By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
PARK CITY -- Shawnee Heights star senior wrestler Maranda Bell knew she had one last shot at a state championship and was determined to take full advantage of that opportunity.
Bell was the aggressor from the start in Thursday's Class 6A-5A 191-pound title match and needed just 1 minute, 3 seconds to make her championship dreams come through, recording a first-period pin over Derby sophomore Meya Howell to become Shawnee Heights' first official KSHSAA girls state champ.
"Maranda, when she wants to be aggressive, can be very aggressive on the mat and she made a decision she was out here to score points, that was all she wanted to do,'' Shawnee Heights coach Chad Parks said. "If the pin was there (she'd take it), but she was going to score points and it worked out.''
Shawnee Heights senior Maranda Bell hugs Derby's Meya Howell after Bell won the Class 6A-5A 191-pound state championship with a pin. Bell avenged a loss to Howell in the 2021 semifinals. [Submitted]
Bell won all four of her state matches by pin, recording pins in 13 seconds, 3:01 and 56 seconds to reach the final.
Making the title extra sweet was the fact that Bell, who capped a 27-1 season, was able to avenge a 2021 state semifinal loss to Howell, who finished this season 23-4.
"It was my last year to try and get the title and I was giving it all I had this year,'' said Bell, who finished third at state as a junior. "It meant a lot to me because sophomore year I got thrown out of regionals with my injury and last year I came out third and this year I just didn't let it control me.
"I think It was pure joy, especially to be the first Shawnee Heights girl to take a championship title.''
Bell said she tried not to think about Thursday's match being a championship match and just tried to concentrate on what she needed to do.
"I didn't look at it as like a championship match essentially,'' Bell said. "I just looked at it as another match and giving it 100 percent and leaving it all on the mat was more important to me.''
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Shawnee Heights senior Maranda Bell not only became the T-Birds' first official girls state champion Thursday at Hartman Arena, but she is also Heights' first member of the girls 100-win club. [Submitted]
Parks has coached more than 10 state champions, but Bell is his first official state girls champ (Marissa Patterson won an unofficial state title) and the moment was special for the veteran coach.
"I'm still getting choked up and it's 30 minutes later,'' Parks said. "This is one of the most emotional and inspirational state champs for us.
"If people had any idea about her back story and all she's been through in her life, not just the injuries but other things, for her to stay dedicated and show up every single day and then finally achieve (the title) and see that pay off is so huge for her, and for our other girls.''
Bell was one of three Shawnee Heights state medalists, with junior 115-pounder Molly Busenitz taking fourth place and sophomore 109-pounder Odessa Schmidt finishing fifth.
