As the season progresses, we’re going to encounter situations where rankings at certain weights aren’t clear-cut. One wrestler beats another, but then loses to someone else, who in turn has a win over yet another competitor, and so on. The rankings won’t always be perfect, and that’s why we wrestle the matches.
Let’s take a look at the rankings for the 145lb girls this week. Malaina Jones (Oak) has been ranked #1 all season and has been dominant, including wins over most of the wrestlers directly behind her. However, she suffered a loss this week to Jacey Kuntz (Foster), putting Jones at one loss on the year. Kuntz, meanwhile, has two losses—one to Jones last week and another to Savannah Freifeld (Katy) back in November. Freifeld also has a few losses, including one to Jones, but she holds a win over Kuntz and a recent victory over #3 Kaitlyn Alcaraz (Cy Fair). So, the wrestlers have all traded wins and losses with one another.
In my opinion, Jones still has the strongest body of work for the year, so she remains in the #1 spot. Freifeld, with her win over Kuntz, stays at #2. Kuntz jumps Alcaraz to claim the #3 spot due to her victory over Jones, while Alcaraz drops to #4—not because of her performance, but because the other wrestlers have been more active and successful recently.
Remember, these are just rankings. Ultimately, it’s up to the wrestlers to prove themselves on the mat. These girls are all awesome wrestlers and I’d be shocked if all four of them aren’t competing at the Berry Center in February.