MONTAGUE — Montague’s girls wrestling team put together another impressive effort at Friday’s Lady Mat Cat tournament, earning second place with only six varsity wrestlers (seven total) competing.
The Wildcats scored 104.5 points as a team, placing behind only Whittemore-Prescott, which had a full lineup of 14 athletes.
“These girls impress me every week,” Montague coach Kris Maddox said. “(Their performance) really is an example of the level of wrestling these girls are displaying. They also avenged a loss to Hastings in the first meet of the year by placing ahead of them.”
Four of Montague’s wrestlers were finalists in their weight classes, and Savannah Winkleblack highlighted the day with a first-place showing at 110 pounds. Winkleblack earned some wins over higher-ranked opponents, Maddox said, and capped the day with an 18-8 major decision over Standish-Sterling’s Dannielle Christian in the finals.
“Savannah is tough to beat with her flexibility and ability to control all situations,” Maddox said.
Three other Wildcats - Abby Thommen, Reid Thommen and Emma Pendell - finished in second place. Abby Thommen was second at 130, fighting her way to the finals with a pair of one-point decisions, including knocking out the #2 seed, Forest Hills Eastern’s Emma Donovan, in the quarterfinals. Maddox credited her with having immense potential, noting that due to a season-ending injury last year, she is only in her second season of wrestling.
Pendell scored two pins on a 3-1 day and fell by just a point in the finals at 140, to Jackson’s Sienna Tovar. Reid Thommen wrestled in the 145/155 B flight, so her points did not accrue to the Wildcats, but she went 1-1 in the three-woman weight class.
Also for Montague, Ava Pelton finished third at 155, earning all three of her wins by pin and emerging from being seeded #7 in the bracket, which was filled with eight former state qualifiers. Her only loss was by three points in the semifinals against Clinton’s Raven Aldridge. Trisha Beckman placed fourth at 235, and Zaniya Meza Wilson earned a pair of pin victories for Montague.
“All the girls competed and battled really well today,” Maddox said.
