jmisunas@gbtribune.com

SALINA – Great Bend’s girls gave it their best shot at a historic first state championship wrestling trophy. The Panthers fearsome fivesome had their fans roaring its approval.

Great Bend head coach Nathan Broeckelman constantly pumped up the inspired Panthers, who finished 5-1 in the consolation rounds after losing a trio of semifinal matches to state champions.
Broeckelman rallied the Panthers, who held a 4-point lead. But Topeka Washburn Rural held off runner-up Great Bend 84-80 Thursday after the Panthers grabbed the lead heading to the fifth, third and championship place matches.
“I’m definitely pleased and excited by our girls,” Broeckelman. “It was unfortunate we came up four points short. We did all we could. They left it all out there. We lost to three state champions and a state runner-up.”
The Junior Blues earned pins by fifth-place Halley Robinett (155), third-place Rebekah Smith (170) and state champion Dajia Anderson (235) to capture the state title. Washburn Rural’s girls roared its approval as their trio earned pins.
“We forced Washburn Rural to earn three pins in the finals and they got three pins,” Broeckelman said. “It’s a great feeling to compete filled with highs and lows,” he said. “You can only control what we do and our girls wrestled great. We got three thirds and a fourth because we had to forfeit.”
No. 3 third-place Breckyn Elliott (101) and No. 3 third-place Bre Ridgeway (130) and third-place Briana Perez (155) all lost semifinal matches in a hotly-contested team contest. All three wrestlers won back-to-back matches to earn valuable team points.
In the semifinals, Olathe South state champion Amanda Newcomb pinned Elliott (5:12). Onaga’s Morgan Mayginnes beat Perez, 16-0. Lawrence Free State’s Madyson Gray pinned Ridgeway (3:31).
Perez said everyone contributed after they lost hard-fought semifinal matches to state champions.
“it was pretty exciting for us. We all wrestled really good today,” Perez said. “We all gave it everything we had. After we all lost, we had a talk and wanted to finish strong as a team. Everyone wanted to earn their medals.”
Panther sensation Kyeal Mogbo (19-13, 235) lost to Olathe West’s state runner-up Makayla Rivera, but rallied with four pins to earn valuable team points.
“Kyeal bought in and believed in herself,” Broeckelman said. “Every time I told her we needed a pin, she came through big time. The biggest thing is she believed in herself. She started using her height to her advantage and started to figure things out.”
Hoisington’s Bailey Sanders (25-5, 155) four four of five matches, but had to forfeit to Perez for third place after competing in five matches. Onaga’s state champion Mayginnes also pinned Sanders (1:23).

GIRLS STATE THURSDAY
AREA STATE RESULTS
101—No. 3 Breckyn Elliott, GB (36-6), third; Elliott pinned Belshe, SM South, 2:26; Newcomb, Olathe South pinned Elliott, 5:12; Elliott pinned Gile, Labette, 2:00; 3RD—Elliott def. A. Ortiz, Lakin, 10-4
130—No. 3 Bre Ridgeway, GB (35-2), third; Ridgeway pinned Porsch, Hoxie, 1:11; Gray, Free State pinned Ridgeway, 3:31; Ridgeway pinned Martinek, SL, 0:44; 3RD—Ridgeway def. Marissa Porsch, Hoxie, forfeit
136—Lexi Deines, GB (27-11); Ogden, Royal Valley def. Lexi Deines, 5-1; Blackwood, VC def. Deines, 7-2; Tally Wikum, Hoisington (22-8); Culbert, Burligame def. Wikum, 6-1; Ogden, Royal Valley def. Wikum, 7-4
155—No. 4 Briana Perez, GB (31-12), third; Perez pinned Beltran-Gonzaga, Olathe West, 5:55; Perez pinned Rusk, Fort Scott, 5:08; Mayginnes, Onaga def. Perez, 16-0; Perez pinned Browning, Prairie View, 2:39; Bailey Sanders, Hoisington (25-5), fourth; Sanders pinned Browning, Prairie View, 2:13; Mayginnes, Onaga pinned Sanders, 1:23; Sanders pinned Guzman, GC, 0:56; Sanders def. Rusk, Fort Scott; Sanders def. Robinett, WR, 4:22; 3RD—Perez def. Sanders, forfeit
235—Kyeal Mogbo, GB (19-13), fourth;’ Mogbo pinned Aseyo, Lansing, 1:01; Rivera, Olathe West pinned Mogbo, 1:59; Mogbo pinned Hargett, Basehor, 1:00; Mogbo pinned Longbrake, Atchison Co. 0:39; Mogbo pinned Miller, Nickerson, 0:27; 3RD—Rebekah Franklin, SC def. Mogbo, forfeit
TEAM SCORES—1—Topeka Washburn Rural 84; 2—Great Bend 80; 3—Paola 44; 4—Nickerson 41; Pratt 41; 6—Abilene 38; 7—Lakin 35; 8—Leavenworth 34; 9—Osawatomie 32; 10—Labette County 30; 22—(tie) Hoisington 20

STATE FINALS
101—1—Newcomb, Osawatomie def. Leiszler, Concordia, 7-0; 3—Elliott, GB def. Ortiz, Lakin, 10-4; 5—Gile, Labette def. Chanthansone, Liberal, forfeit
109—1—Allen, Indepedence pinned Cullens, Wellington, 4:42; 3—Ortiz, Lakin def. Pflaster, Abilene, forfeit; 5—Thompson, Pratt def. Zimmerman, Hays, forfeit
116—1—Moore, Nickerson pinned Younger, Paola, 2:27; 3—Besco, Rose Hill pinned Jungwirth, Shawnee Heights, 3:30; 5—Cain, Oakley def. O’Donnell, Basehor, forfeit
123—1—Knecht, Paola def. Rose, Marysville, 8-4; 3—Jimenez, Hutchinson pinned Glynn, BVSW, 4:37; 5—Stinemetz, Spring Hill def. Konrade, Winfield, forfeit
130—1—Gray, Free State pinned Randles, Topeka West, 3:57; 3—Ridgeway, GB def. Porsch, Hoxie, forfeit; 5—Serrano, GC pinned Martinek, Silver Lake, 0:58
136—1—Lake, KC Piper pinned Bacci, Andover Central, 3:37; 3—Culbert, Burlingame def. Anderson. Caney Valley, 4-0; 5—Blackwood, Valley Center def. Ogdan, Royal Valley, forfeit
143—1—Swift, Pratt def. Schanz, Mulvane, 3-2; 3—Jones, Labette pinned Crutchley, Leavenworth, 3:59; 5—Boyle, Trego def. Perez, Dodge City, 6-5
155—1—Mayginnes, Onaga pinned Weidel, Ottawa, 0:44; 3—Perez, Great Bend def. Sanders, Hoisington, forfeit; 5—Robinett, Washburn Rural pinned Browning, Prairie View, 3:45
170—1—Ziegler, Council Grove pinned Buechman, Abilene,0:31; 3—Smith, Washburn Rural pinned Wilson, Basehor, 2:07; 5—Skinner, Olathe South pinned Timmons, Valley Center, 4:50
191—1—Robinson, Junction City pinned Jackson, Leavenworth, 1:15; 3—Johnson, Washburn Rural def. Colvert, Tonganoxie, forfeit; 5—Forbes, Atchison County pinned Martin, Olathe North, 3:50
235—1—Anderson, Washburn Rural pinned Rivera, Olathe West, 3:07; 3—Franklin, Salina Central def.Mogbo, Great Bend, forfeit; 5—Miller, Nickerson def. Armbruster, Chapman, forfeit