Ignacio girls ready to bust holiday rust
Having closed out the Old Year at one Warrior, Ignacio Girls’ Wrestling will resume work in the New at another.
Set to see their first action in 2025 on Friday, Jan. 10, roughly 75 miles south of Albuquerque, N.M., at Socorro’s Lady Warrior Invitational, the Lady Bobcats – designated a Class 4A team this winter after CHSAA, pleased by the sport’s growth statewide, divided what used to be a single classification into two – will hope to apply all knowledge gained from competing Saturday, Dec. 21, at 5A Grand Junction Central’s 2024 Warrior Classic.
With teams traveling in from the Western Slope, the Front Range and even the Phoenix, Ariz., metro area, the event shaped up to be essentially as competitive as the boys’ two-day feature, and IHS earned 41.5 points to rank 19th out of 25 represented schools. Central, however, piled up an unapproachable 312 points and easily bettered Centennial-based 5A Eaglecrest’s runner-up 190 and Farmington, New Mexico’s third-place 153.
Leading the way for Ignacio was junior Larissa Espinosa, who went 3-1 in the 235-pound division. Her lone pin came 40 seconds into the second period against Central senior Kayli Keel, and she also logged a 16-0 technical-fall win over Craig-based 4A Moffat County junior Kearra Cicchini before defeating Eaglecrest junior Emma Roberts 13-8 to claim third place.
Sophomore Lainee Bradley finished fifth at 130 pounds after posting a 4-2 meet record. Starting off well with three consecutive pins each inside of two periods, she then ran into trouble with losses to 4A Gunnison junior Evelyne Cope and Central junior Violet Gray but then finished her day edging 5A Highlands Ranch Mountain Vista senior Ella Curtis 7-6.
Madison Egger broke even at 100, going 2-2 with two pins (each in less than 55 seconds), but was denied a chance to place when 5A Falcon senior Katie Ramsay doubled her up, 6-3, in one consolation quarterfinal. IHS’ Krysten Neil and Marlene Martinez-Perez, however, weren’t nearly as fortunate at 135 and 140 pounds, respectively; both finished 0-2 after each was pinned twice.
Weigh-ins on the 10th in Socorro are set for 8 a.m., with action beginning at 9:30. After returning from deep in the Land of Enchantment, the Lady ’Cats – as of press time the only Colorado crew entered at the Invitational – will next compete Saturday, Jan. 18, in Farmington at the 2025 Clash at the Coliseum. Weigh-ins for the Aztec, N.M.-hosted, bracket-style meet at McGee Park Memorial Coliseum are set for 8 a.m.