5 Minutemaids bring home state wrestling hardware
Lexington's Gaby Diaz works to get a takedown against Fremont's Emma-Claire Fritz in a Class A 125-pound consolation match Wednesday at the CHI Health Center in Omaha.
Lexington's Rylee Church lets out a joyful scream in celebration after winning a consolation match to earn her second straight state medal Wednesday in Omaha.
An emotional Hadlie Wolf gets assistance from Lexington head coach Art Banderas with untying her wrestling shoes after she finished her career with a fifth place medal Wednesday at the Class A State Championships in Omaha.
Lexington's Natalie Ramirez keeps control on top while running a move to get York's Arianah Linden on her back in the Class A105-pound first round match Tuesday at the CHI Health Center in Omaha.
OMAHA — The Lexington Minutemaid wrestlers had their highest team finish Wednesday, finishing fourth in the team race.
Lexington finished with five girls on the podium with Ashley Najera bringing home the first state title.
Follow this link to find Najera's story:Â https://lexch.com/news/article_93419efc-0ac7-417e-ba6c-bac64645fc3c.html
Gaby Diaz, Natalie Ramirez, Hadlie Wolf and Rylee Church each brought home individual hardware.
DIAZ
The senior finished with a fourth place medal, ending her season with a 30-17 record.
Diaz was pitted against top seed Lincoln High's Evelyn Becher in the opening round where she lost by pin.
To end her career with a medal, Diaz had to battle through three matches on the consolation side.
The first round consolation went Diaz's way with a pin over Gering's Meredith Zlomke.
In the second consolation match, Diaz was down 3-0 before getting an escape followed by a takedown before defeating Lincoln East's Samara Baker by pin.
A pin in the consolation quarterfinal over Fremont's Emma-Claire Fritz brought out all of Diaz's emotion as she knew she would finally medal.
Diaz found her way into the third place match after getting a first round revenge against Becher with a pin in 32 seconds.
In her final match, Diaz battled hard, but lost by a 10-3 decision to Norfolk's Dacy Cleveland.
WOLF
The senior finally got her moment on the podium with a fifth place finish.
Wolf opened up the tournament with a first round win in the Class A 170-pound bracket.
She defeated Millard West's Lola Voss by pin in the second period after a reversal.
The quarterfinal did not go her way, losing a close 3-1 decision to top seed Garianne Levy of Omaha Benson.
In the second round consolation match, Wolf won with a 6-1 decision over Omaha Westside's Lucy Wing.
An escape in under one minute left in the consolation quarterfinal gave Wolf a nail-biting 1-0 decision win over York's Kaylee Wegrzyn.
Wolf was dominating the consolation semifinal match with a 12-1 lead into the third period against Grand Island's Leslie Garcia Gomez.
Garcia Gomez found her way out of the grip of Wolf for a reversal then put Wolf on her back.
Wolf went out with a win after defeating Omaha Westview's Kiana Hector by pin in the second period to bring home fifth place.
RAMIREZ
The Maid junior earned fifth place, and her first-ever state medal.
Ramirez pinned her way through the champion side of the Class A 105-pound bracket.
She won the first round against York's Arianah Linden then the quarterfinal over Leah Clark of Nebraska City.
In the semifinal, Ramirez lost to Seward senior Lauren Frihauf by a 16-0 tech fall.
Ramirez fell to Grand Island's Addisyn Gates by pin in the second period of the consolation semifinal.
In the fifth place match, Ramirez won with a 14-6 major decision over Brooklyn Ludwick of Papillion-La Vista South.
CHURCH
Although the end of the tournament did not play out the way Church wanted, she became a two-time state medalist after taking home sixth place.
A nasty ankle injury in the consolation semifinal put her in the run for fifth place.
After medically forfeiting the final match, Church hobbled onto the podium to claim her medal.
The first round went in Church's favor with a pin over Blair's Kara Rodriguez.
The quarterfinal was a tough loss for Church, losing by an 8-0 major decision to Kearney's Stella Harbols.
Her fight wasn't over.
Church battled through the consolation side with back-to-back pins, putting her in the consolation semifinal against Scottsbluff's Marcela Colin.
During the match, Church suffered a tournament ending injury that awarded Colin the victory.
She finished her sophomore year with a 34-9 record.
