County Wrestlers Deliver Strong Performances at Defiance Sectional
By: Carrie Kimmel
Girls wrestling programs from across the county made their presence known at the sectional tournament hosted February 27 at Defiance High School. With the top four finishers in each weight class earning automatic advancement to the District Tournament, several local athletes secured their postseason spots.
Three county wrestlers claimed sectional titles: Karsyn Troth of Wayne Trace, and Cami McAlexander and Maddilan Doster, both representing Antwerp.
Troth powered through the 130‑pound bracket with three pins on her way to the finals. She opened with a 55‑second fall over Teriyah Mays (Whitmer), followed by a 1:22 pin of Bella Legere (Elida) in the quarterfinals. Troth continued her momentum with a 1:05 semifinal pin against Jayde Westemeyer (Delta) before closing out the championship with a dominant 17‑1 technical fall over Savannah Mulkey.
McAlexander earned her championship after a first‑round bye, needing only 19 seconds to pin Alyska Brown (Montpelier) in her first match. She then secured a 3‑0 decision over Taeya Moyer (Archbold) and finished the day with an 18‑2 technical fall against Hope Scherger (Woodmore) in the title bout.
Doster also brought home gold for Antwerp. After a bye, she rolled to a 16‑0 technical fall over Ki’Niah Ransom (Woodmore) and then defeated Madyson Smith (Montpelier) 14‑5 in the championship match.
Paulding’s Civil Pumphrey reached the finals at 125 pounds and finished as runner‑up. Pumphrey pinned Lily Hunt (Delta) in 1:01 and shut out Payton Geiner (Bryan) 12‑0 in the semifinals before falling to Isabela Jordan (Defiance) by pin in the championship.
Additional district qualifiers included Katelynn Bauer of Wayne Trace, who placed fourth at 135 pounds, and Teagen Eaton of Antwerp, who finished fourth at 235 pounds. Fifth‑place alternates were Miracle Omonayin of Paulding (135 pounds) and Aries Ricker of Wayne Trace (155 pounds). Harley Troyer of Paulding earned sixth place at 145 pounds.
District competition is set for March 8th at Findlay High School. Best wishes to all athletes continuing their postseason journey.
