FREDONIA — Allen County was well represented on the medal podium of Saturday’s Fredonia Invitational.
Iola High School junior Zoie Hesse, 190 lbs., was the only area gold medalist, but several other area grapplers also brought home some hardware while competing in the final tournament of the regular season.
“It felt really good, but I was really hoping to see No. 1 Abby Breen (Winfield) to see if I can wrestle her without getting pinned,” Hesse said. “The last two times I wrestled her I got pinned. I’m more focused on what they do, then work on my defense or how I can control them at practice.”
Hesse (25-3), currently ranked third in the 4A division, made quick work during a six-woman round-robin. She reached the finals with first-period pins of Elk Valley sophomore Nezaria Luce (1-6), Andover Central freshman Kadyn Walden (13-11), Uniontown junior Gabriell Basso (0-14), then Savannah Koch, a 17-14 senior from Humboldt. Eventual runner-up Layton Roberts, a 17-13 Douglas junior, lasted 30 seconds longer than the previous competition as Hesse synched up a butcher to lock up first place.
“She had a really good bridge, so it was hard to hold her down,” said Hesse, who only hours earlier took first place at the Chanute Girls Wrestling Tournament. “Once I got my butcher in it was easier. I was really excited. We had an early morning and a late-night Friday.”
Koch also had a banner day. She opened with a loss to Roberts 11-3, then rebounded with first-period pins of Luce and Basso before falling to Hesse. Koch rebounded with a first-period pin of Walden for third place.
Humboldt senior Tori Melendez, 100 lbs., nearly earned a gold medal after falling to Andover Central freshman Sadie Unruh by second-period pin. Until the finale, Melendez tore through the competition with first-period pins of Burlingame junior Judith DeLaRoda (6-7), then pinned Douglas sophomore Lilliana Twigg (12-7) by second period pin to break into the championship match.
Humboldt’s Willow LaCrone, 155 lbs., had a second-place finish at Fredonia. She opened with a first-period pin of Winfield freshman Gracie Chambers (8-15), then pinned Halstead junior Addi Thompson (23-11) in the second period to break into the title match. She fell to 20-5 Council Grove junior Savannah Johnson by pin at the end of the first period.
“I could have done better, but I feel like I did pretty good considering the circumstances,” LaCrone said. “I feel confident, and a bunch of it is coming from my teammates, my coaches telling me I can do it.”
Another silver medalist was Iola freshman heavyweight Kailyn Rodriguez (15-12), who won her first match by medical forfeit, but lost her second by third-period pin to 12-8 Douglas senior Braylie Knisley.
Other results from Saturday: At 125 lbs., Iola freshman Bayleigh Scheibmeir (1-2) opened with a win over Andover Central junior Zailyn Cortez (5-10), then fell to eventual tournament runner-up Mackynzy Beard (7-5) by second-period pin. In the consolation bracket, she was eliminated by Uniontown freshman Reagan Whisenhunt (13-11) via second-period pin.
At 140 lbs., Iola senior Gabriel Briggs (0-2) fell to Uniontown junior Blakey Cox (8-12). Chase County sophomore Kaydance Zirkel (6-20) eliminated Briggs by first-period pin. In the same weight class, Humboldt freshman Brylee Napier (2-10), fell to Fredonia freshman Mary Smith (2-4) by second-period pin, then Zirkel eliminated Napier by second-period pin.
