歪歪漫画

BRAINERD 鈥� Taylor Merschman and Maya Schmidt are heading back to state.

The Bemidji High 歪歪漫画 girls wrestling team earned two state tournament bids at the Section 7 and 8 Individual Tournament on Saturday, as Merschman captured the 100-pound weight bracket crown and Schmidt came away with second competing at 170.

鈥淚t鈥檚 great to send them back,鈥� head coach Rance Bahr said. 鈥淚鈥檓 very proud of the way they wrestled and I鈥檓 happy for them. They had a great tournament. They wrestled very, very well. They鈥檙e two of the girls that show up for us every weekend and every meet and always give their best effort, so it鈥檚 a reward for all the hard work that they鈥檝e put in throughout the year.鈥�

It鈥檒l be back-to-back state tournament appearances for the duo, who both made it to the event a season ago.

鈥淚 love that I get to go with Taylor again,鈥� Schmidt said. 鈥淰ery excited for her.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 really nice, especially because (Schmidt is) one of the people I look up to, 100%,鈥� Merschman said. 鈥淚 went to state with her last year and she鈥檚 kind of like an older sister, almost, in a way.鈥�

Merschman dominated her bracket.

After opening the tournament with a bye, Merschman pinned all of her remaining opponents in 2:38 or less. She bested Forest Lake鈥檚 Taylor Osborn-Lawson in 1:03 and Staples-Motley鈥檚 Kana Reese in 1:41 in the second and third rounds, respectively.

Merschman went on to beat Shelby Helmin (Milaca-Faith Christian) by fall (2:38) in the semifinals. She finished off the weekend by pinning Natalee Friedrichs (Sauk Centre/Melrose) in 2:17 in the first-place match.

鈥淚 was very confident in myself,鈥� Merschman said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 matches where I get in my head, and I was very confident that I knew how well I鈥檝e trained and how well my coaches have taught me, so it was just confidence going into every match.鈥�

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

Schmidt also put up a great performance, capturing wins by fall in the second round, the quarterfinals and the semifinals before falling to former teammate Makaya Gotchie of Deer River in the first-place matchup. However, she earned her bid to state by defeating Samantha Zoller (Thief River Falls) by fall in 2:37 in the second-place wrestleback.

It鈥檒l be Schmidt鈥檚 third straight time competing at the state tournament. At this point, it鈥檚 fair to say she鈥檚 quite comfortable at the event.

鈥淚 love going to state, it is just the best feeling ever to be going back again,鈥� Schmidt said. 鈥淚鈥檓 very comfortable (there), I know what to expect and I know how it feels to walk out of that tunnel and see all the people watching me. 鈥� I want to reach my 85th win, I think I have two more to go. So if I can get my 85th win and place in the top four, I鈥檇 be ecstatic.鈥�

Kiera Hagman-Nyagaka just missed out on a bid to state at 118. After losing to Amanda Nelson of Grand Rapids in the quarterfinals, she stormed back in the consolation bracket, clawing her way into the second-place wrestleback match. She lost to Roseangel Verrett (Monticello) in the contest, ending up in third place.

Brenalen Fredriksen-Holm collected fourth at 112 and Keeari Goodfellow wound up in the same spot at 235. Imrie Mistic (136) and Chasity Skerik (142) both earned fifth in their respective weight classes.

鈥淚t was incredibly, incredibly competitive today, with Section 7 and 8 paired, and there was a lot of parity,鈥� Bahr said. 鈥淲e wrestled really, really well. 鈥� We wrestled a lot of full, six-minute, competitive matches and were behind in some matches and found opportunities and ways to finish those matches.

鈥淪o that鈥檚 what I told the girls at the end of the tournament. We all sat down, like things may not have turned out exactly how we wanted them to turn out as far as getting to the state tournament, but that鈥檚 not because of any lack of effort or any lack of commitment on their part. They wrestled so well and I was so impressed with them, just with their grit and their determination all weekend long.鈥�