AIRBORNE. Dorie Richardson tussles with Riley Howell (Brookfield) and defeated her to be state champion. Photo by Will Johnson.
ATOP THE PODIUM. Dorie Richardson was declared the Class 1 State Champion of the 140 class. Photo by Will Johnson.
MARIAH DENNEY grapples with Dalayna Hargis (South Callaway) at the Class 1 State Championship. Photo by Will Johnson.
Richardson Wins State Championship; Girls Wrestling Brings Seven Qualifiers
Sullivan finished 16th out of 81 teams with 36.5 points at the MSHSAA Girls Class 1 State Championship from Feb. 21-22. The girls’ wrestling team had seven state qualifiers in Columbia at the Mizzou Arena, and Dorie Richardson emerged as the first state champion in the program’s history.
In an already great season for the girls’ wrestling team, where they had won their first-ever tournament title a couple of weeks prior and had seven state qualifiers, Richardson’s victory adds another notch to their most accomplished year yet.
Sullivan head coach Brad Landwehr hopes that his team’s experience at state will continue driving them for future success. “Being there and feeling the energy in the arena helps to know what to expect in future years. It helps them to set goals for themselves and see that big things are possible in the sport,” he stated.
Junior Dorie Richardson (38-3) clinched first place in the 140 class and racked up 27.5 team points. She kicked off her run by taking down Josey Uhrig (Southern Boone) in 5:35, Aliyah Jesse (Lawson) in a 5:32 technical fall and pinning Payton Weese (Marceline) in 5:32. Then, Richardson won the state championship by beating Riley Howell (Brookfield) in a 4-2 decision.
Senior Jade Studdard (37-5) pinned Kamora Merchant (Macks Creek) in 3:53 in her first round but fell in her final two. She collected 4 points in the 135 class.
Junior Ruby Daily (20-12) collected 3 points from her only victory when she wrapped up Blaiklee Cagle (Reeds Spring) in 3:58. She lost her other two matches in the 170 class.
Freshman Mariah Denney (36-6) won the first of her three games in the 120 class for 2 points.
Senior Maria Schatzl (33-14) in the 155 class, freshman Chloe Carson (17-11) in the 190 class and freshman Abigail Erfurth (19-16) in the 235 class did not get a win.
The placements of Studdard, Daily, Denney, Schatzl, Carson and Erfurth were unknown.
In the Class 1 Top 10 rankings, Kearney won the championship with 80 points; Brookfield (79) followed at 2nd, Odessa (71) at 3rd, Oak Grove (65.5) at 4th, Southern Boone (64.5) at 5th, Marshfield (61) at 6th, Smithville (59) at 7th, Fulton (49) at 8th and Festus (48) at 9th. Cassville and St. Clair tied for 10th place with 46 points.
Read next week’s edition for a Richardson feature on her state championship win.
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