Missouri Wrestling
Mexico Lady Bulldogs Inaugural Season-Part 15
By: Jonathan Bowen
A term that most high school wrestlers are not familiar with, Sectionals. They may have heard the term spouted by one of their coaches or if one of their parents wrestled 20+ years ago or so. This can be good news for any wrestler who qualified for the next round but knows they can make some improvements and place slightly better than what you did the previous outing. And improvements had to be made among several in Mexico’s lineup if they were able to advance to the state tournament. But the way MSHSAA chose to handle the postseason with all of the current restrictions, the ladies would have to wait an additional two weeks in order to see if they could qualify for the state meet.
And like so many other winters, the week of Sectionals (which would have been state week in years past), a plague of snow days and extreme wind chills forced Mexico to cancel school most of the week, which would make practices tough to get to. And with inclement weather cancelling events all week, and the question of would Sectionals be postponed or not? The good news is for the Lady Bulldogs the weather cleared out enough for them to travel.
This would also be another weekend of firsts for the Lady Bulldogs as they would be staying overnight close to the tournament venue in Versailles in order to not have to get up and leave like they had done so many times this year. These overnight trips can be fun filled with team-bonding and hopefully a full-night’s rest. So Coach Senor took his entire squad, packed them and their (way too much according to some) stuff and drove down to Versailles.
Overall Picture: Katie Bowen will be Mexico’s first girl and lone representative at State for this year’s team and Abby Drew was only one point away from qualifying herself.
Individual Results
Katie Bowen at 102 lbs placed 2nd. First round Katie was able to dispatch her first round opponent from Francis Howell Central via a first period pin. She then had a returning state medalist opponent from Brentwood. The Brentwood opponent attempted to headlock Katie a few times but was countered. Katie nearly tech-falled her opponent by a score of 17-3. This win did two things. The first being she became Mexico’s first state qualifier for the Lady Bulldogs. Secondly, this setup a re-match from earlier in the season against her opponent from St. Charles. The match was even going into the 3rd period at 0-0. Katie fought hard on bottom the entire 3rd period but got pinned with just six seconds left in regulation.
Abby Drew at 122 lbs placed 4th. Abby secured a solid 15-3 first round victory to reach the semis but fell to an eventual state qualifier from Palmyra via a pin. This loss sent Abby to the other side of the bracket and she would face her opponent from Blair Oaks, whom she lost to at the District Tournament. Abby got her revenge and won in overtime by a score of 8-7. However, this win came with a price as she received a minor injury. In her state qualifying match, she would face her first round opponent from earlier in the day. She battled hard, but ended up losing a close 4-3 match to the senior from McCluer North. Abby finished her first season with a record of 24-19.
Kaylynn Pehle at 132 did not place. It was a rough day on the mats for Kaylynn who appeared to find her stride the last 3 weeks of the season but it was not meant to be. She lost her first round match to an eventual state qualifier from Timberland. She then would end up losing her first round wrestleback match against her opponent from Holt. She finished her first season with a record of 15-27.
Choice Foster at 143 did not place. It was a rough day on the mats for Choice as well. She lost her first round match to an eventual state qualifier from Fort Zumwalt West. She then would end up losing her first round wrestleback match against her opponent from Brentwood. She finished her first season with a record of 6-27.
Brett Iman at 151 did not place. It was a rough day on the mats for Brett as well. She lost her first round match to an eventual sectional champion and state qualifier from Francis Howell. She then received a bye to reach the consultation semis, where she faced her opponent from Holt. She got pinned in the first period, ending her season. She finished her first season with a record of 7-27.
.
