By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's two-time defending state-champion girls wrestling team officially starts its stretch run in Saturday's Centennial League tournament.
And the Junior Blues probably couldn't have picked a better way to tune up than with an impressive performance in the largest girls wresting tournament in the state, Saturday's Washburn Rural Invitational.
With individual champions Alexis Fredrickson and JaliahJohnson leading the way and six Junior Blues posting top-four finishes, Washburn Rural won the team championship by a 293-175.5 margin over Burlington in a tournament that included 32 schools, approximately 280 competitors, seven state-ranked teams, 46 individually-ranked wrestlers and a Rural gym full of fans.
Washburn Rural senior Jaliah Johnson (left) won the 155-pound championship in Saturday's Washburn Rural Invitational, helping lead the Junior Blues to the team title. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural junior Alexis Fredrickson stands atop the medal stand after winning the 132-pound title in Saturday's Washburn Rural Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I'm not even claustrophobic, but when everybody came in I was like, 'I feel a bit claustrophobic,' '' Johnson said. "I was just like, 'Dang, there's a lot of people here.' ''
But Frederickson said the atmosphere made for an extremely enjoyable experience.
"Oh my gosh, the energy and just all of the people and everyone on the team being able to wrestle, the combination of it all was insane,'' Fredrickson said.
Fredrickson, a junior, captured the 132-pound championship with a pin of Sumner Academy junior Alissa Harris at the 1:09 mark of the first period, while Johnson, a senior, won the 155-point title by pin at the 4:13 mark over Olathe Northwest sophomore Chloe Harris.
Fredrickson improved to 32-4 on the season while Johnson is now 31-1.
With the biggest meets of the season coming up, Johnson feels like she's ready for what's ahead after placing third at state the past two seasons.
"I'm very exctied and I feel that I am at a good place physically, stronger and faster so that is benefitting me very well this season and I ready,'' said Johnson, who wrestled at 191 pounds as a sophomore and 170 pounds last season before dropping to 155 this winter.
Fredrickson, fifth at state last season, said it's time for wrestlers to step up their game over the next several weeks.
"It's really time to hone our skills on what we know, what we need to learn, what we need to tweak and fix,'' Fredrickson said. "I'm really excited for it.''
Washburn Rural sophomore Kristen Rezac (27-5) made to to the 101-pound championship match before being pinned by Burlington senior M.J. Huff to finish second while Rural junior Addison Broxterman (32-2) advanced to the 120-pound final before dropping a 15-4 major decision to Blue Valley Southwest senior Hannah Glynn.
The Junior Blues also got a fourth-place finishes from freshman Madison Davison (24-11) at 138 pounds and sophomore Laiken Clark (24-10) at 143 pounds.
Washburn Rural wrestling coach Damon Parker and his Junior Blues cheer on a Rural wrestler during Saturday's Washburn Rural Invitational. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
With Saturday's performance, Washburn Rural remained undefeated on the season and Junior Blues coach Damon Parker said the tournament was a good test for his team.
"If we were ranking out the level of difficulty of our tournaments we've been to this year I would put this as the toughest tournament, including the one we went to Iowa for,'' Parker said. "Overall this is the toughest tournament we've been to, to date.''
Silver Lake sophomore Hailey Horton (right) finished fourth in the 155-pound division in Saturday's Washburn Rural Invitational. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Silver Lake sophomore Hailey Horton finished fourth at 155 pounds while Highland Park was led by senior Celeste Gonzalez, who posted a sixth-place finish at 191 pounds.
The boys and girls Centennial League tournaments will be contested on Saturday at Highland Park.
Competition is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. with the championship matches starting at approximately 3 p.m.
WASHBURN RURAL INVITATIONAL
Team scores
Washburn Rural 293, Burlington 175.5, Columbus 175, Olathe Northwest 144.5, Gardner-Edgerton 143.5, Olathe North 143.5, Spring Hill 108, Leavenworth 106, Bonner Springs 104.5, Fort Scott 90.5, Olathe South 77, Shawnee Mission West 66.5, Blue Valley Southwest 65, Shawnee Mission Northwest 53, Basehor-Linwood 51, Harmon 51, Olathe East 50, Silver Lake 49.5, Free State 48.5, Olathe West 45.5, Tonganoxie 45.5, Chapman 41, Sumner Academy 39, Hoxie 37.5, Lansing 32, Mill Valley 26, Highland Park 20, Atchison County 18, Blue Valley 14, Sabetha 5, Jefferson West 4.5
Individual results
101 -- 1. Huff, Burlington; 2. Rezac, Washburn Rural; 3. Cagle, Fort Scott; 4. Frantz, Mill Valley.
109 -- 1. Saporito, Columbus; 2. Reynard, Burlington; 3. Duong, Olathe North; 4. Keller, Olathe Northwest.
115 -- 1. Hitchcock, Olathe North; 2. Kepler, Gardner-Edgerton; 3. Shah-Luster, Shawnee Mission Northwest; 4. Lyons, Burlington.
120 -- 1. Glynn, Blue Valley Southwest; 2. Broxterman, Washburn Rural; 3. Lloyd, Columbus; 4. Knight, Bonner Springs.
126 -- 1. Redmond, Olathe South; 2. Long, Columbus; 3. Garcia, Columbus; 4. Bates, Shawnee Mission Northwest.
132 -- 1. Fredrickson, Washburn Rural; 2. Harris, Sumner Academy; 3. Rusk, Fort Scott; 4. Jackson, Harmon.
138 -- 1. Gray, Free State; 2. Porsch, Hoxie; 3. Davis, Gardner-Edgerton; 4. Davison, Washburn Rural.
143 -- 1. Jackson, Leavenworth; 2. Foeller, Olathe Northwest; 3. Tauer, Spring Hill; 4. Clark, Washburn Rural.
155 -- 1. Johnson, Washburn Rural; 2. Harris, Olathe Northwest; 3. Johnson, Leavenworth; 4. Horton, Silver Lake.
170 -- 1. Stean, Bonner Springs; 2. Johns, Chapman; 3. Galligan, Olathe Northwest; 4. Miller, Leavenworth.
191 -- 1. Tinsley, Olathe East; 2. Carrasco, Burlington; 3. Thomson, Olathe North; 4. Mabrey, Gardner-Edgerton.
235 -- 1. Rivera, Olathe West; 2. Feeback, Spring Hill; 3. Conley, Olathe North; 4. Rodriguez, Gardner-Edgerton.
