Wright City wrestlers Caelyn Hanff and Kali Jensen each earned their first state wrestling medal by placing at the state wrestling tournament. 

Hanff placed third in the 170-pound weight class at the Class 1 girls state wrestling tournament. Jensen placed fourth in the 115-pound weight class in the tournament. Both wrestlers earned their first state medal. 

“It’s all about matchups,” Wright City wrestling coach Fred Ross said. “We got some good matchups and did a lot of good things. You never know because Kali hadn’t been here before. Caelyn had been here before but had only won one match last year. We’re really pleased with how they did.”

After winning one match at the state tournament last season, Hanff won four matches to place third in her weight class. She won both matches the first day of the tournament by fall. She beat Kenlee Fish of Plattsburg and Blaiklee Cagle of Reeds Spring to advance to the semifinals. 

“My first match was I think luck because I wasn’t wrestling very good,” Hanff said. “I think I was just tired and I ate too much. I think the wins kind of boosted my ego a little too much for today (Thursday) because I thought I’d do better.”

After falling behind 4-0 in her semifinal match against Hailey Romero of Kearney, Hanff recorded a two-point reversal and three-point nearfall in the last 10 seconds of the second period to take a 5-4 lead into the third period. Hanff got called for two penalties in the last 30 seconds of the match and lost the match 6-5. 

“My first match today was bad because I kept doing Full Nelson’s,” Hanff said. “I was so stressed out I didn’t know what to do. I was just like throwing stuff and it happened to be illegal. The first match I should have won but I lost by points.”

After dropping her semifinal match, Hanff earned a pair of wins to place third in her weight class. She beat Madisynn Crawford of Kirksville 8-3 in the consolation semifinals. She outscored Crawford 6-1 in the third period. After trailing 6-2 entering the final period of her third place match, Hanff outscored Alana Thelin of Pleasant Hill 9-3 to secure a third place finish. 

“She’s been working on her feet but she’s not the best on her feet,” Ross said. “She’s got such good hips and good balance, those things really came in handy today when that girl tried to go upper body with her. Caelyn threw her twice. The second one was good enough to get enough points for the win.”

Jensen rebounded from a first round loss to win four matches and place fourth. Jensen earned four straight wins by fall, including a pin in 39 seconds against Louzella Graham of Seneca to advance to the third place match. The win avenged Jensen’s 6-2 loss to Graham in her opening match. 

“My first one, no matter what tournament I get to, my first match is always my worst match,” Jensen said. “It’s just something I know. The nervousness of it being high school state mixed with knowing the girl was really good I guess led to me losing my first match …But after that, that loss really helped me open my eyes and push through my next four matches.”

Jensen fell to senior Annie Moore of Cassville in the third place match. 

“She wrestled her heart out and we were proud of the way she wrestled.” 

Wright City sophomore Ella Greenwell Washburn won a match in her first trip to the state tournament. She beat Shauna Wilkson of Lafayette County by fall in her first consolation match. 

The Wildcats also sent David Riggs to the state tournament. Competing in the Class 2 boys wrestling tournament, Riggs won a pair of matches at the state tournament. Riggs beat Dominic Ransom of Sullivan by fall and Jackson Snider of Logan Rogersville on a 3-0 decision in the consolation bracket. 

"It’s his senior year and we just wanted to get him to state,” Ross said. “He wins two matches. That’s outstanding…He wrestled so smart. He got that good takedown and then got an escape and rolled really well and worked the turn and did a lot of good things. I was very pleased with that.” 

Overall, the Wright City wrestling teams won 11 matches at the state tournament. Ross deemed the state tournament a success for the Wright City wrestlers. 

“It’s a good experience for all the girls and the guys,” Ross said. “Any time you come to the state tournament and everybody wins a match that qualified, that’s a good tournament. To me, that’s a good tournament.”