Lady Cats earn medals at Columbus wrestling invite

The Summerland girls’ wrestling team put forth a strong effort at the Norm Manstedt Girls’ Invitational in Columbus on Jan. 9, with six wrestlers earning medals and a 13th-place team finish out of 55 teams, scoring 93 points overall.

Leading the charge for Summerland was Jaelyn Shaver (190B), who pinned her first three opponents to reach the finals. Shaver’s early victories included a swift 28-second fall over Karrie Weaver of Raymond Central and a semifinal pin over Laney Abell of Centennial. Shaver earned 24 team points with her second-place finish after falling in the championship to Libby Evans of Elgin Public/Pope John.

In the 235A bracket, Raina Krebs (13-4) secured fourth place and contributed 16 points. After receiving a bye in the first round, Krebs pinned Riley Selig of Papillion-La Vista in 3:19. Despite a semifinal loss, she bounced back with a consolation semifinal pin over Ali Edwards of Grand Island in 3:57 before narrowly dropping a 2-0 decision in the third-place match to Abbey Dannelly of Millard South.

Abbey Chipps (120B) battled her way to a third-place finish, adding 20 points to the team total. Chipps recorded a quick 1:47 pin over Leah Thompson of Yutan in the quarterfinals. Although she fell in the semis, Chipps came back strong, pinning Danika Janssen of Valentine in 3:22 and finishing with another pin over Thompson in the third-place match.

In the 155B division, Charlee Wagner (8-8) placed sixth, scoring 11 points. Wagner started her day with a dominant 48-second pin over Rylie Doerr of Crofton/Bloomfield. She added another victory with a fall in 1:58 over Malynn Boyles of Ansley-Litchfield before falling to Briley Koehler of Battle Creek in the consolation semis. In the race for fifth, Wagner lost by fall to Wahoo's Livia Sharpe.

Ava Cleveland (110B) placed sixth, earning nine points. Cleveland pinned Presleann Kerr of Red Cloud/Blue Hill in 4:15 during the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, injuries led to two medical forfeits, including the fifth-place match against Caly Settles of Aurora.

In junior varsity action, Kyah Bruhn (190) dominated her bracket, taking first place. She pinned Addyson Jacob of Neligh-Oakdale in 3:49 and followed up with a 2:27 fall over Sharell Piendjou of Omaha Westside.

Other notable performances included:

• Kaylee Thiele (140B), who earned seven points after pinning Nevaeh Mathis of Central Valley and Delylla Olson of Fullerton.

• Abby Arroyo (130B), who added six points with wins by fall over Sophia Hoferer of Stanton and a medical forfeit victory against Payton Becker of Boone Central.

• Jadyn Hobbs (145B), who gained valuable mat experience.