The girls wrestling squad closed the most successful season in school history by bringing home the team championship this past weekend at the TSSAA State Championships in Franklin, Tenn. Additionally, seven girls placed in the state tournament, with two bringing home first-place medals.
For those unfamiliar with high school wrestling, the top six wrestlers in each weight class earn a “place” on the podium. Each match earns points toward the team title. With nine girls advancing to State, the squad had a good chance at finishing near the top.
After the two-day event concluded, the Lady Coyotes found themselves at the top, winning the team title with a combined 152 points, 9.5 points better than perennial powerhouse Cleveland High School.
Girls head coach Brock Budesheim believes all the hard work paid off.
“I am extremely proud of the way these girls have competed throughout the season,” he said. “They have trusted the process, trusted their coaches, and most importantly, trusted God to lead them in the right direction. I truly believe that no other team is more deserving of this State Championship than this group of girls. Taking the title over the third ranked team in the entire nation, just wow.”
Juniors Irelynn Laurin and Mariana Bowen paced the squad with individual State titles.
Lauren defeated each of her opponents in a pin fall. Facing JayLee Garcia from Cleveland High School in the first round, Lauren pinned her in 50 seconds. She secured the win in the next round with a 54 second pin against Madalynn Sepulveda from Rockvale High School.
The semifinals saw Laurin face off with Jonna Patterson of Blackman High School. The pin fall victory took 1:53, and Laurin headed to the championship match versus Pearl Cohn’s Lakeria Kelly.
The championship almost went the full three-minute distance, but Laurin pinned Kelly in 2:33 to claim her first State championship.
Bowen (138 lbs.) earned her third gold medal in three years by defeating Clarksville High’s Ava Johnson in a 12-10 decision.
Bowen earned her first three wins by pin fall. In the first round, she faced Nevaeh Pruett from Shelbyville Central. The match ended after 36 seconds with a pin fall win.
Facing Katie Mason of Page High in the second round, Bowen took her down in 45 seconds to move on to the semifinals.
The semifinals saw another Bowen pin fall when she pinned Lainee Kidd from Gibbs High School in 50 seconds. Bowen headed to her third straight State Championship match.
The final did not see a pin fall victory. Instead, in a very close match, Bowen won 12-10 in a Decision. After two periods, Bowen was ahead 11-2, but two near falls and a penalty against Bowen brought Johnson to within one point. However, Bowen was able to execute an escape with one second left to ensure the victory.
The victory capped an undefeated season for Bowen.
Besides the two gold medals, sophomore Lexi Dean and senior Jehieli Velez-Amodovar earned silver for finishing second, and senior Syriana Berrios brought a third place finish.
The other girls’ results follow:
- Senior Syriana Berrios (114 lbs.) finished third with a 15-5 Major Decision over Cresson Postlewaite from Seymour High School.
- Senior Jes Barefield (126 lbs.) finished sixth with a 15-2 Major Decision loss to Gibbs High School’s Delaney Nichols.
- Sophomore Lexi Dean (132 lbs.) took silver after a 8-0 Major Decision loss to Carolline Hilton from Cleveland High School
- Freshman Bella Lauren (152 lbs.) won fifth place with a 2:14 pin fall over Marley Harris from Warren County.
- Senior Jehieli Velez-Almodovar (235 lbs.) earned silver after she dropped a 8-0 Major Decision to Ashleigh Williams from Stewarts Creek High School
Coach Budesheim said he wasn’t surprised by the results.
“This is proof that if you grind hard, do the right things when no one is looking, and believe in yourself and your abilities, you can accomplish anything.”
He said wrestlers are just build differently.
“It has been less than 24 hours from this team accomplishing history, and I have already been contacted about when they can get in to the room to continue training.”
