Girls’ wrestling regionals ended with Daviess County’s Kali Nichols and Apollo’s Mayte Lopez both being named as Regional Champions in their respective weight classes. Along with their regional champions, Daviess County had all 4 of their wrestlers qualify for state, Apollo had 6 wrestlers advance and Owensboro had 4 of their wrestlers qualify to be alternates for state.
AHS
Apollo finished 9th as a team out of 18 schools, and had 6 of their 7 wrestlers advance to the state championship. Mayte Lopez was named regional champion in the 138 weight class. Lydia Gardner placed 3rd in the 145 weight class, and Josie Ellis and Katelyn Davis both placed 5th in their respective weight classes. Hadleigh Johnson placed 6th in her weight class and will go to state alongside Ellis and Davis as alternates.
Lopez’s championship comes after a season of 20+ wins, and this is the third time she has qualified for state. Apollo head coach Courtney Johns said that Lopez’s regional title will help put her in the spotlight of the growing culture of girls’ wrestling.
“I think it’s great watching how she has evolved in the sport over the last few years,” she said. “With girls wrestling finally being sanctioned she’s really able to shine brightly with having the spotlight on her. One of best characteristics is how modest she is. She doesn’t care about being acknowledged; she just wants to compete. One thing I keep telling her is that right now she might not truly understand her accomplishments in the sport, but she is setting the bar for females not only at Apollo, but in the area.”
DCHS
As a team Daviess County finished 8th overall, and all 4 of their wrestlers will move on to the state championship. Kali Nihcols won the regional title in the 145 weight class after winning all 3 of her matches by pinfall. Callie Patton placed 3rd in the 235 weight class and Kaylee Klee and Lilli Sandefur placed 4th and 6th respectively in the 165 weight class.
DC head coach Curtis Martinson said Nichols had a tough opponent in the championship match, but she did what she had all season and fought hard.
“The McCracken girl in the finals was 20-5, and had just beaten the #3 girl in the state,” he said. “Kali was great on the day. She’s always fighting hard no matter what.”
Klee faced off in 6 matches on her way to a 4th pace finish. After winning her first match, she was defeated in the quarterfinal. She then climbed her way back up the ranks, winning 3 matches in-a-row in the consolation bracket before being defeated in the 3rd place match.
OHS
Owensboro placed 12th as a team and had 4 wrestlers qualify as alternates for the state championship. Hase Nar, Maya Montalvo, Graycen Roberts and Leancy Garcia Sanchez all placed 5th in their respective weight classes to advance to state as alternates.
