Cody Thorn
Park Hill and Park Hill South had the most wrestlers on the top of the podium, but the Queen of the North Tournament, held on Saturday, Jan. 21 at Liberty High School, was incredibly balanced.
Of the 14 weight classes, 11 different teams had a champion in the event. Kearney ended up being the top team overall with 285 ½ points and one champion.
Smithville, also with one champion, took second with 250 points, just ahead of third-place Mid-Buchanan, which had 245 ½ points.
Liberty North (238) and Park Hill (227 ½) rounded out the top five.
The top three finishers in each weight class earned a medal. The field featured four wrestlers ranked No. 1 in the state and two others ranked No. 2.
Park Hill secured championships in three straight weight classes: 115, 120 and 125.
No. 1-ranked Angelina Vargas (115) pinned her way to the title with four pins, ending with a fall in 2 minutes, 26 seconds over East Atchison’s Brooklyn Wennihan.
Allison Gonier, ranked No. 6 at 120, won in a tiebreaker over Staley’s Lexi Hatfield, ranked No. 7, by a tiebreaker in overtime in the semifinals. In the finals, Gonier beat Liberty’s Julia Breeden, ranked No. 3 at 115, by a pin in 42 seconds.
