Ard finishes in fourth in Section 8

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Three Hornets placed in the top four overall at the Section 8 girls wrestling tournament in Sartell over the weekend.

Seventh grader Rachael Courneya and freshman Grace Hamm took third place, while seventh grader Kienna Ard took fourth place in the one class girls wrestling tournament.

Courneya took third place at 106 lbs. after opening the tournament with back-to-back first period pins to advance to the semi-finals against Phoebe Morris of Monticello. Unfortunately, Morris was able to get the best of Courneya by securing a pin late in the first period to send the Frazee seventh grader to the wrestle backs. 

Courneya quickly secured a pin over Bailee Rife of United North Central to advance to the third place match where she once again secured a first period pin, this time over Avery Johnson of Sauk Centre-Melrose who she also defeated in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Since Morris lost by a 9-5 decision in the championship match, Courneya was unable to wrestle for true second and finished the tournament in third place and a record of 23-5 overall.

Also placing third was Hamm who competed in a loaded 130 lbs. tournament with several wrestlers ranked in the top 10 throughout the year. After receiving a bye in the first round, Hamm secured a pin over Lilly Faber of Alexandria at the 5:23
mark of the match to advance to the semi-finals against sixth ranked Afton Vogt of Sauk Centre-Melrose.
Vogt was able to secure a pin at the 1:58 mark of the match to send Hamm to the wrestle backs. 

After quickly securing a pin over Kami Williams of Roseau in the wrestle back semi-finals, Hamm picked up a tough 7-5 decision over Janaya Albers of Thief River Falls by a 7-5 decision in the third place match. Since Vogt lost to fifth ranked Ariana Pickar of Brainerd in the championship match 16-9, Hamm was unable to wrestle for true second and finished her freshman season in third place and a record of 26-3 overall.

Also placing for the Hornets was Kienna Ard who took fourth place at 136 lbs. Ard opened the tournament with a bye, before pinning Annika Dalzell of Brainerd at the 3:22 mark of their semi-finals match, before falling to eventual champion Chloe Wehry of Sartell-Saint Stephen by a 16-1 tech fall.

After securing a pin in just 27 seconds in the wrestle backs, Ard fell to Dalzell in a rematch of their quarterfinals match by a pin at 4:35 to finish her seventh grade year with a record of 17-8 overall. 

106 – 3rd place- Rachael Courneya (23-5) 7th, FRAZ over Braelyn Hass (18-18) 8th, UCBB (F 1:40), Rachael Courneya (23-5) 7th, FRAZ over Avery Johnson (20-14) 8th, SCM (F 1:13), Phoebe Morris (29-8) 7th, MONT over Rachael Courneya (23-5) 7th, FRAZ (F 1:57), Rachael Courneya (23-5) 7th, FRAZ over Bailee Rife (19-12) 8th, UNCW (F 3:54), Rachael Courneya (23-5) 7th, FRAZ over Avery Johnson (20-14) 8th, SCM (F 1:00), Phoebe Morris (29-8) 7th, MONT over Rachael Courneya (23-5) 7th, FRAZ (RULE)

124 – Jaime Bayliss (30-10) Jr., MONT over Lola Hoehne (12-14) Sr., FRAZ (F 1:15), Lola Hoehne (12-14) Sr., FRAZ over Neve White (0-9) 8th, PLPR (F 0:14), Lisa Resendiz (6-14) So., WILL over Lola Hoehne (12-14) Sr., FRAZ (F 3:56)

130 – 3rd place- Grace Hamm (26-3) Fr., FRAZ over Lilly Faber (18-5) Fr., ALAR (F 5:23), Afton Vogt (35-5) So., SCM over Grace Hamm (26-3) Fr., FRAZ (F 1:58), Grace Hamm (26-3) Fr., FRAZ over Kamil Williams (18-14) 8th, ROSE (F 1:07), Grace Hamm (26-3) Fr., FRAZ over Janaya Albers (25-12) Fr., TRF (Dec 7-5), Afton Vogt (35-5) So., SCM over Grace Hamm (26-3) Fr., FRAZ (RULE)

136 – 4th place- Kienna Ard (17-8) 7th, FRAZ over Annika Dalzell (25-10) So., BRAI (F 3:22), Chloe Wehry (27-0) Jr., SSS over Kienna Ard (17-8) 7th, FRAZ (TF 16-1 (1:56)), Kienna Ard (17-8) 7th, FRAZ over Nora Martell (15-24) Sr., TRF (F 0:27), Annika Dalzell (25-10) So., BRAI over Kienna Ard (17-8) 7th, FRAZ (F 4:35)