There Was A Lot Of Exciting Action At Morton Ranch High School For The Maverick Stampede This Weekend. Here’s What We Saw:
100
#2 Kaelani Palmer (Foster) had an impressive tournament, taking out #11 Katlyn Nguyen (Jersey Village), #3 Valentina Vitaliano (The Woodlands), and #8 Kayla Miller (Cy Ranch) to claim the title. Vitaliano, despite dropping a one-point match to Palmer in the semis, showed her strength by bouncing back to secure 3rd place. Palmer’s performance proves she’s one of the top wrestlers at this weight.
107
#1 Arianna Beltran (Cy Ranch) continued her dominance with another tournament title. #9 Danniell Sizelove (The Woodlands) had a strong showing, finishing in 3rd place, and will likely move up in the rankings as a result.
114
#1 Riley Rayome (The Woodlands) once again showed why she’s one of the best in the country. She didn’t wrestle past the one-minute mark in any of her matches, including a quick pin in the finals over #3 (@120) Nevada Daniels (Cinco Ranch). Daniels is very, very good. So, for Rayome to get a quick pin like that is very impressive.
#6 (@120) Alexie Hurtado (Cy Park) had a great tournament, scoring wins over #2 Stephanie Lopez (Mayde Creek), #6 Eva Horton (George Ranch), and #7 Miaham Jimenez (Caney Creek), finishing with a solid result.
120
#4 (@126) Emily Melham (Katy Taylor) had a strong run, defeating #7 and #4 at 120, as well as returning state qualifier Analia Urias (Cibolo Steele). However, she ran into a buzzsaw in the finals in Genevieve Bellino (Corpus Christi Carroll), who was simply too much in the championship match. Melham finished in 2nd place.
#7 Ella Schmidt (Cy Ranch) lost to Melham in the first round but showed her toughness by battling back to claim 4th place.
126
The top three at this weight were all from outside Houston, but #5 (@132) Kayla Dunn (Cy Park) had a solid run to finish in 4th, including a win over #6 Sophia Tamayo (Clear Lake), who ended up in 5th place.
132
#2 Natalie Grijalva (Katy Taylor) stood above the crowd here, continuing her strong season with a tournament title. #8 Kylie Brown (Clear Springs) is having a breakout year, finishing in 3rd place after a strong performance.
138
#3 Kathryn Kaminski (Caney Creek) and #4 Giada Muller (Paetow) met in a highly anticipated final, with both wrestlers coming off state tournament appearances last season. The match was a close one, but Muller secured the win in overtime with a takedown, edging Kaminski for the title.
145
Emma Dutcher (Mayde Creek) dropped to 145lbs for this tournament after being ranked #1 at 152. She was upset in the quarters by unranked Christin Decker (Clear Lake). Dutcher then worked her way through the consolation bracket, pinning her way back to 3rd place. It was an uncharacteristic loss for Dutcher, who placed at state last season.
On the other side of the bracket, #5 Jacey Kuntz (Foster) defeated Decker in the finals to claim the tournament title.
152
#2 Claire Guydon (The Woodlands), who was highlighted as a wrestler to watch in the preseason, lived up to the hype. The sophomore defeated #6 Jorie Kuntz (Foster) on her way to claiming the tournament title, further cementing her status as one of the top wrestlers in the area.
165
#6 Karen Kime (Brazoswood) had a standout tournament, earning wins over #11, #7, and #2 ranked wrestlers at her weight. She capped off her impressive performance with a victory over #2 Genevieve Seiffert (Bridgeland), earning the tournament title and a likely rise in the rankings.
185
#2 Jaida Kuntz (Foster) had another strong tournament, making it to the finals, but ultimately ran into Asaiya Golphin(Cibolo Steele), who got the best of her in the championship match. Golphin is a returning state placer, so Kuntz’s performance is still one to be proud of.
#6 Margot Royston (Lamar) dropped a match to Golphin but battled back to take 3rd place with a win over #5 Maria Gonzalez (Brazoswood), showing resilience and determination.
235
#4 Kalea Berry (Cy Park) continued her strong season with an impressive win over #9 Sherry Linklater (Friendswood) in the finals, securing the tournament title.