall to reach the finals against Wellsville dynamo Olive Dubois (43-1). Albright won 10-3 over Coffeyville's Chloe Mund and 6-2 over Jefferson West's Payge Vetsch during their semifinal and quarterfinal matches, respectively, and Albright pinned Girard's Haydin Gatewood in 56 seconds. Dubois won 11-2 over Albright for the championship.

Holmes, Courtney and Abby Albright combined for 76.5 points.

Blythe (25-13) rebounded from a semifinal loss to Tonganoxie's Kaylee Pankey (38-7) with a 5-0 decision over Jefferson West's Sophie Waters (32-9) during their consolation semifinal, setting up a third-place match against Perry-Lecompton's Jolie Corcoran. Corcoran pinned Blythe for third. Blythe also pinned Topeka Hayden's Julette Donnay in 48 seconds and Wamego's Rachel Barber in 1:01.

Emerson Albright (29-14), a 3A state qualifier and medalist in cross country during her freshman season, went 4-2 during her first regional wrestling tournament with three wins by fall and one tech fall. Albright pinned Burlington's Nevaeh Myers in 3:52 for fifth. She also pinned Independence's McKenzy Corsor in 2:24 and Chanute's Esperanza Cuin in 2:04 and won 15-0 over Ottawa's Skyler Thompson.

Sickels (26-17) found the long way back to state after losing in the second round against Prairie View's Gabbi Cullor. Sickels won four consolation round matches to work her way back to a consolation semifinal. Sickles pinned Labette County's Raimi Buntin, won by medical forfeit against Iola's Bayleigh Scheibmeir, pinned Holton's Ansley Bear in 1:49 and won 3-1 over Columbus' Kayleigh Morgan before a consolation semifinal loss. Sickels rebounded with a win by pin against Louisburg's Brooklyn DeWeese in 1:46 to earn fifth.

Holt (25-19) finished 3-3 with all three of her wins by fall, pinning Columbus' Elaina Garcia in 2:37, Burlington's Paige Ferrara in 2:21 and Baldwin's ElliAnna Lisher in 2:56. Holt lost her first match and her last two matches.

Ensch (18-20) went 2-3 with both wins by major decision, 15-5 over Atchison's Kiara Woessner in the first round and 16-4 over Holton's Kylie Carlsen in the second consolation round.

The 4A state tournament begins Feb. 27 at the 7,583-capacity Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina.

GIRARD

The Trojans finished 20th in the team standings with 42 points, between 19th Bishop Miege (45) and 21st place Perry-Lecompton (39), and two state qualifiers in sophomore Chloe Pope (235) and freshman Jazmyn Kaufman (170).

Pope (23-8) won her first two matches by fall, pinning Prairie View's Michaela Miller at 6:00 in their semifinal match and Santa Fe Trail's Gabrielle Suchi in 1:30 during their quarterfinal. Pope lost by fall to Baldwin's Finnley Kellerman (30-3).

Kaufman (24-10) split her four matches, winning two decisions over area wrestlers with similar first names, 7-1 over Fort Scott's Taylie Schaub and 5-2 over Frontenac's Taylor Holt. Kaufman lost by decision to Bishop Miege's Molly Benes and by fall in the third-place match to Eudora's Clara Peterson.

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/