A Close Battle at Mizzou: 2026 MSHSAA Girls Class 2 State Championship
Mizzou Arena | Columbia, Missouri | February 25–26
Under the bright lights of Mizzou Arena, the 2026 MSHSAA Girls Class 2 Wrestling Championship delivered everything we love about this sport; drama, dominance, heartbreak, legacy, and the undeniable surge of women’s wrestling in Missouri.
When the dust settled, it was Nixa High School standing atop Class 2 once again with 122.5 points, fending off a relentless charge from Willard High School at 114.0, while Troy Buchanan High School powered to third with 96.0 points.
Back-to-Back Brilliance
The Nixa Eagles walked into the 2026 Missouri Class 2 State Tournament with a target on their backs. Returning champions. Standard setters. The program everyone was chasing. In a state where girls wrestling is exploding in participation, depth, and national respect, Nixa wasn’t just defending a title, they were defending a movement, and nothing about it came easy.
A Tournament That Built Toward Chaos
From the opening whistle, Class 2 felt different. Every round thinned the margins. Every consolation match carried weight. Every advancement point mattered. The Eagles scrapped for everything; bonus points, placement points, positioning. They knew this wasn’t going to be a runaway.
By the time the finals rolled around, it was clear: this was going to come down to inches, seconds… maybe even a single takedown.
Nixa clung to a narrow 106.5 – 98 lead over a surging Willard Tigers squad. Sixteen team points were sitting on the championship mat. The math was tight. The margin razor-thin, and then, in a storyline you couldn’t script any better, it all funneled into two matches.
Two Mats. Two Weights. One Title on the Line. Side by Side
At 155 pounds stood Nixa senior Natalie Edmisson; composed, battle-tested, carrying the weight of a program’s expectations on her shoulders.
Across the stage, on the adjacent mat at 170 pounds, stood Willard junior Emily Brixley; powerful, relentless, fighting not just for her own title but for a team surge that could flip the standings in an instant.
Two mats loaded with team implications. Two matches that would decide everything.
Nixa’s other finalists had fallen. The margin had tightened. The scenario was clear: Edmisson needed a win. A Willard victory paired with a Nixa loss could rewrite the script in seconds. The crowd felt it. Coaches were doing math mid-match. Teammates were pacing. Every whistle blast echoed heavier than the last.
This was the state tournament distilled to its purest form. Pressure, pride, and possibility colliding in real time.
The Moment That Sealed It
Edmisson wrestled like a senior who understood legacy. Every exchange calculated. Every scramble fought through. She didn’t just wrestle for herself, she wrestled for every early morning lift, every grind practice, every young girl in Missouri watching from the stands.
On the other mat, Brixley answered with her own brilliance, securing a title for Willard and keeping the team race electric until the final seconds.
When the dust settled, both athletes had their hands raised, and that was enough. Edmisson’s victory delivered the critical team points Nixa needed to hold the line. The Eagles had done it. Back-to-back Class 2 State Champions.
Not by a landslide. Not by comfort. But by grit.
More Than a Title. A Statement
What unfolded wasn’t just a championship finish. It was a testament to how far girls wrestling in Missouri has come.
Packed brackets. High-level technique. Strategy that mirrored the boys side. Crowds that understood the stakes. Programs like Nixa and Willard pushing each other to new heights. This isn’t “growing” anymore, it’s thriving.
The 2026 Class 2 finals delivered a scene worthy of the sport’s surge: two mats, two elite athletes, and a team race that came down to the final whistle. Nobody predicted it would land on those two matches, but that’s what makes the state tournament sacred. It reveals character under pressure.
This tournament wasn’t just about medals. It was about momentum. About the explosion of girls wrestling across Missouri. About packed brackets, elite talent, and freshmen who already look like legends in the making. If you’re looking for proof that women’s wrestling in this state is growing at warp speed, Class 2 just handed it to you.
Sister Power: The Breeden Twins Close a Chapter
Class 2 finals night opened with a moment that felt bigger than the bracket.
The Breeden twins, Lilly and Sandy, took the mat for one final ride together. When their names echoed through Mizzou Arena and the lights dropped, you could feel history unfolding in real time.
Lilly wasted no time securing her fall, making it clear she had somewhere to be. As soon as the referee slapped the mat, she didn’t celebrate long, she sprinted to the adjacent mat and sat in her sister’s corner. That’s what this sport is about.
Sandy Breeden battled Troy Buchanan sophomore Addlyn Amos in a back-and-forth war. It was grit versus grit, heart versus heart. When the final whistle blew with a 16–9 decision in Breeden’s favor, the sisters stood together. Three-time state champions, back on top of the podium.
Two sisters. One grind. Years of sacrifice. A legacy that will echo through Class 2 long after they’ve graduated.
Missouri women’s wrestling needs stories like this. And the Breeden’s delivered one for the ages.
The Freshman Invasion: The Future Is Now
If anyone thought the underclassmen would wait their turn, Class 2 erased that notion fast.
Three freshmen. Three state champions.
Mable Rogers (115) – Republic
Mable Rogers didn’t just win, she dominated. Two tech falls and a 14–0 major decision paved her way to the finals. She led the tournament in “most tech falls, least time” with three in just 12:49.
In the finals, Rogers shut the door with a 16–0 tech over Branson sophomore Alyssa Salemie. Total control. Surgical precision. If opponents scored, it was because Rogers allowed them back on their feet so she could score again.
Scout Puryear (130) – Willard
Perhaps the loudest statement of the tournament came from Willard freshman Scout Puryear. Across from her stood Nixa senior and returning state champion Addison Harkins. Experience. Credentials. Expectation. Puryear didn’t blink.
Her victory didn’t just shake the bracket, it tightened the team race and sent a message statewide: she’s here, and she’s not leaving anytime soon.
Jauzlyean Gray (135) – Fort Osage
Before the finals, Gray battled youth rival Erin Delling in a semifinal that felt like it belonged on Saturday night. She handled business with a major decision, then made history in the championship match.
Gray scored 22 points en route to a tech fall over Waynesville sophomore Addison Brown in one of the highest-scoring finals performances of the entire tournament. Gray’s pace was not match for Brown and it was clear, with her brother mat side, she was there to put on a show for everyone.
Three freshmen. Three titles. And four years ahead of them.
The scary part? With how fast Missouri women’s wrestling is growing, the target on their backs is already forming.
Repeaters and Breakthroughs
120 pound Sydney Stifter set a senior statement in her finals match. Stifter did what champions do, she repeated. Three pins to reach the finals. Just 45 seconds to finish it.
When the whistle blew, she exploded into a double, elevated her opponent, and drove her straight to her back. Push out. Reset. Boom. Fall. That’s how you graduate.
North Kansas City junior Temperence Lowe entered the season as a two-time qualifier who had never placed. She transferred. She changed rooms. She changed standards.
In the finals against Amelia Robinson, Lowe entered the third period up 3-2. She needed something big. Hip toss. Back exposure. Slap. Whistle. Hand raise. It was electric, and the crowed let us all know who they wanted to win that match as the entire place erupted. Lowe did something special, a storyline many didn’t even know . Lowe’s championship win marks the first individual state champion North Kansas City’s young women’s program has ever produced, and you could see it in her coaches face.
As she put it: she “cashed the check.”
140: A Semifinal for the Ages
The 140-pound bracket sparked debate all weekend about seeding and national rankings.
In the semifinals, Ariel Biggs and Kaylee Fallert collided in a match worthy of prime time. National rankings disagreed on who was superior. The mat decided. A 6-5 decision. Three full periods. Fans on their feet.
Fallert survived, then dominated the finals 16-3 to claim her title.
Sometimes the bracket doesn’t give you the finals you expect. Sometimes it gives you something even better.
Power, Pace, and Presence
At 145, Mira Richardson capitalized on a reset scramble and locked up a cradle for a first-period fall over Nixa’s Kamry Bourbon. 2 of Missouri’s top athletes, only one champion.
At 190, returning champion Kendall Angelo of Oak Park showed exactly why experience matters, overwhelming Alayna Leslie with pace and pressure en route to a 15-5 major decision. With Angelo graduating, the question now shifts; does this open the door for Leslie next season?
Undefeated. Unfinished. Unforgettable.
Liberty senior Alexis Stinson entered her final state tournament undefeated, and wrestling like it. But on the other side stood Sophiea Quinn, who recorded the fastest fall of the entire tournament in just seven seconds in her opening match.
Two seniors. One last match.
Quinn struck first. Stinson answered explosively; bursting from bottom, dropping her hips, driving through, and planting Quinn flat on her back.
Final whistle. Final fall. Final state title. A war path completed.
Bigger Than Medals
Class 2 in 2026 wasn’t just a tournament, it was a statement.
The depth is growing. The freshmen are fearless. The seniors are leaving legacies. Team races are tightening. Storylines are multiplying.
Women’s wrestling in Missouri isn’t “on the rise” anymore. It’s here.
Packed arenas. Elite performances. Families investing years into the grind. Programs building dynasties. Young girls in the stands watching and believing they belong.
If you were inside Mizzou Arena that weekend, you felt it.
This isn’t the beginning. This is momentum. And Missouri girls wrestling is just getting started.
Results:
100 –
Champion: Lilly Breeden (Liberty)
Runner-Up: Addison Haltgrewe (Francis Howell Central)
Third: Isabella Cullen (Troy/Buchanan) Fourth: Kinley Harker (Lee’s Summit West) Fifth: Aubrey Schaefer (Blue Springs) Sixth: Chloe Kirksey (Willard)
105 –
Champion: Sandy Breeden (Liberty)
Runner-Up: Addilyn Amos (Troy/Buchanan)
Third: Jiliana Tice (North Kansas City) Fourth: Heidi McArthur (Seckman) Fifth: Hannah Herrera (Kickapoo) Sixth: Hailey Moore (Northwest)
110 –
Champion: Kayleigh Milam (Jackson)
Runner-Up: Killian Evans (Blue Springs South)
Third: Alissa Chanda (North Kansas City) Fourth: Kirra Dunscomb (Eureka) Fifth: A’Shay White (Staley) Sixth: Ashton Mayes (Nixa)
115 –
Champion: Mable Rogers (Republic)
Runner-Up: Alyssa Salemie (Branson)
Third: Lynnae Dixon (Wilard) Fourth: Charley Sims (Platte County) Fifth: Avery Edwards (Lee’s Summit North) Sixth: Anh Ngo (North Kansas City)
120 –
Champion: Sydney Stifter (Belton)
Runner-Up: Millie Waterman (Republic)
Third: Kenadee Mcdowell (Francis Howell) Fourth: Abigail Monaco (Park Hill South) Fifth: Dakota Nix (Waynesville) Sixth: Ryah Wurman (Marquette)
125 –
Champion: Temperance Lowe (North Kansas City)
Runner-Up: Amelia Robison (Northwest)
Third: Anna Bowles (Francis Howell) Fourth: Savannah Bratten (Republic) Fifth: Yomara Gutierrez (Grandview) Sixth: Keylee Jones (Capital City)
130 –
Champion: Scout Puryear (Willard)
Runner-Up: Addison Harkins (Nixa)
Third: Reilly Kastner (Park Hill) Fourth: Quinn Hope (Lindbergh) Fifth: Kylie Dunn (Fort Osage) Sixth: Kaitlyn Sparkman (Francis Howell Central)
135 –
Champion: Jauzlyean Gray (Fort Osage)
Runner-Up: Addison Brown (Waynesville)
Third: Erin Delling (Parkway Central) Fourth: Brylee James (Nixa) Fifth: Aubrey Peterson (Francis Howell North) Sixth: Maleyah Morrow (Mehlville)
140 –
Champion: Kaylee James (Carthage)
Runner-Up: Ja’Ziya Miles (Staley)
Third: Ariel Biggs (Fort Osage) Fourth: Olivia Vickers (Seckman) Fifth: Clara Meyer (Lee’s Summit) Sixth: Diamond Keytue (Oak Park)
145 –
Champion: Mira Richardson (Eureka)
Runner-Up: Kamryn Bourbon (Nixa)
Third: Athena Anderson (Capital City) Fourth: Aryana Roberts (Belton) Fifth: caroline Owens (Seckman) Sixth: Sierra Bromwich (Troy/Buchanan)
155 –
Champion: Natalie Edmisson (Nixa)
Runner-Up: Halen Phillips (Francis Howell Central)
Third: Ella Kimbrough (Lafayette Wildwood) Fourth: Kaylee Scott (Lee’s Summit North) Fifth: Molly Marischen (Troy/Buchanan) Sixth: Ari Bartholomew (Blue Springs)
170 –
Champion: Emily Brixley (Willard)
Runner-Up: Chandni Banks (Timberland)
Third: Ashlynn Alexander (Francis Howell North) Fourth: Ava Purvis (Jefferson City) Fifth: Malaysia Hunt (Marquette) Sixth: Emma Gaeta (Eureka)
190 –
Champion: Kendall Angelo (Oak Park)
Runner-Up: Alayna Leslie (Staley)
Third: Harmony Moore (Willard) Fourth: Jayden Moehle (Grain Valley) Fifth: Avery Muniz (Nixa) Sixth: Peyton Holland (Francis Howell Central)
235 –
Champion: Alexis Stinson (Liberty)
Runner-Up: Sophiea Quinn (Lebanon)
Third: Jeralyn Spear (Troy/Buchanan) Fourth: Hali Windes (Fort Osage) Fifth: Gwen Hillermann (Washington) Sixth: Mackenzie Booth (Webb City)
