Congratulations to Hailey Veeser who finished fourth in the 138 pound weight class and Nora LeFevre who competed at 100 pounds. Both wrestled in the first girls individual state wrestling tournament held at the Kohl Center in Madison this weekend.
Hailey won an 8-2 decision in the first round over Natalia Poplawski from New Berlin West/Eisenhower. Hailey wrestled her style by controlling the tempo from start to finish. Tensions are always high for the first match as the atmosphere can be overwhelming for some wresters but Hailey handled it very well. In the second round Hailey faced Emersyn Miller from Poynette. After giving up the first takedown Hailey fought back to take a commanding lead in the second period. However, Emersyn kept working hard and scored a 2 point reversal and 2 near fall in the closing seconds of the second period to close the gap to 1 point. Hailey wrestled smart in the third period to hang onto the lead and advance to the semi-finals. Emerysn would eventually finish in fifth place.
In the semi-final Hailey faced Madalyn Sokoloski from Bonduel. As we expected Madalyn came fast and hard like she did in every match. Unfortunately, Hailey couldn't slow her down on her way to the championship. This was the one match of the season where Hailey's lack of experience in big matches showed. I know with more time in practice and on the mat we can change that around. Still a great experience to get to the semi-final and wrestle before a huge crowd on Friday night.
Saturday morning on the consolation side of the bracket Haileys first opponent was Nevaeh Nwachukwu from Saint Croix Falls. With the score tied Hailey chose bottom in the second period. From the bottom she set up and executed a perfect Peterson Roll to get the reversal and fall. In the the third place match Hailey faced Shelly Bullman from Eau Clair North. The match was close but in the third period Bullman caught up Hailey's arms and was able to earn the fall.
Placing fourth wasn't what she had hoped for but still a great showing. Especially considering her limited time in practice and limited matches. Hailey also played basketball this season showing what an exceptional athlete she is. Can't wait to see what she can do next season.
Nora LeFerve competed in the 100 lb weight class. Nora started with a nice win by fall over Raven Ringhand from Oregon. In the second round Nora faced Ava Gardner from Marshfield. Early in the match Nora was close but didn't secure a takedown which would have changed the complexion of the match. Unable to get out from the bottom we chose to start neutral in the second and gave up another close takedown. From there Nora became defensive the rest of the match giving up an 8-0 decision. We knew it would be a tough match, and Garnder would eventually place third, but giving up the first takedown set the momentum in the wrong direction. Nora worked hard to fend off Gardner but couldn't get any offense going. In the consolation round Nora faced Aaliyah Zamora from Osseo Fairchild. This was one of those matches that if we wrestled 10 times I think the outcome would be different 9 out of 10. Nora got a little out of position then tried defending a takedown too long and got caught. Definitely a match we'd like to get another shot at.
Not the tournament she wanted but still a great experience for Nora to see what the competion is and where she needs to improve. This will fuel the fire and Nora will be back next year.
The boys wrestling tournament has been held in Madison for years and was typically run on 6 mats. This year two mats were added for the girls division. This is the first time the WIAA sponsored a separate girls division in Madison. Girls wrestling is the fastest growing sport in the nation based on participation and I think the added girls division in Wisconsin was a huge success. The WIAA posted that there were about 440 girls competing in last years state tournament which was held separately in LaCrosse. This year over 790 girls competed in the tournament series which included the first ever girls sectional qualifier. Hoping for even more next year with more girls tournaments and possibly even dual teams.
Thank you to everyone who supported our wrestlers this season and over the years including parents, teachers, school administration, past coaches, assistant coaches, family and friends.
Coach Englebert
2023 WIAA Individual State Results for Southern Door Girls
Girls 100
Nora LeFevre (16-5) place is unknown and scored 4.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Nora LeFevre (Southern Door Girls) 16-5 won by fall over Raven Ringhand (Oregon Girls) 14-6 (Fall 1:24)
Quarterfinal - Ava Gardner (Marshfield Girls) 22-4 won by major decision over Nora LeFevre (Southern Door Girls) 16-5 (MD 8-0)
Cons. Round 1 - Aaliyah Zamora (Osseo-Fair./Aug./Fall Cr. Girls) 4-9 won by fall over Nora LeFevre (Southern Door Girls) 16-5 (Fall 0:55)
Girls 138
Hailey Veeser (7-2) placed 4th and scored 14.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Hailey Veeser (Southern Door Girls) 7-2 won by decision over Natalia Poplawski (New Berlin West/Eisen. Girls) 19-19 (Dec 8-2)
Quarterfinal - Hailey Veeser (Southern Door Girls) 7-2 won by decision over Emersyn Miller (Poynette Girls) 13-5 (Dec 15-11)
Semifinal - Madalyn Sokolski (Bonduel Girls) 16-0 won by fall over Hailey Veeser (Southern Door Girls) 7-2 (Fall 1:10)
Cons. Semi - Hailey Veeser (Southern Door Girls) 7-2 won by fall over Nevaeh Nwachukwu (Saint Croix Falls Girls) 28-12 (Fall 2:49)
3rd Place Match - Shelly Bullman (Eau Claire North Girls) 38-9 won by fall over Hailey Veeser (Southern Door Girls) 7-2 (Fall 4:13)
