HAYS – The spotlight on small-school girls’ wrestling was never brighter than at the Class 3-1A state tournament on Feb. 28 at Gross Memorial Coliseum.

Six wrestlers became their school’s first girls state champion since girls wrestling was sanctioned by KSHSAA in 2019-20. 

The breakthrough titles came from Wichita County’s Jentri Porter, Plainville’s Lillian Garcia, St. Francis’ Henzley Matthies, Chase County’s Lahna Passmore, Bluestem’s Reagan Neal and Ingalls’ Peyton Smith. 

“It feels good that I can set the standard for future girls in the program,” said Porter, Wichita County’s first girls’ wrestler. “I just hope it helps those girls stay motivated and keep building the program after I’m gone.”

“When I realized I won, I realized that everyone’s never going to forget that I was the first girl in Plainville to do that,” Garcia said. “I still can’t believe I won and I still can’t believe I’m the first girl in Plainville to be a state champion.”

Seniors Porter and Smith capped their careers with championships while the other four first-time champs for their schools will have a shot at defending their titles next year. Matthies and Passmore are freshmen, Neal is a sophomore and Garcia is a junior. 
 

Garcia went up two weight classes to 170 this season after placing third at 145 last year as a sophomore. 

“At the first tournament I had a little bit of an issue and I got hurt in my first match,” Garcia said. “I was out a few tournaments, so I kind of doubted myself. I was at a different weight so I thought maybe these girls are bigger and stronger and they’re used to wrestling this weight, and I’m not. I definitely had issues where I was freaking myself out.”

But Garcia hit her stride down the stretch of the season, winning a Mid-Continent League title and regional title. She defeated Oakley’s Brooke Smith 6-0 in the state title match. 

“I stepped on the mat and I was nervous,” Garcia said. “I wanted to win really bad. I told myself I wasn’t going to lose and I was going to do everything I could. 
“I knew (Smith) was going to be tough. I took a shot in the first period and ended up not getting it. I didn’t finish it very well. I got a little nervous because normally I like to score in the first period. I was telling myself ‘You can do this, c’mon.’”

Garcia got a reversal and four nearfall points in the third period to seal the match. 

“She ended up getting too high on me, so I just kind of tri-poded up and put her on her back,” Garcia said. “I ended up keeping her there and just laid there until the time went out because I didn’t want to risk anything. I was telling myself, ‘You’re going to be a state champion. Just be smart.’”

Garcia was one of four finalists for Plainville along with runner-ups Kaeleigh Klein (100), Hayden Staab (135) and Caydance Carter (190). 

“We had a little bit of a setback at regionals where some girls didn’t come out on top,” Garcia said. “But when they got to state, they wrestled with everything they had. Our coaches were ecstatic about putting four girls in the finals. 

“All the girls wrestled really well. I was really proud of the two seniors (Carter and Klein). It’s sad they’re not going to be here next year, but we have a freshman (Staab) and she’s tough. I’m excited.”
 

 

Porter, a four-time state placer, took advantage of her first trip to the finals. She earned an 8-3 win over Rossville’s Nora Mitchell in the 105 title match. 

“It was the same mindset I had all year: I’m a senior, I’ve got to give it my all,” Porter said. “I knew the moves and how to wrestle, it was just totally up to if my mind and body could do it. I just needed to relax. It’s basically muscle memory at this point, after all the work.”

Porter got an escape and a takedown in the second period to take a 4-0 lead. Mitchell scored a takedown midway through the third but Porter responded with an escape and a takedown. 

“She took me down and I knew I could get out and just needed to stay calm,” Porter said. “Eventually I did get out and I knew I could take her down.”

Porter finished her senior season with a 34-0 record. 

“It was really emotional, not only that I finally did it and won that state title that I had been working toward, but also that it would be my last ever high school match,” Porter said. 
 

 

Matthies (29-0) burst on the scene with a dominant freshman season. She closed it with a 10-7 win over Plainville’s Klein in the 100 final. 

“Since I was little I’ve always wanted to reach the goal of winning four state championships, so I had to start with my freshman year,” Matthies said. 

Matthies, who has been wrestling since she was in fourth grade, looked poised throughout the tournament. She pinned her first two opponents and earned a technical fall over Silver Lake’s Kamiryn Clark in the semifinal. 

“I used to get really nervous but throughout this year I’ve learned to stay calm and it helps me a lot. When I get nervous I don’t wrestle as well. I stayed pretty calm in the tournament,” Matthies said. 

Klein gave Matthies a good test in the title match. The Cardinal senior opened up a 7-4 lead in the second period with a takedown and four nearfall points but Matthies countered with a reversal and four nearfall points late in the second period before a scoreless third. 

“I knew kind of how she wrestled after wrestling her two weeks prior,” Matthies said. “I just wanted to go out there and give it everything I had. 
“I got a little scared on my back, but I just had to stay calm and I got out of it.”

Matthies, who has wrestled in big tournaments in the summer, said she enjoyed her first state tournament experience.

“The atmosphere was really fun,” Matthies said. “It was cool to see all those people supporting you and being cheered on. 

“It means a lot (to be St. Francis’ first girls’ state champion).”
 

After getting pinned early in last year’s 105 final by Smith Center’s Keleigh Ochoa, Bluestem’s Neal got redemption in the rematch in the 110 title match this year. 

Ochoa looked well on her way to completing a perfect sophomore season, opening up a 7-0 lead with a takedown and four nearfall points. 

Neal, also a sophomore, fought her way back into the match and was down 10-6 in the second period before putting Ochoa on her back. She worked for several seconds to get the pin, securing the fall at the 3:53 mark. 

Neal finished her season with a 41-4 record while Ochoa went 45-1. 
 

Passmore captured the 115 crown with a second-period pin against Caney Valley's Sierra Loader in the final. She earned technical falls in her first two state matches before pinning Oakley’s Hadlie Younkin in the semifinals. 

Passmore closed her freshman campaign with a 35-2 record. Her only losses were to Chapman’s Cambree Obermeyer and Riverside’s Jensen Conard. 

A late starter in wrestling, Smith didn’t start competing for the Bulldogs until late in her junior season last year. She still managed to place eighth at state last year, becoming Ingalls’ first state qualifier. 

Smith established herself as a title contender this year at 235, taking just two losses into state. 

In the state title match, Norton’s Adriana Winters threw a headlock on Smith, but Smith turned the tables on Winters and quickly got the pin to make school history. 

She finished her senior season with a 27-2 record, earning pins in all four state matches. Her only losses on the season came to Salina Central’s Kiarra Codling and Campus’ Brooklyn Burling. 

Ingalls' wrestling program co-ops with Cimarron.  After Smith won her title, she threw coach A.J. Cooper — a former Cimarron standout — to the mat in celebration.   

 

   
 

NORTON SEES TRIO DEFEND CHAMPIONSHIPS

When Cadence Greeson started her high school career at Norton, she was a wrestling novice just learning the sport. 

She capped it as a two-time state champion with an undefeated senior season.

Greeson was one of three Bluejays to defend their titles, along with sophomores Halle Pfannenstiel and Kaison Miller. 

The Bluejays followed up their 2025 team championship with a runner-up showing to Russell. 

“We practiced all year long for this and we came in knowing that we needed to do our thing,” Greeson said. “It doesn't matter the outcome, our community will be proud of us no matter what. Even though we didn't win state, we still got runner-up and we’re still proud of each other.”

Greeson pinned Plainville’s Caydance Carter for the second straight season in the 190 final to close her season at 40-0.  

Greeson went 10-10 as a freshman and 0-2 at state. As a sophomore, she posted a 24-7 record but did not make state. 

“Then, I was like, ‘I need to work hard at what I want to do. This is my sport,’ ” Greeson said. “Junior year, I came in and I was like, ‘I'm gonna get this state title. This is gonna be mine.’

“And then this year, because it’s my last year, I've been soaking it all in with my teammates and my coaches and my community, and I got the title again.”
 

Pfannenstiel repeated as 140 champion, pinning Southeast of Saline’s Annabelle Soell 38 seconds into the title match. Pfannenstiel finished with a 45-2 record.

Pfannenstiel pinned all four of her opponents at state. Her only losses on the season came to Manhattan’s Sophia Hoeme and Kayden Sipp from Nebraska’s Adams Central. 

Miller, who won the 115 title as a freshman, finished a dominant sophomore season by pinning her way to the title. In the state championship match, Miller beat Russell freshman Karsyn Hamlin in the final. 

The Bluejays finished with 143 points, coming up 13 points short of Russell for the title. 

Greeson said a highlight of the tournament for Norton was seeing Bluejay junior Adriana Winters make the 235 final with a thrilling semifinal win. She dug herself out of a hole against top-ranked Emmarsyn Fordham to get the pin in the semis. Winters went on to take runner-up with a loss to Ingalls’ Peyton Smith in the final. 

“That was an amazing moment for us because we love our team,” Greeson said of Winters’ semifinal win. “Our team is what makes us  good wrestlers. And we make each other better every day.”

Greeson said the arrival of Miller and Pfannenstiel into the program last season helped elevate the Bluejays to another level. 

“I knew that we had amazing freshmen that were coming in, and they were going to do amazing,” Greeson said. “They would push us to do better, and then I would be a leader to them and try to help them get to where they are right now.”


 

 

   
 

OAKLEY’S JACKSON CAPS CAREER WITH FIRST STATE TITLE 

Abbygayl Jackson hit her peak at the perfect time, and the Oakley senior now has a state championship to show for it.

Jackson won a Mid-Continent League matchup for the 135 crown, earning the pin over Plainville’s Hayden Staab to close out her career as a first-time state champion. 

Jackson, a state runner-up as a junior, controlled the title match and second the pin in the final seconds of the third period. She finished her senior season with a 39-7 record. 

“I started off not the greatest,” Jackson said. “I wasn't being very aggressive and definitely lost a few matches that I could've won. But I think I got to that peak of my season at the right time, and it was great to finally get that championship spot my senior year. This was a great time to show everything I have.

“This is one of the first seasons I've actually just loved going to practice every day and loved every tournament. I remembered why I loved the sport and remembered that I won't always have it.”

Jackson couldn’t have asked for a better ending. She faced a tough challenger in Staab, a talented freshman who Jackson faced six times this season, finishing with a 3-3 mark against Staab. 

“I knew that I had lost to her before and she is a pretty good wrestler but I also knew that I’ve beaten her before and just remembered to wrestle my match,” Jackson said. “I wanted to get that goal of finally getting first place, so I just kind of focused on that goal and focused more on what I was doing rather than her plan.”

Jackson earned redemption in the title match after losing in the 135 final to Russell’s Kinsey Zorn last year. 

“We have a wall in our wrestling room with all the pictures of state champions. I literally told everybody it was my dream to get on that wall,” Jackson said. “My first emotion was like, ‘I finally made it.’ I was just really happy and so grateful for my coaches and my team. They were all right there when I got off the mat. It was just a great moment. They're the ones who pushed me to get to that goal and help me reach it.”