At Kansas girls state wrestling, Piper has title-winner, Paola takes third with duo
The greater Kansas City area brought home three of the first individual girls wrestling state championship medals, and they came in three straight weight classes.
Here is a recap of the biggest action from the inaugural Kansas girls state wrestling tournament from Thursday at Salina’s Tony’s Pizza Event Center:
Lake wins Piper’s first wrestling title
Morgan Mayginnes became a four-time state champion on Thursday, but Sara Lake wanted to keep her away from that title.
Last year, Lake wrestled at 155 pounds and lost to Mayginnes, a nationally ranked wrestler, 2-1 in the unofficial state championship bout. Lake told her coach, Todd Harris, she wanted another shot.
Harris and Lake decided to settle on another direction, and it paid off in Piper’s first individual wrestling champion, boys or girls. Lake finished a 27-0 junior season by pinning Andover Central sophomore Xara Bacci for the 136-pound title.
“I worked my tail off to get here today,” Lake said. “I think coach would say I deserved this for sure.”
Lake came to wrestling with a strong judo and jiu jitsu background. She wanted to dedicate herself even further and took up cross country for the first time this fall, Harris said.
Lake pinned all of her opponents at the state tournament. Harris said Lake wouldn’t have accepted anything short of an individual title.
“We have a lot of guys in our room, and she rolls with those guys every day,” Harris said. “She doesn’t roll with the girls. She wants the guys and beats them frequently. She was 18-5 against the guys and placed second in two guys tournaments.
“She’s the hardest working kid in the room.”
Last year, Piper had one of its only wrestling runners-up in school history in boys heavyweight LeMoses White, who lost a 1-0 decision in the Class 4A final. Lake left no doubts Thursday.
She said after cutting weight all season, she is looking forward to one thing the most.
“I get to eat,” Lake said with a laugh.
Paola takes third with only 2 wrestlers
Jordyn Knecht was already one of the most accomplished non-senior female wrestlers in Kansas, but she added to her resume.
Two years ago as a freshman, Knecht became the first girl to win a boys Frontier League championship. It set a tone of her dominance at any wrestling stage in Kansas.
She now has an official individual state championship after beating undefeated Marysville junior Elise Rose by an 8-4 decision at 123 pounds.
“It’s there and to stay forever,” Knecht said. “It’s a start of something new. It’s something we’ve been pursuing for forever is to get more girls more opportunities. It’s a huge thing to start this off.”
Knecht’s title was impressive, but perhaps even more so was the trophy she helped bring back to Paola in 2020.
The Panthers qualified only two wrestlers for the state tournament. Knecht and sophomore Kailyn Younger would have to carry the banner. With Knecht’s championship and Younger’s runner-up finish at 116 pounds, Paola took third by two points.
Knecht said she came into this season, after missing last season because of injury, expecting to win a state championship. She didn’t expect a team trophy, she said.
“It’s a cherry on top,” Knecht said.
Lawrence Free State sophomore goes undefeated
One wrestler stood out from the rest.
Whether it was Madyson Gray’s highlighter pink hair or her undefeated state championship season, she turned heads regardless. She beat Topeka West sophomore Brianna Randles by pin in the 130-pound title bout.
Gray’s victory capped a 34-0 season.
“I can’t put this into words,” Gray said. “It’s amazing. It’s surreal. This being the first tournament and I get to be a champion of the bracket.”
Gray earned a major decision in her quarterfinal match and pinned her final two opponents. She said Randles gave her a good test in the final. She wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, she said.
“She’s such a great wrestler and so nice, too,” Gray said. “If I could choose anyone, it would have been her.”
For full state results, click here
This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 8:43 PM.