Sadie Sehnert left everything she had out on the mats at the MSHSAA Class 1 girls wrestling championship at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

While the Wright City senior's state journey didn’t end with a win – it was a 9-6 decision to Blair Oaks’ Sam Lage – Sehnert did accomplish a couple of things.

First, she poured every ounce into her five matches, going 3-2. Second, her fourth-place finish achieved the goal she was seeking. She did so, even while battling strep throat.

“My goal from the start was to improve upon the fifth (place) that I got last year,” Sehnert said. “I, definitely, was worn out. I was getting tired much earlier on. Usually, I can breathe at the end of matches. This weekend, I was struggling, even by the second period (of matches).”

After falling to the tournament’s No. 1 seed at 140 pounds in the semifinal, Sehnert defeated Festus’ Trinity Butler by fall in 1 minute, 52 seconds to earn her spot in the third-place match, where her tournament ended.

Wright City Coach Fred Ross said that one match, or one day for that matter, would, could or should not define Sehnert’s contributions.

“She finishes fourth, a two-time medalist, and she leaves the school with the most wins in school history,” Ross said. “She’s going to leave her legacy and we’re just very proud of her.”

Just like Sehnert, Warrenton sophomore Melanie Guerrero finished her tournament on Thursday with a medal.

Guerrero took fifth place at 125 after pinning Nevada’s Brooklynn Hoag, whom she’d already beaten earlier in the tournament, in 51 seconds for the medal.  

“This feels great because I haven’t even wrestled for a full year,” Guerrero said. “I’m just going to go to tournaments over the summer and work hard to keep getting better. I really wanted to get that last match over, so I wanted to pin her in the first period and that’s what I did.”

Guerrero’s journey on Thursday began with a loss in the semifinal to top-seeded Alana Henry of Principia. She then fell 8-4 in a consolation semifinal to Ste. Genevieve’s Lilly Farlow before ending the tournament in quick fashion.

Warrenton coach Clayton Olsson said the incredible toughness shown by Guerreo in the face of a pair of earlier defeats was inspiring.

“It’s hard when you hit the semis and you’re so close to that finals match, because that’s what every kid dreams of, making the state finals and being a state champ,” Olsson said. “Then to lose the consolation match 30 minutes later, that’s hard. As soon as it (the pin in the fifth-place match) happens, you could just see all that pressure wash away.”