By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
PARK CITY -- Washburn Rural's powerhouse girls wrestling team took a few lumps in Day 1 of the Class 6A-5A state tournament at Hartman Arena, but none like the Junior Blues dished out on Thursday.
The Junior Blues experienced some tough losses on Wednesday, particularly in the quarterfinals, and did not advance a single wrestler to the championship round.
Washburn Rural wrestling coach Damon Parker hoists senior Addi Broxterman in the air after Broxterman's pin in the third-place match clinched the Class 6A-5A state title for the Junior Blues. [Photo by Brian Turrel/Wyandotte Daily]
Washburn Rural's girls wrestling team, parents and coaches pose for a team picture after the Junior Blues won their third state title in four seasons Thursday at Hartman Arena. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But Damon Parker's team had the comfiest seats in the house for the finals, having already wrapped up its third state title in four seasons with a dominating performance while cruising through its backside matches on the way to nine state medals and a 153-141 win over runner-up Garden City.
"It's amazing that more people don't understand that you can score more points on the backside of a tournament than you can on the frontside of a tournament,'' Parker said. "We had a team meeting in the hotel last night and I told them, 'Everything that you want is on the table.' ''
As fate would have it, four-time state medalist and two-time state finalist Addi Broxterman clinched the championship for the Junior Blues after having her shot at her first individual state title ended by Great Bend junior Daizy Gomez in the quarterinals on a first-period pin (1 minute, 52 seconds).
But the Rural senior bounced back with four straight wins to post a third-place finish, ending her final state tournament by avenging her earlier loss to Gomez with a 4:24 pin.
"It was my last high school match and I knew I had to give it everything I've got,'' Broxterman said. "I knew the girl was good because that was the girl that upset me yesterday, so I had a lot of built up emotion about it. Afterwards, I'm not a crier but I was bawling my eyes out and I was giving so many hugs and I'm not a hugger either.''
Parker, who had done the math, knew that Broxterman's win was the clincher and lifted his star skyward in celebration.
"Me and that girl have become pretty good friends, so I was like, "Good job,' '' Broxterman said. "I wanted to be a good sport and not celebrate on the mat and then I went over and shook the other coaches' hands and I went over to coach Parker and he was like, "Nope, you're going up.'
"Usually he only does that for first-place matches, but he saved that for me and that was pretty special.''
And though she would have loved to have won an individual state crown, Broxterman said that Thursday's state team championship, her third as a Junior Blue, trumped everything else.
"It feels so much better,'' Broxterman said. "As soon as the upsets for ther other teams were coming I wasn't even thinking about my bracket at all. I was thinking about how good it was for our team and how we were getting more points, and then once we locked it up I, was like, 'This is the best feeling ever.' I couldn't have wished it to go any other way.
"It was hard knowing that I couldn't get the state title that I wanted and I've wanted all these years but I honestly think the wrestling Gods were in our favor because this felt way better than my second-place matches the last two years.''
The Junior Blues also got a third-place finish from junior Kristen Rezac (105 pounds), fourths from sophomore Annie Gallegos (120), sophomore Madison Davison (140) and sophomore Ashley Schwarz (155) fifths from sophomore Molly Spader (100), junior Laiken Clark (130) and junior Sophia Ross (235) and a sixth from senior Alexis Fredrickson (135).
Asked if Thursday's state title, which was his fourth (three girls, one boys), was the sweetest of his career, Parker hesitated, but only for a moment.
"I'll need some time to reflect ... yes, it is,'' he said. "I don't need time to reflect. That first one was awesome because it was a walkoff in the finals, but this one, we set a state record for most state placers. We brought 10 qualifiers and all 10 made it to the second day and all 10 contributed.
"It's not about your star power. It's not about how many are in the finals. It's about how much your girls care about each other and how much they're willing to continue to battle. I counted 11 come-from-behind victories when we were down in the third period that we won at this tournament. That's just heart and want to. I've never had a crew that wanted it more than this one.''
