Four Kahok girls’ grapplers advance to sectional
By Mark Jurgena
Collinsville advanced four girls into the IHSA Sectional at North Mac High School in Virden this weekend while the team grabbed a second place finish thanks to their efforts at the Granite City Regional on Feb. 5-6.
Addyson Bailey, Leann Cory, Londyn Long and Ivana Torres all moved on to the sectional round in an attempt to qualify for state.
“I’m honestly so incredibly proud of this whole team!” said CHS first-year girls coach Adam Gillespie. “At the beginning of the year, the goal was to be competitive at regionals. This whole team has been able to get behind that goal and push each other day-in and day-out to make the most of every practice in our preparation for this weekend! They knew that every match mattered and coming out of day one seeing the Kahoks in 2nd place, trailing Edwardsville by 16 points, was motivation for them!
“They take a lot of pride in being a Kahok wrestler.”
Bailey, Long and Cory were able to bring home individual regional championships.
At 135, Bailey, a sophomore, went 4-0 at Granite City to win her second straight regional championship. She is now 31-13 for the season.
After an opening round bye, she took down Addison Arnold of Marion at the 1:48 mark then in the quarterfinals she pinned Madelyn Edler of Waterloo at 2:48.
She beat Roxie Royster of Murphysboro in the semifinals at 1:22 and Jacee Mardirosian of Carterville for the championship. Mardirosian, who is now 32-3 overall, was pinned by the Kahok at the 1:18 mark.
Long, another sophomore who is 43-4 on the year, took the crown at 125 after winning the regional at 120 one season ago.
This year, after receiving a first-round bye, she beat Ayda Brown of Waterloo with a pin at 30 seconds, then in the semifinals she knocked off Zoey Nelson of Mascoutah in 29 seconds.
In the championship bout, she beat Dakota Bel of Cahokia at 1:07.
Finally, junior Leann Cory also pinned her way to a regional title to improve to 40-4 on the season.
Cory received a first-round bye, then in the quarterfinals she pinned Jozilyn Kerr of Anna-Jonesboro in 31 seconds.
She beat Adaliah Roth of Triad at the 20-second mark with a pin as well. In the championship match, she beat Kyla Ford of Carbondale at 1:17.
Torres, a freshman, fell in the championship match but still qualified for this weekend’s competition with a record of 32-12.
She received a first-round bye, then beat Zaniyla Cooper of Belleville Althoff at the 1:00 mark.
In the semifinals, Torres beat Riley Weems of Belleville West at 5:51.
The title bout saw her fall to Adleigh DeWerff of Edwardsville by a 6-3 decision. DeWerff is now 28-4 on the year.
“Our sectional qualifiers are excited to be one step closer to putting their names on that state board,” Gillespie said.
Collinsville freshman Jazelle Young went 3-2 in the 115-pound division at the regional tourney.
She beat Kenni Lafollette of Johnston City via a 10-1 major decision.
After falling in the second round, she received a forfeit victory to advance in the Consolation bracket.
She pinned Deja Porter of Cahokia at 4:55 before losing for a second time.
Another freshman, Neveah Hamer-Burries, also won three matches.
Hamer-Burries beat Joanna Lee of Carterville at 1:15 in her opener before falling in her second bout. She then knocked off Eliana Bailey of Murphysboro in 36 seconds and Carmen Holderfield of Marion at 1:31 before dropping her second match of the tournament.
“Jazelle and Neveah both wrestled their way to the blood rounds but came up short,” Gillespie said. “Both are very motivated to put the work in to join their teammates in the finals!”
Additionally, Kahok senior Jaylah Harris won a match at the regional, beating Stella Bricker of Freeburg 1:04.
Team Standings
For the second straight year, Edwardsville and Collinsville went 1-2 at the regional. The Tigers amassed 222.5 points, with Collinsville totaling 136.
The IHSA began crowning regional champions in the 2023-24 school year and the Tigers have won three championship plaques.
Collinsville has a pair of second-place finishes and a third at the regional level.
“It means a lot to me to have the honor to coach such an amazing team!” said Gillespie. “I am so proud of each and every one of these wrestlers! All of this season’s results are a direct result of their hard work and dedication!”
The Kahoks ended their regular season with a 9-1 overall record and 5-1 in the Southwestern Conference.
