Kahok wrestlers pinning their way to success
By Mark Jurgena
The Collinsville varsity wrestling team had two events last weekend and both the boys and girls saw success in their competitions.
Girls at Lady Longhorn Roundup
CHS took four girls to Ballwin, Mo. for the Lady Longhorn Roundup Friday evening and the girls returned to Illinois with a 5th place finish. Yes, only four girls, and they took 5th place out of 24 teams.
The Kahoks also had two weight-class winners for the night.
Taylor Dawson had another monster meet as she pinned her way to the championship in the 130-pound class.
After receiving a bye in the opening round she pinned Kayleigh Freeman of Manchester, Mo. (Parkway South) via pinfall at 59 seconds.
In the semis, she beat Memory Raker of Bonne Terre, Mo. (North County) by pinfall at 1:08, and in the title bout, she pinned Lily Whittenburg of Parkway West in 42 seconds.
Those wins raised her season mark against girls to 8-0.
For her efforts, she was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the tournament.
In the 145-pound class, Alanni Torres pinned her way to the championship as well. She beat Izzy Pena of Parkway South in 1:23. The semifinals saw her take down Yanneli Velazquez of Granite City in 1:54.
She pinned Makenzie Hamilton of Brentwood, Mo. at the 42-second mark to win the championship. Her season record stood at 8-2 against female competition this season.
At 115 pounds Emma Ford made it to the title bout before being pinned at the 1:29 mark by Skylyn Jones of Parkway South. The loss dropped Ford to 4-3 on the year while Jones moved to 7-1.
To get to the title match Ford had to beat Molly Masalskis of Parkway West. She pinned the Longhorn at the 1:23 mark.
In the quarterfinals, she beat Lily Meyer of Winfield, Mo. via pinfall at 1:45. Ford beat Taylor Sharp of Park Hills (Central) by pinning her at the 1:16 mark to advance to the finals.
Tashieya Taylor won two of her five matches at 150 pounds.
She beat Serenity Styles Affton, Mo. by a pin at 1:54 to start the tourney and beat Hayden Shetley of Mehlville, Mo. via pinfall at 38 seconds in her third match.
The wins were her first two of the young season.
Boys (coed) match
CHS 48 O’Fallon 36
On Dec. 8, the Kahoks traveled to O’Fallon for their second SWC matchup of the season and they returned to Madison County with a big win.
“In that meet, we set the pace early and we showed O’Fallon that we were ready to wrestle,” said CHS coach Jordan May.
Five Kahoks registered pins on the evening including Dawson, Jordan Thigpen, Cameron Minner, Scott Snyder, and Devin Habermehl.
Habermehl pinned his opponent in 27 seconds.
CHS Fresh/Soph meet
One day after the O’Fallon dual, CHS had their underclass tourney.
Habermehl entered the competition and pinned his way through three matches and to the championship at 220 pounds.
Upcoming Schedule
The girls squad visits O’Fallon, Mo. (Ft. Zumwalt West) for a tournament tomorrow evening.
The boys compete in the Mascoutah Invitational Friday and Saturday.
