At the Class 2 District 1 meet Feb. 14-15 at Lafayette, the Seckman girls wrestling team qualified a program-record nine wrestlers for the state Class 2 championships Feb. 28-March 1 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia – and nearly advanced three more.
That was enough to lift the Jaguars to second place with 189 points in a district field of 22 teams. They were in first place after the first day, but the host Lancers surged on Saturday to claim the district title with 220.5 points.
Of the 42 girls on the Seckman team, only three are seniors, and they each punched their ticket for Columbia. Emma Donze won the 105-pound district title while Kaylee Horman placed second at 115 and Summer Hohman got the fourth and last qualifying spot at 155.
The other Jaguars headed to state are sophomore Tiara Korman (fourth, 110), freshman Abbi Holder (second, 120), junior Nadia Steinhoff (fourth, 135), junior Caroline Owens (third, 140) and sophomores Lilly Julius (fourth, 190) and Madison Clover (fourth, 235). Steinhoff and Owens are repeat qualifiers.
Three other wrestlers from Seckman just missed qualifying, losing in “bubble” matches at 100, 125 and 130 by a combined six points.
“I’m more than proud of these kids,” Seckman head coach Ryan Moyer said. “They’re starting to believe in the process. We’ve got one of the best girls and guys wrestling programs in the St. Louis area.”
A three-time state qualifier, Donze (30-13) pinned her first three opponents before meeting Northwest freshman Brooklyn Robinson (40-8) in the 105 final. In their first meeting this season, Robinson came back from a 7-2 deficit to beat Donze by decision. This time Donze stayed on the offensive, scoring three takedowns before pinning Robinson at 3:14.
“In the first match the stakes were high,” Donze said. “I was up going into the second period and she tripped me and got a takedown, plus back points. In the third period, I tried to shoot and couldn’t get in.
“Today, I learned that everyone’s beatable and always stick to the plan that the coaches give you. We’ve been discussing this match all week. The plan was to get as many takedowns as possible. We know (Robinson) is good on bottom, and I’m good on top. But she’s flexible and knows how to roll. So the goal was, (look for) an opportunity to pin but be very careful. Trust my shots and takedowns and wrestle through every position, and always look for the pin.”
Robinson, a product of the Junior Lions youth program, said she was at less than 100 percent because cutting weight before the tournament was harder than she expected.
“In the first two periods of our first match, the same thing happened, but I caught her in the third period,” Robinson said. “This time I didn’t have a lot of energy. I got sick (Friday) from cutting.”
“She’s beaten some really good wrestlers this year,” Northwest head coach Ron Wilhelm said. “She ran into a buzzsaw (in (Donze). She took it to us in the final.”
Northwest finished fourth in the team standings with 131, just behind Eureka (138.5). The Lions’ lone champion was Millie Robison (40-9) at 125 pounds. Before taking up wrestling, Robison was a boxer.
“I didn’t want to give up the physical side of sports,” she said after pinning Fox sophomore Stacy Ash (22-7) in 38 seconds of their 125 final. “They shoot on you and you grab the chin and under their arm, pick them up, step with your hip and throw.”
Ash said before the match she had a fever.
“I took a shot but it didn’t work because I didn’t do it right,” Ash said.
Joining Robinson and Robison at state for Northwest are sophomore Abigail Sehnert (fourth, 100), sophomore Amber Miller (third, 130) and senior Yuridia Farjardo (third, 135).
This is Farjardo’s second state appearance. Miller lost in the first round, but pinned her last four opponents on the backside of the bracket, each in less than a minute.
“(Miller’s) been the hardest worker all year,” Wilhelm said. “She was the seventh seed. She started wrestling last year and dedicated herself.”
Lion sophomore Amelia Huncovsky (35-8) pinned her first two foes at 120 in under a minute and appeared destined for state. But in the semifinals against Holder, Huncovsky fell the wrong way and dislocated her elbow, forcing an emergency trip to the hospital and ending her season.
“Sometimes this sport can be really cruel,” Wilhelm said. “She sees herself as a wrestler. You could land like that 100 times and nothing would happen, but you land a little wrong and it pops out.”
Another blow for the Lions was when junior Cherry Hassler (21-6), a two-time state qualifier, lost in the bubble round at 115.
Two Fox sophomores qualified for state: Zoey Zimmermann (fourth, 120) and Stacy Ash (second, 125). The Warriors were 11th in the team standings with 49.5 points.