Warrenton High School freshman wrestler Caelyn Hanff and Wright City High School sophomore wrestler Elizabeth Riggs both clinched spots in the girls state wrestling tournament with second and third-place finishes at this weekend’s Missouri State High School Activities Association District 2 wrestling tournament at North Point High School.
After winning all three of her matches in the first day of the district tournament Saturday, Hanff defeated Eldon High School wrestler Olivia Chapman 5-3 Sunday to clinch a spot in the state tournament. She won two of her three matches Saturday by pinning her opponent. She won the quarterfinal match 16-6. Hanff finished second in the 149-pound weight class.
“She wrestled great. Fought hard and we’re proud of how she competed,” Warrenton High School wrestling coach Clayton Olsson said.
After trailing 2-0 after the first period of her semifinal match, Hanff used a 5-0 second period to take a lead she never relinquished.
“She does typically start a little slower and kind of feel her opponents out a little bit,” Olsson said. “She’s better on the bottom than she is on the feet in wrestling. So when you get to that second and third period when we’re getting to wrestle in what we call referee’s position, that’s really where she starts to shine.”
Riggs won all three of her matches Sunday to place third in the 125-pound weight class. After losing her second match of the day Saturday, Riggs defeated Tipton High School wrestler Holly Parker to advance to the second day of the district tournament. Riggs won her first match Sunday to advance to the consolation semifinals. She notched a 4-2 win in the consolation semifinals over Liberty High School wrestler Elektra Lowe to clinch a spot in the state tournament. She pinned Nevaeh Smith to earn third place in the district tournament.
“She wrestled four hard, solid matches” Wright City girls wrestling coach Fred Ross said. “She had to beat two girls that had beat her already this year…She topped it off with a pin for third place which was outstanding.”
Ross commented Riggs lost a match last year at the district tournament by one point that would have punched her ticket in the state tournament. Ross said for Riggs to make it to the state tournament this year is “really awesome.”
Warrenton wrestler Madisen Nash wrestled at 141 for the Warriors and went 1-2 in the first day of the competition. Krystal Fischer of Versailles pinned Nash in Nash’s first match at the 0:45 mark. After defeating Ava Bryan of Battle 1-0, she fell in her second consolation match. Emma Henley of Hickman pinned Nash at the 2:38 mark.
“She’s a first-year wrestler,” Olsson said. “She’s been battling injuries all year, and she fought through them. Got a win at districts in her first ever year, so that’s really a great thing to build on.”
Wright City wrestler Hailey Henson went 1-2 at the district tournament. She wrestled at the 115-pound class for Wright City. After losing her first match to Kailey Benson, she rebounded to pin Evie Ryan at the 5:31 mark in her first consolation match. She was pinned by Hannah Wright in her second consolation match.
Ella Greenwell wrestled in the 235-pound class for the Wildcats and lost both her matches. She was pinned by Keziah Segovia at the 1:05 mark in her opening round match. She lost her first consolation match to Matty Tolbert in a 6-0 decision.
Hanff and Riggs will compete at the Missouri girls wrestling tournament Feb. 17-19.
The Warrenton and Wright City High School boys wrestling teams will compete in two separate districts this weekend. Warrenton will compete in Class 3, District 2 at North Point High School. Wright City will compete in Class 2, District 2 at Mexico High School.