Wichita-area girls wrestling star wins district’s first title since 1970s
Only one Wichita area wrestler brought home an inaugural girls state wrestling individual title, but she is a star.
Here is a recap of the biggest news from the 2020 state tournament in Salina’s Tony’s Pizza Event Center:
Potential future Olympian caps prep career
Nichole Moore has wrestled in much bigger matches and will again in her near future, but she couldn’t hold back a smile.
After years of wrestling against boys and competing for unofficial state championships, Moore, a Nickerson senior, won her first and only official individual state title. She beat Paola sophomore Kailyn Younger by pin for a state championship.
With the win, she became USD 309’s first wrestling state champion, male or female, since the 1970s. She is the district’s first state medalist in six years.
Together with Maddi Miller, freshman 235-pound fifth-place finisher, Moore helped get Nickerson just three points away from bringing home a third-place team trophy.
“Wrestling is a big deal back in Nickerson again,” Moore said. “I hope after I leave, the girls keep coming out, and we can keep ‘em around. I don’t want to be the end. I want more girls to follow me. I want them to do better than I did.”
Moore is set to go to Estonia to represent the U.S. in the United World Wrestling Championships. She is one of the best 116-pound female wrestlers in the world. She still said Thursday meant so much.
But it meant more for Nickerson and coach Nick Flowers. Moore’s impact on the program cannot be understated, he said.
“This is growth,” Flowers said. “They just laid the foundation. Losing Nikki after this year, it’s hard. We’ve had her for four years and 129 matches. You’re losing someone who truly is a cornerstone on our team. It’s awesome, but it’s hard.”
She said the only thing she wishes she could have achieved in her Nickerson career that she never did was to reach the boys state tournament.
When the girls division was implemented, that meant that goal couldn’t become reality, and Moore said that was hard to get over.
“But I won a KSHSAA sanctioned girls state title, which I never thought I was going to do either,” Moore said. “It’s kind of a trade.”
Wellington freshman stands up to four-time All-American
Anna Cullens fought back tears after losing the second match of her young high school career, but she had reason to smile.
Cullens, a Wellington freshman, lost in the 109-pound championship match to undefeated Independence junior Alexis Allen by pin after earning several impressive takedowns and proving she belonged in the match.
Allen is a four-time All-American.
“I’m not sure Anna even knew that,” Wellington coach Mitch McComb said. “We knew Anna would be pretty good. She wrestled in middle school, so I knew she had potential. But I didn’t know she would be in a state final, let alone with a four-time All-American.”
Cullens’ two losses came to Allen this season. She finished 25-2 and might be the most promising freshman girls wrestler in Kansas outside of Council Grove’s Jolie Ziegler, who won the 170-pound title.
Cullens was the regional champion at McPherson and pinned two of her three state tournament opponents. McComb said Cullens will stay active with track this spring and cross country in the fall, and with two wrestlers for siblings, she will be back.
“It could have gone either way,” McComb said. “She’s a little firecracker.”
Mulvane freshman puts on a show, nearing title
There is another outstanding freshman south of Wichita.
Mulvane’s Kammie Schanz finished runner-up in the 143-pound bracket after losing by 3-2 decision to Pratt sophomore Livia Swift on a takedown with under 20 seconds to go.
Schanz held a lead in the match up to that point.
Despite the championship match defeat, Schanz was outstanding in her first state tournament appearance. She earned a 13-5 major decision in her first match and a 6-2 decision in her semifinal bout.
Schanz finished her freshman season 30-3.
Andover Central standout rides to title match
Xara Bacci was one of the surprises of the tournament, but maybe she shouldn’t have been.
Bacci, an Andover Central sophomore, won her first two state matches after winning her regional bracket two weeks ago. She lost to undefeated KC Piper junior Sara Lake in the 136-pound final by pin, but Bacci showed promise.
After a scoreless first period, Bacci was a second away from earning an escape point and taking the lead. Lake swept Bacci’s leg, and that led to the pin.
Despite the loss, Bacci finished her sophomore season 29-4.
For full state results, click here
This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 9:23 PM.