Richardson Hits 100 Wins At Owensville

Dorie Richardson hit another milestone at the Owensville Invitational on Tuesday, Nov. 2. She became the first girl wrestler at Sullivan High School to eclipse 100 wins.

Head coach Carl Lawrence could not have been any prouder of Richardson. “She has obviously worked hard and made history more than a couple [of] times in her high school career,” he stated. “The thing that has made her inspiring to others and myself is [that] she did not look past matches to get to the milestone; she is incredibly focused and unshakable this year; she has goals in her mind and will not stop or rest until she attains them. The girl has a wrestling mindset, and that, to me, as a coach, is the most important attribute she brings as a captain [of] this team. She inspires everyone [in] our wrestling room, school and community.”

Richardson is currently undefeated with an 8-0 record to start her senior year. At Owensville, she ran the table in the 145 class and racked up 20 points for her team. The senior locked up Merrick Blankenship (Owensville) in 1:20, Starr Hardesty (Sullivan) in 0:43, Natalie Barron (Rolla) in 1:28 and Payton Boyce (Marshfield) in 2:23. 

Sullivan has four more wrestlers who have competed in two tournaments so far. Ruby Daily is currently 7-3 in her duels, Abigail Erfurth is 6-2, Chloe Carson is 5-4 and Katie Summers is 2-8.

Daily finished in fourth at Owensville in the 170 class. She tallied 11 points in her three wins: 0:52 over Addison Montgomery (Rolla JV), 3:21 against Madelyn Sullivan (Rolla JV) and 0:31 versus Ashley Nix (West Plains). The senior was defeated by Bailee Dare (Owensville) in 3:34 and lost third place to Gracelyn Bull (Marshfield) in a 5-3 decision.

Erfurth put on a clinic in the 235 class, clinching second with 15 points. She delivered swift pins in her first two rounds, wrapping up Saquiyah Francois (Marshfield JV) in 1:16 and Layne Simerl (Fulton) in 1:59. The sophomore then fell to the would-be champion Kaylee Cantrell (Marshfield). Erfurth bounced back to win her final match, taking down Bailee Morris (Rolla) in 2:52.

Carson took the third-place spot on the podium in the 155 class. She notched 14 points in her three wins: bringing down Natalia Tomanek (Marshfield JV) in 2:33, Abygail Spencer (Marshfield JV) in 3:17 and Sarah Wilson (Marshfield) in 5:13. Her only loss came against the would-be champion Serenity Tilford (Rolla) in a 4:48 fall. Carson received a bye in her first round.

Summers took ninth in the 170 class. She won her final bout with a 1:13 pin over Nix (West Plains). The senior dropped her first four matches, falling to Bull (Marshfield) in 0:56, Delaney Miller (Rolla) in 1:27, Lydon Gott (Rolla JV) in 3:45 and Anna Carlin (Owensville) in 2:50.

Autumn (1-4) and Starr (0-4) Hardesty made their season debuts on the mat in Owensville.

A. Hardesty placed seventh in the 135 class, scoring a point for Sullivan. She was brought down by Sadie Sehnert (Wright City) in 3:19, Aireana Morris (Rolla JV) in 1:15, Aubrey Mondragon-Wade (Marshfield JV) in 4:28 and Adelyn Swanguarim (Marshfield JV) in 0:33. A. received a bye in the seventh-place matchup.

S. Hardesty finished fifth in the 145 class. She fell to Blankenship (Owensville) at 0:28, Boyce (Marshfield) at 1:11, Richardson at 0:43, and Barron at 3:13.

Sullivan landed a sixth-place finish with 61 points at the Owensville Invitational.

Rolla won the meet with 171 points; Marshfield (149) was the runner-up, Owensville (105) clinched third, Wright City (78.5) took fourth, Fulton (74.5) finished fifth, Rolla JV (46) placed seventh, Marshfield JV (40) ranked eighth, West Plains (24) landed ninth and Affton (22) rounded out the top ten. 

In his first season as the girls wrestling head coach, Lawrence thanked the Lady Eagles for being “all business this year.” He shared, “They have a seriousness about their match preparation and practice times that [are] coming out on the competition mat. We are wrestling forward and aggressively taking chances on the mat to form the perfect version of themselves come districts.”

After their first two meets, Lawrence continues to remind Sullivan to make the most of each moment this season. “We will continue to push to score points out on the mat, work to win matches and remember to have fun,” he explained. “As the coach, sometimes I forget [that] at the end of the day, we need to be enjoying this stuff. It’s not all about winning, but we play to win the game. I think what we will continue to push the most is to love the battle; if you love the battle, then you don’t ever lose; you learn.”

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