After the first day of competition at the Class 1 girls wrestling state championships, four from Jefferson County are two wins from a state title.
Festus sophomore Mya Hairston (100 pounds) and senior Lauren Mills (125), Herculaneum junior Eddyson Reeves (130) and De Soto junior Ella Bradley (155) all won their two matches on Wednesday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia and will take the mat on Thursday at 10:15 a.m. in the semifinals.
Mills, third in the state at 130 in 2022, improved to 37-0 with two pins and is one of four unbeaten girls in Class 1: North Point junior Cassidy Benwell (120 pounds, 25-0), Moberly freshman Breanne Gibbs (145, 45-0) and Seneca junior Isabella Renfro (190, 45-0) are the others. Mills wrestles Sherwood freshman Cooper McDonald (31-9) in the semifinals.
Hairston, sixth place at 100 at state last season, raised her record to 38-6 with two pins, the quarterfinal fall coming with a second left in the first period. Hairston meets Savannah freshman Jade Brindige (40-4) in the semifinals.
Reeves has already clinched the first medal in girls wrestling for the Blackcats, and she carries a 39-1 record into her semifinal match against Jefferson City sophomore Alexis Dunwiddie (51-3). After a pin in the first round, Reeves beat Excelsior Springs senior Vada Burton in a 5-1 decision. Reeves led Burton 3-1 in the third when she scored an insurance escape.
Third in the state at 159 last year, Bradley (17-1) had a slim 3-0 lead over Marceline senior Ella Lowe late in the third period in the first round before pinning her. Bradley won her next match by fall at 1:15 and faces off against Knob Noster junior Abby Sader (50-3) in the semis.
The other wrestler from the county still alive for a medal is Hillsboro junior Alleigh Culley (33-10) at 155. Culley won her first bout by fall before being pinned by Cameron junior Justice Brewer (53-1) in the quarterfinals. Culley pinned Marshfield junior Trinity Lesser (27-11) at 3:38 in the wrestlebacks.