Michael Smith
13 min read
By Michael Smith
Lebanon head girls wrestling coach Matt Neely had a lofty goal of sending all 13 of his wrestlers who competed in the Sectional 3 Tournament to state.
That goal was not met Saturday at Harrisonville High School, but the Yellowjackets pushed through eight competitors to state, the most of any team in Missouri.
“I thought we could have had a couple more, we just had a couple of bad matches,” Neely said. “I am pleased we got eight, but we could have done better.”
Cassville and Marshfield qualified the second most in the tournament with four each.
This was the first year that there has been a girls sectional tournament and only the top three finishers from each weight division qualified for state. The last two seasons, the top four qualified.
Three of the eight Lebanon qualifiers won their division which included Taylor Johnson (143 pounds), who is ranked No. 3 in her weight class according to the MissouriWrestling.com poll; Ali Haiser (159), ranked No. 2; and Mariyah Brumley (235), ranked No. 5.
Others to qualify for the Yellowjackets include Adeline Cottongim (third, 112), Kaylyn Rogers (second, 117), Halea Bartel (second, 122), Bailey Joiner (third, 127) and Quincey Glendenning (second, 132).
“Everyone wrestled the way they should’ve,” Neely said. “Adeline Cottongin beat someone she hadn’t beat before. Ali Haiser, the girl she beat in the finals, was ranked higher than her.”
Below is a breakdown of how each weight class panned out:
102: No. 1 ranked Ashlyn Eli showed why she is the clear cut favorite to win her weight class at state this season. She spent a total of 2:55 in the circle, getting all first period pins, including a fall in 1:13 over No. 4-ranked Jasmine Alcantara of Raytown South.
