Quartet of Abby/Colby girls compete in Merrill
By Nathaniel Underwood
Two members of the Abbotsford/Colby girls wrestling team moved on to sectionals after finishing with a top-four result at their regional tournament in Merrill this past Friday. Makenna Herrmann and Kori Geiger both took third place in their respective brackets. The team as a whole took 10th place out of the 18 teams at the tournament, finishing with 34.0 team points. The hosting Merrill squad took first place, coming away with 225.0 points.
Herrmann went 2-2 on the day in the 126-pound bracket, starting off with a matchup against Clear Lake’s Lydia Humpal. The A/C senior began the bout as the aggressor, taking down Humpal in the opening 20 seconds. While her opponent managed two escapes in the match, Herrmann continued to lay down the pressure, earning two more takedowns herself before converting the final one into a pin at the 1:50 mark.
She then faced off against Amery’s Hannah Rosenberg. The pair looked more evenly matched and much of the first period remained neutral. Herrmann finally got the better of Rosenberg, earning the match’s first takedown with 20 seconds left in the first. However, Rosenberg took the lead in the second, earning a takedown and a four-point nearfall. Herrmann turned the tables one final time with a reversal, using it to end the match there and then with a pin of Rosenberg.
The win earned her a spot in the championship match, where she faced off against Hudson’s Natalie Klavetter, who sports just a single loss this season. Klavetter got the better of Herrmann, notching a first round victory by fall to claim the regional title and send the Abby/Colby wrestler to the second place match against Merrill’s Kendell Klug. Herrmann continued to be aggressive early on, grabbing takedowns at the start of both the first and second rounds, but a takedown and a four point nearfall to end the second for Klug turned the match in the Bluejay wrestler’s favor. Klug used the momentum shift to score a reversal in the third and then pinned Herrmann at the 4:32 mark.
Geiger fell in both her matches on Friday in the 235-pound weight class, going up against Merrill’s Shelby Yates in the semifinals and then Chippewa Falls’ Brooklyn Wilson in the second place match. Both opponents were able to leverage early takedowns into pins in the first round of her bouts, relegating Geiger to a third place finish.
Romina Perez represented the 120pound bracket. In the first round, she faced off against Clear Lake’s Katelyn Rossler and took an early lead, notching a takedown about a minute into the contest. An escape in the second increased her advantage over Roessler and she quickly picked up a reversal in the third, a move that quickly transitioned to a pin of her opponent.
In round two, Perez faced off against Hudson’s Mary Prescott. While the A/C sophomore was able to stay alive by escaping a pair of takedowns, Prescott eventually got the better of her, dealing Perez a defeat by fall and relegating her to the consolation bracket.
In her final match of the day, Perez battled against Cadence Trudell of St. Croix Central. The match went the distance, going all three rounds, but a pair of takedowns for Trudell ultimately gave her the 6-0 decision.
Camila Meraz competed for the co-op in the 132-pound bracket, but was knocked out after suffering first round defeats by fall to Medford’s Avery Losiewicz and Luca Burcaw of McDonell Catholic/Elk Mound.
The girls sectional will take place in Ladysmith on Friday, Feb. 21. Weigh-ins are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. and the first session is set for 3:30 p.m.
NO ESCAPES ALLOWED - Makenna Herrmann establishes control in her first round match against Clear Lake’s Lydia Humpal at Friday’s regional competition in Merrill.
STAFF PHOTO/MATT FREY
GRAPPLING FOR POSITION - Romina Perez dukes it out in her first match of the regional tournament against Clear Lake’s Katelyn Rossler. Perez won the match with a pin in the third period.
STAFF PHOTO/MATT FREY
