By Michael Smith
The Staley girls wrestling team may not be ranked in the MissouriWrestling.com Class 2 team poll, but it is a team to lookout for in districts and the state tournament.
The Falcons proved it had a strong team at the Winnetonka Girls Invitational last Saturday as they got first-place victories from junior Natalie Nammavaley and Ja’Ziya Miles to help the team take first place with 155 points.
Smithville finished in second place with 147 points and Odessa was third with 139.
Nammavaly (113 pounds) was in a round-robin style bracket and she won all five of her matches by pin as she improved to 33-14.
“I was definitely working on my front headlock and there was just so much momentum and I jerked really hard to get the pin,” Nammavaly said of her win over Harrisonville’s Tristen Bofenkamp. “I was also working on my shots and I was able to get to those.”
Miles (140), like Nammavaly, had little trouble winning her bracket as she earned pins in all of her matches, including one in 3:22 in the title bout with Oak Park senior Diamond Keytue.
Other Falcons to place in the top three were A’Shay White (120, second place), Brooklyn Moore (145, second), JoAnna Hinrichs (170, second) and Alayna Leslie (190, second).
“I feel like I could have done better and got to my stuff faster,” Miles said. “I plan to keep improving and I did a lot better than my freshman year. I was able to finish my shots.”
Below is a summary of the championship matches of the other weight classes not already mentioned:
100: Smithville sophomore Kadynce Loyd went 5-0 in her round-robin bracket and had four pins and a decision victory by a 8-1 margin as she took first place.
110: Winnetonka junior Annabelle boosted her record to 37-4 after she pinned White in 1:32 during the championship match.
115: Rock Port senior Emma Teten won by fall in 2:42 against Chilicothe junior Sophie Hurtgen to take first place.
120: Odessa senior Aalyiah Sanders pinned Raymore-Peculiar junior Danielle Totten in 1:40 as she cruised to her spot at the top of the podium.
125: Winnetonka senior Jorgie Johnson dominated her bracket and captured first place following a win by fall in 2:28 over Odessa senior Emma Mahan.
130: Two-time state champion Emily Bischoff of Odessa spent less than 2 minutes on the mat in her three matches in the tournament. Her final bout resulted in a pin of Lawson sophomore Braylie Cox in 59 seconds as she took first.
135: Harrisonville junior Rylie Ingrassia is looking for his first state championship this season and she looked like a contender on Saturday. She took a 17-0 tech fall victory against Smithville senior Danica Ballard in the title bout.
145: Odessa senior Bella Palmer pinned all four of her opponents, including Moore in 1:05 in the title bout.
155: Oak Park senior Bailee Wardlow won by fall in all of her matches, including her final one as she pinned Odessa senior Wylie Smith in 4:45.
170: Smithville senior Adalee Pickett had three pins in her bracket and she ended her day with a win by fall in 2:47 against Hinrichs.
190: Defending state champion Kendall Angelo improved to 41-1 on the season following a 7-2 win over Leslie in the title match.
235: Gallatin junior Mia Parker finished with a 5-0 record in her bracket as she pinned all five of her opponents.
