Jonathan Bowen
Despite losing all of the Illinois schools from last year’s lineup the Seckman tournament didn’t lose much potency in terms of quality matchups. There were three state-ranked teams altogether in attendance. Wright City (8th in Class 1) along with Washington and Francis Howell Central (Ranked 9th and 3rd in Class 2 respectively). Along with these teams, there were numerous ranked wrestlers scattered throughout the weight classes. In terms of the Mexico Lady Bulldogs, their coach was hoping to get in quality matches, especially against a handful of the 9 District 2 Tournament opponents attending the Seckman Tournament.
Overall the Mexico Lady Bulldogs went 17-16 in all contested matches (not including byes) in a very tough tournament loaded with both Class 1 and Class 2 schools. Seven of those thirty-three matches were against ranked wrestlers (most of whom were from Class 2). They brought home three medals at the end of the day (as the tournament only awarded medals to the top two finishers).
Highlights:
Sophomore Alexus Johns, secured three more pins on her way to another tournament championship. This brings up her win total to 38 on the season. One of these pins was against her District 2 opponent from Wright City.
Senior Karisa Haden faced a deep 190 lb. weight class with 3 of the top 10 girls in Class 2. She would end up going 1-2 against those opponents on the day. But she managed to secure two additional wins in her bracket on the way to a 3rd place finish. Her one ranked win was against the #7 ranked wrestler from Jefferson City. Each of her wins will provide her with some benefit of the doubt when it comes to the District seeding meeting next week. With her first win of the day Karisa Haden was able to reach career win number 50 after only wrestling the past two seasons. She now has 31 wins on this season.
Sophomore Abigail Bowen, cruised into the finals of her bracket with 3 straight pins, including a pin versus District 2 opponent Palmyra. These three pins bring her win total to 35 on the season. In the finals she faced the #8 ranked wrestler in Class 2 from Francis Howell Central. Bowen would work hard for positions but couldn’t get her offense going as her opponent from Francis Howell Central was able to shut down any and all attacks. Bowen finished 2nd after losing 8-0.
Senior Katherine Bowen, similar to her fellow senior (Haden) had a bracket with three ranked wrestlers. She started off with the 5th ranked wrestler from Francis Howell Central (Class 2). She would end up losing that opening round but still would have a shot at reaching the finals based on how the brackets were set up. However, Bowen was able to bounce back…
