WILTON

Led by two wrestlers finishing at the top of the podium, Mid-Prairie placed second in the team standings at the Wilton Women’s Wrestling Tournament on Nov. 18.   

“We had a great day, girls wrestled well,” Mid-Prairie coach Randy Billups said after the tournament. “Some of our young girls stepped up. They all got some good experience.”

Including Mid-Prairie, 11 teams competed in this tournament. Coming in first as a team was Mount Vernon with a score of 134, six more than Mid-Prairie’s runner-up score. Davenport took third place with a team score of 125. 

Mid-Prairie had six wrestlers finish on the podium at Wilton. The top placements came from junior Ashlee Farrier and sophomore Mardie Berry, who both took first place in their respective weight classes. 

As a team Mid-Prairie had six wrestlers earn 10 team points or more. 

“That’s our focus. Score as many points as we can, as often as we can,” coach Billups said. “We’re just going to keep working on scoring, being aggressive.”

With this being Mid-Prairie’s second competition of the season, Farrier entered Wilton with a 3-0 record and left Wilton with a 6-0 record.

Securing her second first place medal in as many tournaments, Farrier won all three of her matches at Wilton by fall. Her first-place match was her quickest contest of the day, pinning her opponent in 32 seconds. 

After a third-place finish in the last tournament Berry went undefeated at Wilton to finish at the top of the podium for the first time this season. She won her first two matches by fall and came away victorious in the first-place match by virtue of decision, 5-3. 

“Ashley Ferrier had a really great day. Mardie Berry, outstanding wrestling today,” coach Billips said, “All in all, a great day for the team that we have.”

Senior Ellie Brenneman, similar to Farrier, entered Wilton’s tournament with an unblemished 3-0 record, but in her semifinal match she experienced her first loss of the season. Addison Appelhans of Anamosa defeated Brenneman by fall in 1:02. 

Not letting the loss deter her, Brenneman made short work of her next opponent in the consolation semifinals, winning by fall in 15 seconds. This win set up a third-place match and Brenneman won by fall in 49 seconds to secure her spot on the podium.  

Another podium finish for the Golden Hawks came from freshman Austyn Sexton. Keeping her momentum going from her first-place finish at the last tournament, Sexton won her first two matches by fall to advance to the first-place match. 

With a chance for gold on the line, Sexton was defeated by Hannah Park of Davenport by fall in 1:39. This loss marked the first defeat of the season for Sexton, but she still earned a second-place finish for her performance.

Mid-Prairie traveled to West Liberty to compete in a tournament on Nov. 20. After a break for the holidays, up next for the Golden Hawks will be traveling to BGM High School for a tournament on Dec. 2.