SALINA — Iola sophomore Addilyn Wacker is the first female wrestling state champion in Iola High School history after taking the 130 lbs. title Saturday.
After jumping ahead on a reverse and near-fall points in the second period, Wacker fended off a late attack from Wellington junior Maddie Fullerton (34-11) in the championship match for a 5-3 victory.
“It was hard coming off of an injury and with my mental state, but my coaches and team helped me push through it,” said Wacker, who spent weeks before the postseason out of action with a knee injury. “They got me there. I don’t think I could do it without them.”
Wacker began the tournament on shaky ground with a 3-2 victory over Nickerson junior Brooklyn Schneider (21-24). She credited her teammates for helping her refocus for her next match.
“It puts a lot of pressure on me because people have high expectations of me, but that’s just in my head,” Wacker said. “With my team being here, supporting me and distracting me from all of the thoughts in my head, it definitely helped. That first match, that definitely wasn’t me. I wasn’t wrestling like I can, but my team cheered me up. They believed in me and I went out there and did it for them.”
A refocused Wacker had a 13-1 blowout of Nemaha Central junior Harper Foster (28-20). In the overtime period of the semifinal, Wacker remained confident as she secured the win with a stand-up escape, then took Foster back for a takedown and a 5-2 victory, becoming the first female state finalist in school history.
“I didn’t think I’d make it this far,” Wacker said. “If I’m being honest, in overtime, the only thing going through my head was who wants it more?
“All I could hear from the side was ‘Push the pace,’ so I picked it up and that’s what got me there.”
In the championship match, Fullerton looked to end her Cinderella run with a win over Wacker, who the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association ranked as the best 130-pounder in the state.
After ending the first period scoreless, Wacker took the lead after dodging a cradle, then taking Fullerton’s back and running a half-nelson in one fluid motion. Seconds later Fullerton narrowed Wacker’s lead to a single point with a reverse before a referee’s whistle signaled the final period.
Taking the bottom position, Wacker extended her lead with another escape. As the final seconds ticked away, Wacker fended off Fullerton’s desperate attempts at a takedown, which would give the Wellington junior the state title. Keeping her at arm’s length, Wacker lifted her hands in victory after the final whistle, realizing she just won her first state title.
“She tried to run a cradle on me. I could feel she was high so I tri-podded and just stepped over and got back points,” Wacker said. “I tried to keep her there for as long as I could and all I could think was ‘Who wants it?’ I just told myself to ‘Pick up the pace. One small move could destroy your match.’”
Wacker said she plans to enter the grand state tournament and youth state wrestling later this month, which will dramatically increase the competition with neither limiting the competition based on the classification of the athletes’ schools.
Wacker will also be a major part of the IHS softball team’s rebuild after it graduated nearly its entire starting lineup last spring. Regardless of whether on the mat or a softball diamond, Wacker has the same mentality.
“I just have to work harder, and stay humble,” Wacker said.
For Iola coach John Taylor, it was a full-circle moment. Taylor coached Iola’s first male champion, heavyweight Logan Brown, in 2020.
