Class 2 Girls State Championship Recap

03/03/2025 9:11 AM

5,134

COLUMBIA — Last season, the Nixa girls wrestling team just missed out on its first state championship.

The Eagles were just .5 points behind Francis Howell Central in the team score in last year’s Class 2 Missouri State High School Wrestling Championships as they finished in second.

This season, Nixa left no doubt on which team was going to win the team state title. It ran away with first place, scoring 139.5 points to win the first team title in program history. Francis Howell Central took second and won the tiebreaker with third-place Liberty as both had 88 points. Troy Buchanan captured fourth with 87 points. Belton was just outside the top four as it took fifth with 86.

“We were a half point away from winning it last year, so this is really special,” Nixa junior Addison Harkins said. “This is so exciting.”

Harkins (125 pounds) was the lone Eagle to win a state championship. Others for Nixa to earn a state medal were Hanna Egley (106, fourth place), Ashton Mayes (105, fourth), Ava Frye (140, sixth), Kamryn Bourbon (145, fourth), Calyese Dupree (170, second) and Jessie Nelson (190, fouth)

Below is a recap of the championship matches and the list of medalists:

100: Liberty junior Lilly Breeden used last season as motivation. At state last season, she fell to Timberland senior Taylor Reiter of Timberland and ended up taking second place. This year was different. She defeated defending state champion and Troy Buchanan senior Zoey Haney 6-0 to get her second state championship.

“It feels really good. That is really what motivated me all season,” Breeden said. “I had to go back up from that setback. I had to come back and get my second one.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Lilly Breeden of Liberty
2nd Place – Zoey Haney of Troy Buchanan
3rd Place – Juliana Tice of North Kansas City
4th Place – Hanna Egley of Nixa
5th Place – Mikayla Stickler of Fort Osage
6th Place – Cydni Buchanan of Washington

105: Liberty junior Sandy Breeden was happy to win a state championship at the same time as her sister Lilly. She did just that and took a 12-8 win after getting a takedown and a four-point near fall with an armbar in the third period.

“This one was special because Lilly won, too,” Breeden said. “She caught me off guard and I knew I had to do something big and hopefully secure the win. I got the armbar and secured it until time ran out.

Medalists:

1st Place – Sandy Breeden of Liberty
2nd Place – Isabelle Apple of Francis Howell North
3rd Place – Killian Evans of Blue Springs South
4th Place – Ashton Mayes of Nixa
5th Place – Brooklyn Robinson of Northwest
6th Place – Kinley Harker of Lee`s Summit West

110: Camdenton senior Abigail Fuglsang finished in third and was a runner-up twice in her last three seasons. In her last high school match, she finally broke through in the championship match as she pinned Jackson junior Kayleigh Milam in just 48 seconds.

“It feels really rewarding,” Fuglsang said. “It still doesn’t really feel real. My hard work feels like it’s finally paying off.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Abigail Fuglsang of Camdenton
2nd Place – Kayleigh Milam of Jackson
3rd Place – Addilyn Amos of Troy Buchanan
4th Place – Anh Ngo of North Kansas City
5th Place – Addison St. george of Rockwood Summit
6th Place – Annabelle Dunlop of Winnetonka

115: Lebanon senior Jessa Joiner admitted she wasn’t very good at wrestling when she first started. She said she would just fall over when she would try initially. Things are a lot different now. Joiner won her third straight state championship and improved to 44-1 on the season as she took a 15-0 tech fall over Branson freshman Alyssa Salemie.

“I didn’t think I would be anywhere near where I am at right now,” Joiner said. “I was terrible when I first started. I would just fall over when I first started practicing. I thought, ‘Maybe one day!’ And today was that day.

“My dad really helped me out. He studied high school and college wrestling. He got up early in the mornings and took me to practice and we would practice and work out for hours.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Jessa Joiner of Lebanon
2nd Place – Alyssa Salemie of Branson
3rd Place – Jazlyn Smith-Freeman of Smith-Cotton
4th Place – Maya Saldivar of William Chrisman
5th Place – Kirra Dunscombe of Eureka
6th Place – Charley Sims of Platte County

120: After what she called a tough match, winning a state championship gave Belton junior Sydney Stifter enough energy to run back and fourth through the back tunnels at Mizzou Arena. She was energized and pumped following her win by fall in 3:11 over Lafayette Wildwood senior Hannah Handerson.

“I had two really tough matches today,” Stifter said. “After last year when I didn’t make it, this whole experience has been exotic for me. I am so grateful for the opportunity.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Sydney Stifter of Belton
2nd Place – Hannah Henderson of Lafayette (Wildwood)
3rd Place – Kenadee Mcdowell of Francis Howell
4th Place – Carrington Reed of Hazelwood Central
5th Place – Dakota Nix of Waynesville
6th Place – Abbi Holder of Seckman

125: Harkins was confident going into her match with Ft. Zumwalt South junior Jana Gumahin. Harkins beat Gumahin twice in the regular season and continued that streak into the state tournament. Harkins won 14-6 over Gumahin in the finals to earn her gold medal.

“I wrestled her a couple times before and this is my third time beating her,” Harkins said. “I was confident going in but knew she was a tough opponent.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Addison Harkins of Nixa
2nd Place – Jena Gumahin of Ft. Zumwalt South
3rd Place – Jasmine Wolfe of Smith-Cotton
4th Place – Kylie Dunn of Fort Osage
5th Place – Anna Bowles of Francis Howell
6th Place – Millie Robison of Northwest

130: Ft. Zumwalt South senior Kailey Benson ended her senior season with a perfect record. She finished 48-0 and earned a 19-3 tech fall over Cathage freshman Kaylee James in the title bout.

Medalists:

1st Place – Kailey Benson of Francis Howell Central
2nd Place – Kaylee James of Carthage
3rd Place – Adia Hull of Willard
4th Place – Ayamba Abunaw of North Point
5th Place – Reilly Kastner of Park Hill
6th Place – Darilyn George of Lee`s Summit West

135: Columbia Rock Bridge had to get through defending state champion Savanna Franklin in the semifinals to make it to the championship. She did just that and dominated that matchup 17-2. She then cruised to a 17-6 victory against Parkway Central freshman Erin Delling to earn her first state championship.

“I had some tough opponents today,” Espinosa said. “I am proud of all of them and myself. This was a great way to end my senior season. I will probably see some of these girls in college. This give me some confidence going into the offseason.

“I was really nervous in that last match. I probably could have wrestled better.”

Medalists:

1st Place – Jacinda Espinosa of Rock Bridge
2nd Place – Erin Delling of Parkway Central
3rd Place – Savanna Franklin of Belton
4th Place – Nevaeh Smith of Francis Howell Central
5th Place – Aubrey Peterson of Francis Howell North
6th Place – Addison Brown of Waynesville

140: Belton senior Louise Juitt wasted little time ending her senior season with a perfect record and her first state title. She won by fall in 58 seconds against Capital City sophomore Athena Anderson to seal her spot on the highest podium.

Medalists:

1st Place – Louise Juitt of Belton
2nd Place – Athena Anderson of Capital City
3rd Place – Demetria Higgins of McCluer
4th Place – Irish Lee of Carthage
5th Place – Brooke Dollard of Troy Buchanan
6th Place – Ava Frye of Nixa

145: Rockwood Summit senior Madeline Hayes finished as a runner-up the last two season and Saturday was her last chance to get a state title. She did just that following a 5-0 win over Jefferson City senior Alexis Dinwiddie in the championship match.

Medalists:

1st Place – Madeline Haynes of Rockwood Summit
2nd Place – Alexis Dunwiddie of Jefferson City
3rd Place – Lucia Henriquez of Park Hill South
4th Place – Kamryn Bourbon of Nixa
5th Place – Kamahni Jackson of North Kansas City
6th Place – Gracie Mcdole of Timberland

155: Willard sophomore Ellie Higginbotham won her first state championship by getting a takedown with 47 seconds left in regulation to take a 4-2 decision over Francis Howell Central senior Dana Thee Sanchez.

Medalists:

1st Place – Ellie Higginbotham of Willard
2nd Place – Dana Thee sanchez of Francis Howell Central
3rd Place – Maggie Ortmann of Washington
4th Place – Serenity Tilford of Rolla
5th Place – Paige Strauch of North Kansas City
6th Place – Mya Willis of Eureka

170: Winnetonka senior Autumn Calvert ended her high school career with back-to-back state titles. She had a tough matchup with another defending state champion in Dupree. She rode out Dupree in the ultimate tiebreaker to win 2-1.

Medalists:

1st Place – Autumn Calvert of Winnetonka
2nd Place – Calyese Dupree of Nixa
3rd Place – Emily Brixey of Willard
4th Place – Makenzie Solis of Francis Howell Central
5th Place – Ashlynn Alexander of Francis Howell North
6th Place – Emma Faszold of Francis Howell

190: Oak Park junior Kendall Angelo bounced back from a runner-up finish in 2024. She got a near fall in double overtime to defeated Lafayette Wildwood senior Aaliyah Grammer in the championship contest.

Medalists:

1st Place – Kendall Angelo of Oak Park
2nd Place – Aaliyah Grammer of Lafayette (Wildwood)
3rd Place – Yisel Perez of Waynesville
4th Place – Jessie Nelson of Nixa
5th Place – Zoë Freeman of Poplar Bluff
6th Place – Harmony Moore of Willard

235: Liberty junior Alexis Stinson faced Grain Valley junior Jayden Moehle for the fourth time this season. Stinson was 2-1 coming in and used a switch into a half nelson to turn Moehle and get a pin in 2:27 to win her first state title.

Medalists: