If Thursday’s dual was any indication, the Odessa girls wrestling team could be a top team in the Class 1 Missouri high school field.
Last season, the Bulldogs finished tied for ninth place in the Class 1 state tournament. They could take a leap into the top five this season.
INTERVIEWS:
They flashed that potential against Knob Noster at home as Odessa cruised to a 51-12 victory.
“We were focused a lot on aggression and conditioning in practices,” Odessa first-year head girls wrestling coach LoriAnn Archuleta said. “That has really helped us out.”
Junior Addison Eddleman, a 115-pounder, was one of those wrestlers who showed aggression for the Bulldogs. She earned a pin over Knob Noster’s Quunn Binder in the second period to earn her team six points.
“I thought I wrestled really well,” said Eddleman said. “I got some things I really need to work on but I think I did well overall.”
Freshman Addison Shank was another Bulldog who showed some aggression her 100-pound match against the Panthers. After she fell 2-0 after her opponent Jenna Berislavich got a take down, she came back with a reversal and turned her opponent for a fall 1:15 to cap her team’s blowout victory.
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get the pin because I really don’t like being on bottom,” Shank said. “When I circled and she fell, I knew I could get the pin with the half (nelson).”
The match was Shank’s first and she stood out to Archuleta.
“She is very busy,” Archuleta said of Shank. “She has been to some play rehearsals so she hasn’t been to many practices, but she really showed herself tonight. He’s doing pretty good.
Sophomore Tori Palmer (130), who is listed on the junior varsity roster, stepped in for the varsity team and got a third-period pinfall of her own against Hailey Pancia.
“I thought I definitely improved from last year, and I thought I did well for my first match of the season,” Palmer said. “In that match, I used a chicken wing (to get the pin). It was my first time using that.
Other Bulldogs to pick up victories were sophomore Emily Bischoff (140) by a third-period pin over Amelia Brown; freshman Hallie Brice (110) by a first-period pin against Autumn Orson; Payton Coe (120) by a 5-3 decision over Taria Seymour; sophomore Emma Mahan (125) by a medical forfeit against Abby Wade; and Ava Sanders (145) and Brooke Butler (170) by forfeit.
“It was a close one, I definitely could have done better,” Coe said of her close victory. “I was definitely tired at the end. I think It’s only going to make me work harder.
Knob Noster notched two individual victories. Kylie Miller and Abby Sader both got first-period pins.
