Five medalists lead the charge at Winnebago Lady Indian Invite

The Summerland Lady Bobcat wrestling team showcased grit and determination as they competed in the Winnebago Lady Indian Invite on Friday, Jan. 3, finishing eighth in the team standings. Despite the tough competition, including Class A teams from a two-state area, several Lady Bobcats turned in impressive individual performances, with medalists emerging across various weight classes.

Sophomore standout Ava Cleveland led the team with a second-place finish in the 110-pound division, earning 22 team points. Cleveland cruised through her early matches, pinning Victoria Padilla of Fremont in just 43 seconds and defeating Regan Kapke of Fairbury by a 9-3 decision. She secured another pin in the semifinals against Dymond Green of Omaha North before falling to undefeated Mia Anderson of Bennington in the championship match. Cleveland currently boasts a 9-2 record.

Abbey Chipps, 11-3, battled her way to a fourth-place finish, contributing 15 team points. Chipps opened the tournament with two quick pins, taking down Teela Bleich of Battle Creek in 29 seconds and Caidence Bethards of Norfolk in just over a minute. Though she fell to Chelsey Robinson of Omaha North in the semifinals, Chipps fought hard in the third-place match but narrowly lost a 7-5 decision to Leah Thompson of Yutan.

Gracie Mudloff finished eighth in the 125-pound class, adding eight team points. Mudloff started strong with a first-round pin against Natile McManis of Omaha Westview and continued her momentum with two more pins in the consolation bracket before being stopped by Felycia Kerkman of West Holt. Mudloff sits at 7-8 on the season.

Competing in the junior varsity bracket, Kyah Bruhn placed fourth after recording three wins by fall over Madilyn Reese of North Bend Central, Tomi Li Scott of Winnebago, and Kyra Cordell of Omaha Westside.

Senior Raina Krebs placed fifth, contributing 15 points. She recorded two pins before losing by fall in the semifinal to Audre Herron, Omaha Westview. Bancroft-Rosalie's Brooklyn Snyder captured a 6-1 win over Krebs in the consolation semifinal. The Bobcat wrestler earned a fifth-place finish via medical forfeit. She has an 11-2 record.

Coach Dan Roeber said Winnebago was a "great meet to attend."

"I was excited for our girls to get back on the mat and see where we stood up to others across the state and this was the meet to do that. We may not have finished where we wanted or expected ourselves to, but it was a good day of wrestling."

According to the coach, different ranking systems have put the Bobcat wrestlers and the team high in rankings.

"When that happens, you get a target on your back, everyone is looking to knock you off or make a case why they should be there. Our girls are going to get everyone's best shot and we have to be ready for that," he said. "I thought we competed very well, and for a lot of the girls, this was the first big meet of the year and then with the size of the meet it takes all day. Win or lose, the girls have to learn how to manage time and emotions throughout the day. As a coach this is something we talk about but until they see it first hand, it is hard to understand. I thought we wrestled well at the meet, as always, there are some things that we need to work on in the wrestling room. But, for the first meet back after break I thought we did well and we will continue to improve and hopefully peak at the right time. There is still a lot of season left and some of our biggest competition is coming up in January."

The team travels to Columbus, Thursday, for the Norm Manstedt Meet. Roeber said the meet will be broken down into two classes, giving the Cats a chance to see district and state opportunity competition and a chance to "gauge where we are as far as Class B."

"I am excited for the month of January, the girls have a busy schedule and we will continue to work and make sure we are ready for February."

While not medaling, several Lady Bobcats contributed with solid efforts in their respective weight classes:

• Abby Arroyo (130): Arroyo received a bye in the first round but faced tough competition, bowing out after losses to Jordyn Campbell of Yutan and Genesis Rodriguez of West Point-Beemer.

• Jadyn Hobbs (135): Hobbs dropped a first-round match to Nyla Bolles, Wayne, and picked up a win by fall over Alexis Hoffmann of Battle Creek, earning three team points before being eliminated by Laila Cuevas of Norfolk.

• Kaylee Thiele (140): Thiele started strong with a pin against LilyAnn Willing of Tekamah-Herman but fell in subsequent matches, contributing four team points.

Charlee Wagner (155): Wagner earned three team points, highlighted by a victory by fall over Shantel Beltran of West Point-Beemer in the consolation round.

• Jaelyn Shaver (190): Shaver scored 2.5 points with a notable technical fall win over Ka'Mia Blackhawk of Winnebago before being eliminated by Jade Dubbelde of Harrisburg.

The Lady Bobcats will look to build on their performance as they head into their next meet on Jan. 9 in Columbus. With several wrestlers demonstrating potential, Summerland fans can expect more exciting results in the coming weeks.