Lady Cats send three to state wrestling

Five Lady Cats wrestlers from Hot Springs County High School competed at the regional tournament in Evanston last weekend. Faced with some really deep brackets, three of the Lady Cats punched their ticket to the State Championships in Casper this week.

Sophomore Lilly Quintanilla continued to roll through the competition, pinning all of her opponents in the first period, and claiming her second consecutive regional title. Coach Travis McDermott said, “Lilly is the top ranked girl in her weight class, and is a returning state champion from last year. She looks to cap off a second undefeated season at the state championships this week. Lilly is the most dominating wrestler in the state, and she looks to prove her record again this week.”

Finishing in second place in her weight class, Junior Alix Sorensen qualified for her third straight state championship bid. In the final match, Alix faced her toughest opponent of the season and was unable to get past her Rock Springs opponent. “Alix looks to become a two-time state placer this week, as one of the top ranked wrestlers in her class.”

Freshman Izzie Hetzel qualified for her first state tournament, finishing in the top six in her class. “Izzie has a tough challenge ahead of her, in a very competitive bracket, but she has a very good shot at being a placer as a freshman.”

After wrestling tough all season, sophomores and second year wrestlers Summer Galovich and Ava Dafoe, both lost in qualifying matches, where each drew a very tough opponent. Both of those Lady Cats have shown great improvement throughout the season and will be a force in seasons to come.

Summing up the weekend, Coach McDermott said, “It’s always tough to wrestle your last matches at a regional tournament, but I am proud of what Summer and Ava have accomplished this season. All of our Lady Cats are hardworking wrestlers who are a lot of fun to be around.”

The state championships will be on Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week in Casper.