A two invitational week gave the Cascade girls’ wrestling team plenty of matches as the Cougars prepare for the state-qualifying tournament, which will be Jan. 27 at Luther College in Decorah.
Unfortunately, in the first meet of the week, Jan. 9, at Dubuque Senior, the Cougars lost two athletes to injury, as Erica Cannon suffered a knee injury and Ava Lawler injured her forearm in her second match.
Kinzi Martin placed fourth with a 2-2 record. She opened with a bye and her other win was by fall over Western Dubuque’s Gabriella McDermott in 55 seconds.
Leah Schwenker placed fifth with a 4-1 record. She opened with a win by fall over Natalie Printy, of Dubuque Senior. After losing in the quarterfinals, she worked her way through the consolation bracket by pinning Wahlert’s Emily Bahl in seven seconds, Central DeWitt’s Krista Patchin in 12 seconds and Dubuque Senior’s Nicole Printy in 1:07.
Despite the injury, Ava Lawler finished sixth. After falling in her opening match, she rebounded with a win by fall over Emma Klein in 2:41. The injury occurred mid-match and after the win, she headed to the emergency room.
Ella Madsen-Lucas finished sixth at 3-2. She received two byes and pinned Senior’s Hailae Blocklinger in 4:24.
Halana Reed was sixth with a 3-2 record. She received a bye, won y a 4-2 decision over Cascade’s Jennifer Knepper and pinned Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s Rylee Ostroviak in 2:18.
Baleigh Martin finished seventh with a 3-2 record. She had a bye and pinned Dubuque Senior’s Lauren Busch in 59 seconds and Central DeWitt’s Krista Patchin in 45 seconds.
Gracee Kearney, Grace Davis and Jennifer Knepper all finished 1-2.
“I thought our girls wrestled pretty well,” coach Josh Lawler said of the Dubuque Senior Invitational “There were a lot of good teams there and some we have not seen before.
“Overall, it was some of the best competition we have seen to this point. This meet was formatted in a 16-person bracket like the girls will see at regionals so it was good for them to learn how that works rather than the typical round robins and scramble they have been wrestling due to time constraints and it being the first sanctioned year.
“A 16-person format gives the girls a chance to be seeded per their record and wrestle better competition.
“The girls are learning and getting better every opportunity they have. I cannot be prouder of their personal growth, team attitude and confidence. They are a class act.”
Cedar Rapids Kennedy won the Dubuque Senior Invitational with 176 points. Independence was second (166.5), Waukon third (127), Dubuque Senior fourth (126), WD fifth (123), Pleasant Valley sixth (117), Central DeWitt seventh (112), Davenport eighth (71), Waterloo West ninth (63), Alburnett 10th (51), Cascade 11th (51), Davenport Assumption 12th (49), Bellevue 13th (48), Wahlert 14th (44) and Center Point-Urbana 15th (28).
Baleigh Martin led the Cougars with a first-place finish at the Cascade Invitational, Jan. 12. She won all three matches by fall, two in the first period. She pinned Rylie Nachazel, of Cedar Falls, in 4:23, Schwenker in 23 seconds, and Brenna O’Connell, of Cedar Falls, in 1:29.
Schwenker placed second with a win by fall over O’Connell in 39 seconds. She defeated Nachazel by medical forfeit.
Davis placed sixth with a 1-3 record. Knepper was sixth with a 2-2 record.
Kinzi Martin went 2-2, but did not place. She won by fall over teammate Kearney in 1:51 and received a first-round bye.
Kearney and Reed both went 1-2 with a bye.
Madsen-Lucas went 0-2.
“The home meet went well. Once again we had a lot of excellent competition,” coach Lawler said. “The night ended with us medaling Baleigh Martin first and Leah Schwenker second. Unfortunately, those two ended up wrestling head to head and as practice partners, they both know each other really well. Those two are unbelievably strong and hit each other like a couple of bulls in a pasture. Baleigh capitalized on an unfinished move by Leah and was able to get the fall. I can attest to the strength of these two for I have been wearing a nice shiner from Leah for the last week.
“The best thing I took from this meet was Gracee Kearney and Kinzi also wrestled each other and between the four teammates that wrestled they fought hard, were super aggressive and once they left the mat were back to being teammates and sisters again. You don’t find that often. It was a blast to watch. I have to mention Jeni Knepper who had some of the best wrestling of the night. She was awarded the most improved wrestler in the room after that meet like Halana received the week before. Jeni’s continuing fight, never give up attitude and aggressiveness were awesome to see. I am very proud of the work she and her team have put in.”
Hosting a home invitational would not be possible without the help of volunteers and the administration.
“I would like to extend huge thanks to the work that our AD Adam Kedley puts in to put these things to make them happen. He does a ton behind the scenes and without him, this does not happen,” Lawler said. “I also want to thank all the girls’ wrestling parents for the work, volunteering and support they put in. They are essential to the program. Special thanks go out to Chad and Carree Kearney for driving us to all our meets, Keri Schwenker, Holli Bradley, Ryan Cannon, Brooke Lawler, Shelley Martin and our manager Anna Schwenker for all the help and work they have done.”
