The immediate reactions from wrestlers capturing a state championship Saturday at the Class 4A tournament in Salina played out in a multitude of celebrations.
 
Abilene’s Josie Wilson buried her face in her hands after completing an undefeated freshman season at 100 pounds while twin sister Jade raised her arms in triumph after following with her title at 105.
 
First-time champion Wendy Candia of Pratt burst into tears, flashed a heart to the Greenback cheering section and was so overcome with excitement she forgot to get her hand raised by the referee. Two-time champion Kiley Dillow of Chanute, meanwhile, knew the drill well and as she got her hand raised, flexed her muscle after posting her second straight undefeated season.
 
McPherson’s Ciara Rawson was thrown to the mat by her coach, while Mulvane’s Leiannah Landreth flipped the script and threw her coach to the met.
 
For all the celebrations and all of the celebrants, the one that was most subdued came from the champion who certainly had cause for the most boisterous reaction of the tournament. After all, Clay Center’s Gabi Koppes had just made history, becoming the first girl in state history to complete an undefeated high school career.
 
But that’s just not who Koppes is.
 
Whether it’s a dual victory against a North Central Kansas League foe or win that clinches a historic state championship, Koppes’ response is always the same. Remove her leg band, shake her opponent’s hand, get her arm raised, shake the opposing coach’s hand and return to her corner.
 
“Every match, I just try to be humble and show good sportsmanship,” Koppes said. “I just go out there and wrestle every match the same and win the same. That’s just who I am.”
 
What Koppes is has never changed throughout her high school career either. She began her career as an undefeated state champion, winning her first title at 126 pounds as a freshman in 2022. And she ended her career the same way, putting the wraps on a fourth undefeated state title at 125 pounds Saturday in Salina.
 
The model of consistency, Koppes is now the standard for which all future girls’ wrestlers in the state will strive to reach.
 
“It still really hasn’t sunk in yet,” Koppes said after coming off the medal stand with her fourth state championship bracket in hand after taking an 11-1 major decision over Wellsville’s Olive Dubois in the 125-pound title match. “It’s pretty cool.”
 

 
While Koppes hadn’t been able to fully process her accomplishment at that point, her coach, Brandon Pigorsch, was readily able to put things in perspective.
 
Before eventually becoming Clay Center’s coach, Pigorsch sprang from his wrestling roots at Herington, earning three Class 3-2-1A state medals from 1997-2000. At the same time he was wrestling for Herington, the two most accomplished boys wrestlers in state history were also carving out their high school careers.
 
To the west, Salina South’s Bo Maynes was finishing up his legendary career where he fashioned a 130-0 record for the Cougars from 1995-98, a feat made even more impressive when you consider that not only did he never lose in his career, he never even was taken down by an opponent.
 
Maynes soon had company as to the east Blue Valley Northwest’s Zach Roberson was quickly making the career unbeaten club a two-man group. The Husky standout surpassed Maynes’ win total, going 153-0 in his career from 1996-99.
 
They are the only two boys in state history to be four-time undefeated state champions.
 
“I was wrestling when those guys were wrestling,” Pigorsch said. “I understood how challenging it was and how tough it was for those guys. For her to be up there and mentioned with those guys, is pretty unbelievable. What she has done is incredible.”
 
And now they have some company with Koppes the inaugural member of the girls career unbeaten club. She was joined as a four-time state champion Saturday by Oskaloosa’s Holly Thacher, that duo following the lead of last year’s trailblazing trio of Rossville’s Kendra Hurla, Olathe South’s Nicole Redmond and Bonner Springs’ Olivia Stean, who became the state’s first girls’ four-timers in the KSHSAA-sanctioned tourney era.
 

 
Whether Pigorsch saw that level of greatness initially in Koppes or not is debatable. But he was certain that she had what it took to put together a great career.
 
“I knew she was going to be good just from watching her in kids,” he said. “She won a lot in kids. But she always wanted to wrestle the boys all the time because it was a harder challenge. Just having that mindset and mentality as a younger wrestler, I thought was a good trait and I knew she’d be accepting of challenges that came her way in high school.”
 
You can’t win four without winning the first one and even though she carried an undefeated record into the state tournament her freshman year, Koppes was a bit of an unknown and a bit of an underdog.
 
Her success that season even caught Pigorsch a bit off guard.
 
“Honestly as her season freshman year got going, we got to the state tournament and it was like, ‘Man, you’re undefeated and have pinned everyone,’” he said. “Once we got here, it was, ‘OK, you’re going to get through this and win it.’”
 
Koppes pinned her way into the finals her freshman year where she had a showdown with three-time finalist and top-ranked Kailyn Younger of Paola. Just as she had done throughout the tournament, Koppes felt things out early and then caught Younger with a move and pinned her with three seconds left in the first period, capping a 30-0 season in which she recorded 26 pins.
 
“After I won the first won, I was like, ‘I’m going for four,’” Koppes said. “Nothing was going to be better than winning it again. And every year, it’s just the best feeling.”
 
At that point, Pigorsch also realized his job got just a little tougher.
 
“After that I had to figure out how to challenge her every single day and keep building on that” Pigorsch said. “In the practice room, it was hard because we didn’t have a lot of girls out for wrestling. Early on, she had to wrestle a lot of boys. Whatever came her way, we were able to work through it. She was just so relentless in her pursuit to be excellent and to win.”
 
Her next two titles were anything but easy. In fact, the biggest threats to her undefeated career came her sophomore season. She survived a showdown with Rossville four-timer Hurla early in the season when Hurla moved up a weight class to face her at the Clay Center Invitational.
 
But the real threat came in the form of Augusta’s Jill High. The two met twice that season with Koppes pulling out a 4-2 double-overtime victory over the Oriole standout in the finals of the Remington Invitational in their first meeting.
 
As thrilling as that victory was, it was nothing compared to their rematch at the state tournament in the 125-pound championship match. High not only was motivated to get revenge, but prepared.

After a scoreless first period, High got a reversal to start the second period and a takedown in the final 20 seconds to build a 4-1 lead. Koppes did get a late escape to cut her deficit to 4-2 entering the third period, but saw High repeatedly fend off her shot attempts throughout the third period.
 
With her repeat and undefeated season and career on the verge of slipping away, Koppes came through in the clutch. With seven seconds left in the match, Koppes hit High with a four-point move to pull out a 7-4 victory.
 
“I was getting a little desperate,” Koppes said after the match. “I worked hard for this all season and I didn’t want that hard work to go to waste. That last seven seconds, I had to give it my all.”
 
As demanding as the match was, Koppes said she cherished her meetings with High, whom she met again in the 2024 state finals, again coming from behind but without the drama, getting a takedown with 59 seconds left for a 4-2 win. 
 
“It’s always. good to have good competition,” said Koppes, who went 32-0 as a sophomore and 36-0 as a junior. “Even though it was always tough matches with her, having to go, go, go the entire time, it was exciting for me -- the adrenaline you get in those matches with high intensity competition.”
 

 
Though Koppes hadn’t faced this year’s finals opponent Dubois since her junior season, she said she definitely gave the Eagle junior the ultimate respect. And rightfully so with Dubois entering the match with a 40-2 record and fresh off a semifinal win over Pratt’s Gracelyn Hembree.
 
Koppes got the first takedown of the match with 45 seconds left in the first period. Dubois scored the only points of the second period with an escape to send the match to the third with Koppes up 3-1. 
 
That was all the scoring Dubois could muster. Koppes began the third in the bottom position and escaped 30 seconds into the period. With just under a minute she took Dubois down again and in the final 30 seconds maneuvered her to her back, narrowly missing the pin as time expired.
 
“She’s tough and wrestles hard too,” Koppes said of Dubois. “I just treat each match like it’s 0-0 and I’m going to go out there and wrestle hard. Gotta wrestle hard for six minutes. Even if I’m behind in a match, seven seconds left, I’ve got to give it my all.
 
“I wasn’t stopping until that clock reads zero. I’m always wrestling hard.”
 

 
After the match was over, completing a 28-0 season, Koppes did what she’s always done after she wins. She removed her leg band and shook Dubois’ hand. After getting her hand raised, she went to the Wellsville corner for a handshake and then strode over to Pigorsch and embraced him in a huge.
 
And that’s it. No fanfare. Just business.
 
With that, the most successful girls’ wrestler in the state wrapped up a career that saw her go 126-0 with 110 of those wins coming via pin. She only had four matches in her career that weren’t a major decision or better, three of them coming in her final three state championship matches.
 
“I know the pressure was getting to her a little bit,” Pigorsch said. “But she was just incredible every day in how she approached things and her mindset. She is truly a remarkable human being. I am extremely proud of her and how she has battled through her journey of excellence.”