Lacie Knick took 2nd place in the 120 pound weight class at the inaugural OHSAA Girls State Wrestling Tournament. She is pictured on the awards podium next to state champion Cali Leng of Marysville.
Submitted photo
Brookville’s Molly Luebke (top) battles Sabrina Shaffer of Alliance during the first round of the girls OHSAA state touranemtn on Friday, March 10. Luebke finished third at 110 pounds.
Eaton’s Caroline Klawon takes on Ariana Espinosa-Snowden of Fostoria during the opening round of the girls OHSAA state tournament on Friday, March 10. Klawon finished third at 145 pounds.
Tri-County North’s Madison Jeffers waits patiently for the official to declare she pinned her first-round opponent Vanessa Rechterman of Xenia during the girls OHSAA state tournament on Friday, March 10. Jeffers finished sixth at 155 pounds.
COLUMBUS — During the inaugural OHSAA Girls State Wrestling Tournament, three local athletes placed either second or third in their respective weight classes.
Northmont freshman Lacie Knick fought her way through a bracket of 16 competitors to place 2nd overall in the 120 pound weight class.
Brookville junior Molly Luebke placed third in the 110 pound weight class and sophomore Caroline Klawon of Eaton placed third at 145 pounds.
Tri-County North sophomore Madison Jeffers placed 6th at 155 pounds.
All three of those brackets also featured a field of 16 competitors.
Knick, who entered the tournament with a record of 32-1, had her first match against freshman Chloe Tompkins (29-13) from Olentangy Berlin. Knick scored a quick takedown to near fall criteria and then pinned Tompkins in one minute and six seconds (1:06).
In the quarterfinal Knick scored a flurry of points against sophomore Merrick Gibson of Ritman (17-4) to score a 17-1 technical fall in 2:32.
Advancing to the semifinal round Knick dominated sophomore Cori Young of Olentangy (38-3) to take a 15-5 lead before pinning her in 3:37.
In the finals Knick faced senior Cali Leng (34-1) of Marysville. Leng was sixth at 126 in 2020, won the championship at 116 as a sophomore and then took runner-up at 120 last season.
The match between Knick and Leng was considered the best match of the entire tournament with both girls showing aggressiveness and great technique. It was a tight, hard-fought back and forth match with Leng scoring a close 8-7 decision to take the title.
Knick finished her freshman year with a record of 35-2 and 2nd overall in the state.
“The amount of work it takes to be at this level of competition is extreme. Great job Lacie! We are all proud of your hard work and accomplishments,” said Northmont coach Scott Pergram.
Luebke (19-2) opened the tournament by pinning junior Sabrina Shaffer (28-12) of Alliance in 1:10. In the quarterfinal Luebke pinned sophomore Noel Reinhart (22-10) of Rossford in 3:06.
In the semifinal Luebke lost by a pin in 3:29 to sophomore Gabi Gartin (21-1) of Chippawa.
The consolation bracket saw Luebke pin junior Lexi Beadle (32-2) of Boardman in 4:34. She then pinned senior Makaya Crisenberry (29-6) of Montpelier in 1:23 to place third overall.
Senior Hayley Snyder (29-3) of Vincent Warren scored a 7-1 decision over Gartin to take the 110 pound title, her fourth straight state championship.
Snyder defeated Luebke 8-1 in last year’s 110 pound championship match. Snyder won state titles at 100 pounds in both 2020 and 2021.
Klawon entered the state tournament with a 15-4 record. Klawon was third at 155 last season. In her first match she lost by a fall in 5:22 to Fostoria freshman Ariana Espinosa-Snowden.
That kicked Klawon in the consolation bracket where she scored a 13-1 major decision over junior Gillian Coulson (16-6) of Lakewood and a 5-2 decision over junior Lauren Carver (5-1) of Southeast.
Klawon then scored a 5-4 tiebreaker against senior Jordan Palmer (25-9) of Hoover. Palmer placed 5th at 143 pounds in 2021 and was 7th at 145 last year.
That victory set up a rematch against Espinosa-Snowden with Klawon winning by a fall in 3:57.
In the battle for third place Klawon scored a 2-1 decision against senior Aubrey Reese (26-5) of Marysville. Reese took 5th place at 160 in 2021 and was runner-up at 155 last season.
In the 155 pound bracket Jeffers (4-0) opened the tournament by pinning junior Vanessa Rechtermann (24-6) of Xenia in 3:23. In the quarterfinals Jeffers lost by a fall (1:33) to freshman Savannah Holderby (25-1) of Reynoldsburg.
In the consolation bracket Jeffers pinned sophomore Emma Bolyard (34-9) of Hilliard Darby in 2:09 and went on to pin freshman Cailyn Demagall (26-8) of Columbia in 3:35.
Jeffers then lost by pin (2:23) to junior Makyah Newlun of East Liverpool. In the battle for fifth place Jeffers lost by an 11-5 decision to sophomore Lydia Heinrich (30-9) of Olentangy Orange.
This year marked the first time that the all-girls tournament celebrated championships in each of its 14 weight classes on the same mats as the boys event, with its competition representing one division regardless of school enrollment.
Reach Ron Nunnari at (937) 684-9124 or email [email protected].
