By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights' girls wrestling team turned in a strong performance in Saturday's Class 5A East regional at Bonner Springs, posting a runnerup team finish while advancing all 14 competitors to the state tournament Feb. 27-28 at Park City.
Shawnee Heights sophomore Olive Jones (top) won the 135-pound championship in Saturday's Class 5A East regional. [File photo/TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Cianna Graves won the 155-pound championship in Saturday's Class 5A East regional. [File photo/TSN]
The T-Birds, ranked No. 3 in 5A by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association, got individual regional championships from 135-pound sophomore Olive Jones and 155-pound senior Cianna Graves and put four other wrestlers in the finals, finishing second to top-ranked Basehor-Linwood by a 275-212.5 margin.
Jones improved to 35-1 on the season with a 1 minute, 25-second win by pin over Basehor-Linwood sophomore Willow Rademacher (30-10) in the 135 final while Graves improved to 31-2 with a 5-1 decision over Bonner Springs senior Addison Vogel (25-3) at 155.
The T-Birds got second-place finishes from freshman 120-pounder Brinnley Morris (17-3), junior 125-pounder Audrey Hinkly (25-12), senior 145-pounder Olivia Stevens (29-5) and junior 190-pounder Brooklyn Binkley (20-11) while sophomore Bianca Juarez (110 pounds) posted a third-place finish.
Freshmen Makynzie Allen (100) and Stella Engel (235) qualified with fourth-place regional finishes while freshman Raelyn Kelly (130) finished fifth, senior Shelby Watson (170) sixth, sophomores Halle Hill (115) and Evelyn Ruby (140) seventh and freshman Carmarra Smith (105) eighth.
Highland Park senior Makayla Cadet, the defending 5A state champion at 190 pounds, earned a shot to defend her title with a third-place regional finish. Cadet is 20-2 on the season.
Washburn Rural senior Emme Blanco won the Class 6A West 145-pound regional title Saturday at Wichita South, helping Rural finish third as a team. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Elia Smith won the 170-pound title in Saturday's Class 6A West regional at Wichita South for the third-place Junior Blues. [File photo/TSN]
Rural regional champs Blanco, Smith lead 13 Junior Blues 6A qualifiers
Washburn Rural seniors Emme Blanco and Elia Smith captured individual regional championships in the Class 6A West regional Saturday at Wichita South, powering the Junior Blues to a third-place team finish with 13 state qualifiers.
Blanco, now 37-3 on the season, won the 145-pound title with a 5:35 pin in the finals over Garden City freshman Aria Cordes while Smith, 32-3, earned a 4-1 decision over Derby senior Chloe Spears (36-6) in the 170-pound regional final.
The Junior Blues got third-place regional finishes from 125-pound senior Lacey Middleton (36-6), 140-pound senior Madi Blanco (35-4) and freshman 155-pounder Raella Ebanez (31-8) while freshman 105-pounder Aliyah Tangpricha (25-5), freshman 135-pounder Alea Estep (21-16), 190-pound junior Lily Davis (33-10) and sophomore Emma Mehl (24-14) placed fourth.
Junior Dixie Day (120) qualified for state with a sixth-place regional finish while freshman Ashlyn Johnson (110) finished seventh and freshman Hadley Rosenbaum (100) and junior Rylee-Jade Ebanez (130) placed eighth.
Topeka High freshman 235-pounder Kya Dawkins qualified for state with a seventh-place regional finish while senior 170-pounder Taniza Huggins advanced with an eighth-place finish.
The 6A state tournament will be contested Feb. 27-28 at the AdventHealth Sports Park in Overland Park.
Eagles, Bulldawgs one-two in 3A-1A East regional
Host Silver Lake captured the team championship in the Class 3A-1A East regional on Saturday while Rossville finished second as the Eagles and Bulldawgs combined for 10 state qualifiers.
Rossville got regional titles from 105-pound sophomore Nora Mitchell and 145-pound junior Madelyn Wonnell.
Mitchell, now 34-11, won the 105 title with a 3-0 decision over Erie freshman YoYo Pardo (26-5) while Wonnell (34-5) registered a 17-2 technical fall over Osage City sophomore KayLynn Nicholson (29-5).
Silver Lake got runnerup finishes from junior 100-pounder Kamiryn Clark (24-9), 135-pounder McKenna Harris (27-9), freshman 140-pounder Ally Burgos (26-14) and senior 155-pounder MaKayla Connor (30-6) while 125-pounder Riley Mohler (24-8) finished third.
Rossville freshman Joanie Pottorff (100) finished fifth, freshman Ariana Moses-Prospere (130) sixth and sophomore Aliahna Kepner (110) seventh.
The 3A-1A state tournament will be held Feb. 27-28 in Hays.
Seaman, West combine for eight 5A state qualifiers
Seaman qualified five wrestlers for the Class 5A state tournament in Park City out of the 5A West regional at Newton while Topeka West had three state qualifiers.
Seaman sophomore 135-pounder Hollister Olson-Thomas (24-13) and junior 170-pounder Isabelle McClintock (26-15) both finished third at regionals while sophomore Avery Villines (125) and freshman Avalyn Larson (140) finished fifth and junior Chloe Stewart (130) sixth.
Topeka West got third-place regional finishes from sophomore 190-pounder Annie North (11-2) and junior 235-pounder Monica Stewart (24-9) while sophomore Alyssa Babcock (170) qualified with a sixth-place regional finish.
Seaman finished eighth as a team with 95.5 points while Topeka West placed 16th with 47 points.
The 5A state tournament will be held Feb. 27-28 in Park City.
Hayden's Torrez qualifies for 4A state
Hayden will be represented in the Class 4A state meet at Salina by freshman Sophia Torrez, who earned a state berth with an eighth-place finish in the 4A East regional at Tonganoxie at 190 pounds.
Torrez will take a 13-14 record into the state meet.
