By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
PARK CITY -- Winning a Class 5A state wrestling championship would have made Saturday a special day for Highland Park junior 190-pounder Makayla Cadet no matter what.
Highland Park junior Makayla Cadet posted a pin in 1:36 pin to win the Class 5A 190-pound title Saturday in Park City. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
But the calendar provided the proverbial icing on the cake for the Scot star.
"The best birthday present ever,'' said Cadet, who celebrated her 17th birthday with a first-period pin (1 minute, 36 seconds) over Basehor-Linwood junior Izzy Renfro.
Highland Park junior Makayla Cadet has her hand raised as the Class 5A 190-pound state champ Saturday in Park City. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Cadet, who capped a 23-4 season, won the title with a dramatic takedown and pin, avenging a loss to Renfro (1:37 pin) in a regional final.
"Honestly, I have no idea what happened, it just happened so fast,'' Cadet said.
Cadet had already made Highland Park girls program history by reaching the semifinals and finals before capping her dream weekend with the title.
"I had no idea this was going to go this way,'' Cadet said. "I took it slow, I came up with a plan and I just gained momentum as the match went on.
"I had a plan and I just tried to execute it to the best of my ability.''
Highland Park also got a sixth-place finish from junior Connie Burns (22-7) at 115 pounds.
Vikes' Heston, Best post runnerup finishes
Seaman seniors Taylie Heston and Koti Best came within an eyelash of winning 5A state titles Saturday, with the Viking stars dropping a pair of heartbreakers in their championship matches.
Heston (32-8) fell 3-2 to Emporia junior Kensley Medrano (31-13) in the 120 final while Best (20-3) dropped an 11-10 overtime decision to Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior Courtney Nye (37-10) in the 125-pound title match.
Heston's loss to Medrano came after a four-overtime loss to the Emporia star at regionals while Best built a 10-4 lead before Nye, who led KMC to the 5A team title, rallied late as Best battled a shoulder injury that had sidelined her for a portion of the season.
Seaman coach Jordan Best said he was proud of the performances turned by his two finalists.
"I'm happy,'' Best said. "It's our first time in program history to have two state finalists. Taylie is a multi-time state placer, Koti's a three-time state placer, I can't be disappointed. I'm happy for them. Seniors, they got to make the big show, and that's what matters the most. It's not about the wins or the losses.''
Seaman senior standout Samson Tootle was the lone city boys 5A state medalist, finishing fourth at 157 pounds.
Shawnee Heights girls wrestling claimed the Class 5A third-place team trophy Saturday in Park City. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
T-Birds rally to take home third-place 5A team trophy
A tough semifinal round on Friday ended Shawnee Heights' bid for a 5A girls team title, but the T-Birds came back with a runnerup state finish from 130-pound senior Isabel Reyes and a dominating performance in backside matches to rally for a third-place team finish.
The T-Birds finished with 137 points, finishing behind team champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel (157) and runnerup Basehor-Linwood (150), while producing seven state medalists.
"I feel real good about today,'' Shawnee Heights coach Chad Parks said. "We placed seven girls, the most we've ever placed, we got a team trophy.''
Parks said he was particularly pleased with how the T-Birds bounced back after dropping four of five semifinal matches on Friday.
"I told the girls last night that it's not what we all envisioned in our head and last night there were some heartbreaks, but today was a different story and today was going to be about who's tough and we came back and we wrestled absolutely lights out,'' Parks said.
"I told them last night, 'You've got two options. You can quit or you get tough and fight and we're going to fight until hell freezes over and then we're going to fight on the ice,' and we did.''
Reyes, who finished 37-3 on the season, was pinned at the 5:48 mark by Blue Valley Southwest senior Karoline Kendall (41-2) in the championship match.
"Issie only has three matches on the season and all three to the same girl (Kendall),'' Parks said. "That girl's just super tough and so is Issie.''
The T-Birds also got third-place finishes from senior Reece Taylor (125), senior Madison Freeland (140) and junior Cianna Graves (155), fourths from sophomore Audrey Hinkly (120) and junior Olivia Stevens (145) and a sixth from sophomore Brooklyn Binkley (170).
