By MATMEN, Friday, 10:05 p.m.
COLUMBIA, MO — Here’s an idea for a tournament.
Make a Knockout-level of intensity across the board. Make it girls-only. So, in essence, you’re taking some of the best of Florida’s boys Knockout and girls’ Let Freedom Ring, and maybe amp it up with some quite cold Midwestern weather.
That’s The Wonder Woman, a 64-team tournament hosted by Battle HS in Columbia, home of the University of Missouri. Nearly 700 girls wrestlers competed in the two-day IBT, with representation from Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Illinois.
And Florida, as Matanzas went out there, finishing fourth in the event with 131 points. Only three Missouri teams finished ahead of the Lady Pirates, including nationally-ranked #7 Lebanon, the tournament champion. The next-highest out-of-state team, Bixby (Oklahoma) was a distant 15th.
Four Lady Pirates finished fourth in their respective weight classes.
First of those was Christina Borgmann (3rd at 120). Borgmann was a quarterfinalist, with three victories (2 pins & 4-1 win on the front) before a loss by fall to the eventual champion and top seed from North Point. Borgmann then won three matches in the consis to get to the third-place medal match, falling by a 3-2 count.
Next was Tiana Fries’ fourth at 125. Fries (1st) was the 2 seed, reaching the semifinals behind four pins, but she then lost by fall to the third seed and eventual champion from Festus in that round. In the consi semis, Fries pitched a 4-0 shutout to get to the third-place match, taking a 2-1 loss there.
Brielle Bibla (1st at 130) was next to claim fourth. Like Borgmann, 3rd-seed Bibla reached the quarters with three pins in 1:59, but then took a 3-2 loss in the semis to Jefferson City in the semis. That would be the only wrestler who would defeat Bibla, doing so again by a 3-1 count in the medal round after Bibla earned her fourth pin in the consi semis, in 43 seconds.
Lastly, Kendall Bibla (3rd at 140) would place fourth. Like her sophomore classmate Fries before her, Bibla would reach the semis after three pins, including a quarterfinal pin over the 2 seed, but then lost by fall in the semis to Edwardsville (IL), a wrestler who pinned her way through the bracket. After a fourth pin to reach the third-place match, Bibla lost by fall to the wrestler she’d pinned on Thursday.
In addition to the quartet of Lady Pirate 4ths, Mariah Mills (3rd at 110) also placed in the top 8, taking 8th at 110.
All rankings from https://www.kabrawrestling.com/rankings/girls
You can view full results from both days of the tournament HERE.
North Florida Matmen 