The Lawson girls wrestling team is a team is one that is flying under the radar.
The Cardinals have seven freshmen on their squad and have enough talent to be a contender for a team trophy at any tournament they attend.
That was the case in the 2025 Winnetonka Girls Varsity Invitational Saturday as freshman Josie Holman and senior Aliyah Jesse led the team to a first-place finish by winning their weight brackets. Lawson finished with 177.5 points, Smithville took second with 141.5 points and Excelsior Springs took third with 135.
“We have a lot of freshmen, probably seven of them,” Jesse said. “They are really good. It’s kind of sad we are leaving this year because this is the strongest our team has ever been.”
Jesse put an exclamation point on Lawson’s win by getting her 100th career pin in her championship match of the 145-pound weight class. She pinned all three opponents she faced, including Makayla Peters of St. Joseph Benton in the title bout.
“I am very proud of myself,” Jesse said. “That was one of my goals. I put in a lot of work over the summer with my brother and sister. I quit volleyball to focus on wrestling over the summer.”
Holman (135 pounds) was one of those talented freshman Jesse spoke of and she showed why in her bracket. Holman pinned all of her opponents and finished her day with a win by fall in 2:38 against Staley sophomore Ja’Ziya Miles.
“I think I did well on my transitions,” Holman said. “I was able to get my punch across half.”
Other Lawson wrestlers to finish in the top three were Caitlyn Cline (106, second), Kylee Jesse (130, third) and Maddyson Coleman (155, second).
Below is a summary of the winners of each weight class not already mentioned:
100: Smithville sophomore Kyndal Holderby won by fall in all three of her matches and she took down Cline in 1:02 in the championship bout to take first place.
105: Oak Park senior Suzette Mendez may have pulled off the upset of the tournament in her championship match. She came into the match 31-16 and took on No. 6-ranked Norah Watkins of Rock Port, who was 29-6. Mandez scored four points in the first period with an escape and takedown. She was able to hang on for a 5-4 victory to secure her spot atop the podium.
110: Winnetonka sophomore Annabelle Dunlop was prepared for her finals match with Cameron’s Skye Mallen. Afterall, they just wrestled last week. Dunlop showed that she was ready, taking a 16-1 tech fall to earn first place.
“The fireman has been working well for me,” Dunlop said. “I wrestled (Mallen) last week, so I got a good feel for wrestling with her.”
115: Oddesa senior Addison Eddleman came into the tournament with just two matches under her belt for the 2024-25 season. He has been out most of the season with an undisclosed injury. On Saturday, she for back into the swing of things as she had a pin and tech fall win going in her title match against Rock Port’s Evelyn Heitz. In that one, she won by fall in 2:43 to earn a handmade hammer as a prize.
“I am pretty close to 100 percent,” Addleman said. “I think I will be there by districts. I think wrestled pretty good. I was kind of tired. I haven’t wrestled in a while it was hard to go in 100 percent. Especially for not wrestling for as long as I have, I think I did pretty good.”
120: Odessa junior Aaliyah Sanders improved to 25-5 on the season as she went 3-0 in the tournament with three pins, including one in 3:51 in the finals over Emma Teten of Rock Port.
125: Harrison sophomore Ryle Ingrassia showed why she is ranked No. 1 in her weight class in Class 1. For the second time this season, she faced No. 2-ranked Yoo Jung Lee of Chilicothe in the finals of tournament. Ingrassia is now 2-0 against Lee as she won by pin in 4:44 in the finals.
130: Center senior Jayana Mattingly-Essex is having a breakout season one year after suffering a concussion that kept her out for much of the 2023-24 campaign. She credits her season to being a part of a weightlifting program. She showed what she could do Saturday as she won two matches by pin and one by major decision. Her championship match saw her get a pin in 3:42 over Chilicothe’s Bailey Bachman.
“I am so proud of myself,” Mattingly-Essex said. “Last year I suffered a from concussion. From there, I have been working with a powerlifting program at my school called Powerjackets. It really helped with my conditioning and strength.”
140: Smithville’s Danica Ballard said she hasn’t had many matches go the full six minutes this season. Her championship match with Chillicothe senior Tori Stoner did go the full six minutes and she got three takedowns and a four-point near fall with a reversal and escape mixed in during a 16-9 win.
“I am used to quick matches, and I haven’t had a six-minute match in a while,” Ballard said. “I had good competition. It’s going to set me up for districts.
“In practice, my partner Addy and I have been working on hand fighting and keeping our feet moving. That ended up helping in that match.”
155: Maysville freshman Claire Barton improved to 32-7 as she won all three of her matches in her division. She capped her day with a pin over Coleman in the championship bout.
170: Smithville junior Adalee Pickett said she was well prepared for this tournament. Her team has competed in some of the biggest tournament in the Midwest, including the Kansas City Stampede. On Saturday, she clearly looked like the best wrestler in her bracket as she pinned all her opponents, including St. Joseph Benton’s Isabel Foster in the title bout.
“My coaches always set us up for success,” Pickett said. “We always go to the biggest tournaments. I want to get that state championship medal around my neck this year. We have been to tournaments way bigger than this. It prepares me for these moments.”
190: Returning state runner-up Kendall Angelo went to the third period with Gallatin’s Abigail Parker and trailed 1-0. Angelo got a reversal 20 seconds in and got the pin in 4:44 to take first.
“It’s always about how you wrestle,” Angelo said. “She was up 1-0. I just had to keep going and believe in yourself. I turned with a reverse half.”
235: Rock Port senior Hadleigh Jones only had two match but won them both to take first. She won 13-3 over Ciara Williams of Harrisonville in the fin