As the sport of girls wrestling progresses in the high school ranks and waves of new hopefuls enter the program at Evanston Township, maybe those future Wildkits will start to believe they can compete with the state’s elite.
Slowly but surely, the Wildkits are starting to win the confidence game.
That’s one big reason that seniors Ariana Flores and Ashland Henson earned trips to the Illinois High School Association state finals Saturday with top 4 finishes at the Evanston Sectional tournament.
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Flores finished 3rd at 110 pounds and qualified for State for the second year in a row, winning 5 out of 6 matches. Henson, a relative rookie in the sport, posted a 3-2 record at 190 pounds on her way to a 4th place finish.
Negotiating the mammoth 58-school field of wrestlers at the sectional made the path much more difficult to advance along in the second year of postseason competition sponsored by the IHSA. The state finals will be held Feb. 24-25 at Illinois State University.
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Unlike last year, when some girls entered the postseason fray with only a handful of actual matches under their belts, the experience of a full season of dual meets and tournaments (and the expansion of the number of matches allowed to 45) in 2022-23 definitely upped the level of competition.
That’s why it was so satisfying for ETHS head coach Dillin Randolph to see Flores and Henson keep their seasons alive for one more week.
“We got two qualifiers again, and two per year is nice,” said Randolph. “Of course I’d love to get more. But last year the entire state was basically first-year wrestlers, so this year some with that experience has come back. There are more teams now, too. I think everything got more difficult in terms of qualifying this year.
“Our biggest team weakness this year has been (lack of) confidence. But these past 2 days we wrestled confident as a team. We keep telling them that now THEY’RE the team people should be afraid of. Ashland, for example, comes into the tournament with one of the best records in her bracket (she was seeded 4th) and she’s still asking me if I think she can win any matches. I never questioned that --- but I think today she finally started to believe in herself.
“It was great to see her acting with so much (competitive) fire. And it’s the same thing with Ari, when she’s aggressive, she has to realize she’s one of the top wrestlers in the state.”
Flores was part of a history-making season a year ago, but her confidence took a hit when she started slow due partly to injuries the first half of the season. There was a lot on the senior’s plate off the mat, too, but she’s built her confidence back up to a championship level now.
She was pinned by Homewood-Flossmoor’s Nina Hamm in 2 minutes, 21 seconds in the quarterfinals Saturday morning, but came back with four straight victories in the consolation bracket, including a decisive 8-4 thumping of Hamm in the rematch between the pair in the 3rd place bout.
Flores will take a 20-9 record to State, where she won 1 of 3 matches as a junior.
“It feels good --- again,” Flores said. “Getting 3rd place was important for me because I was 4th last year (at the sectional). I just went at her. Before I waited (to make any moves), but this time I knew I just had to go.
“My mindset was really not in the right place the first half of the season. I was second-guessing myself, but all those wins really helped with my confidence. And the competition is tougher now, so to me, this is a bigger accomplishment this year. After losing in the quarterfinals I knew it would be hard (to qualify), and I just had to keep pushing.
“Going back to my freshman year (she competed mostly versus boys her first two seasons), and even to last year, I’d sit back and look at these other girls and think about how good they are compared to me. But now? I think I have to consider myself one of those really good people. I definitely can see myself that way.”
Flores chalked up wins over Melany Corona of Chicago Military Academy-Bronzeville (fall in 55 seconds), Belinda Esparza of Deerfield (fall in 1:17), Autumn Turner of Round Lake (fall in 3:54) and Mia Thomas of Chicago Phoenix (fall in 3:01) before dominating Hamm the second time around.
“Overall, I think my shots (on offense) have been better,” Flores added. “My goal is to get that first takedown and always be the shooter out there in every match.”
Henson, a late arrival to the sport, might be the most improved wrestler in the state of Illinois. The ETHS strongwoman will take a 23-9 won-loss record to the state tournament.
She began her athletic career as a member of the ETHS school powerlifting team and just joined the wrestling program last January, barely in time to get on the mat for actual competition. “I think wrestling in the sectional last year, that was my second match of the year,” Henson recalled.
“I didn’t even know we had a girls wrestling team. A friend of mine told me about it, and once I tried it I really liked it. But I never thought I’d be able to make it to State. It feels really, really good.”
The powerfully built senior admitted to lacking confidence at times, just like Flores.
“I just tried to focus on the basics, not the fancy moves. Just taking people down and pinning them,” Henson said. “For me, confidence is the hardest part of this. I psyche myself out, I think too much about it, and I get really anxious. But things usually turn out in my favor even when I’m like that.”
Henson advanced to the semifinals with pins against Brooklyn Jeffries of Hillcrest (0:35) and previously undefeated Krystal Thomas of South Shore (2:52), before running into the eventual tournament champion, Ini Odumosu of Homewood-Flossmor and suffering a 9-3 defeat.
In the consolation bracket, Henson had to overcome a slight mishap against Victoria Cruz of Evergreen Park. Midway through the first period of that match, Cruz reversed the ETHS grappler and scored a near fall that sent Henson injured to the mat. She regrouped and scored a fall in 4:55, then dropped a 7-0 decision to Josie Larson of Lakes in the match to decide 3rd place.
Henson’s shoulder took the brunt of that hit from Cruz. “When I fell on it, there was a shock of pain and it made a weird noise,” she said. “But I wanted to keep going. I didn’t want to give up my spot (in the tournament).
“At State there will be some pressure on me because I want to show well for our team. But honestly, I’m just glad that I get to go. It’s been a lot of fun, a good run, and I think everyone should try wrestling. It’s a great sport.”
Two other Wildkit hopefuls, Natalie Graettinger at 145 pounds and Jereni Marshall at 235, were ousted in the consolation semifinals, just one win away from automatically advancing.
Graettinger, a junior, finished with a 20-17 season record after losing via fall to Maya Corea-Funes of Oak Forest in the 3rd period. Marshall, a sophomore, split four matches --- all four were decided by pins --- on her way to a 14-8 finish in her first year of competing.
Seniors Elizabeth Paredes-Torres (120) and Nemi Cooper (125) ended on a high note with identical 3-2 tourney records for the Wildkits.
