Area girls wrestlers still alive, but not battling for state titles

COLUMBUS —There are several area girls wrestlers who will finish on the podiums tonight at the state tournament but nobody from Lorain County was able to earn a spot in the state finals Saturday.Columbia senior Youstina Hanna, who was ranked No. 1 in the state at 140 pounds, lost a 9-0 major decision to Bishop Hartley senior Nora Johnson in the semifinals.Hanna (44-2) trailed 3-0 for most of the match before Johnson countered Hanna's desperate attempts to score at the end of the match and piled on the points. Johnson took the 3-0 lead with a takedown in the final seconds of the first period."(Hanna) banged up her ankle a little bit in the quarterfinals," Columbia coach Marty Belfi said. "Came back and wrestled a very athletic wrestler. I thought she was competitive until the very end. We would have hoped it would have gone the other way for her, but half of everyone that walked out of there lost. We have to accept that and try to refocus for (today)."(Johnson) was very athletic. There were five stalemates in the match. That was the kind of match. But I'm proud of (Hanna). She competed. We'll reload and come back and get it (today). She deserves it. She works harder than anyone I've ever been around."Hanna earned a 13-8 overtime decision in the quarterfinals over Salem senior Paige Menough.The Columbia wrestler was ahead 8-0 in the third period when Menough caught Hanna for a takedown and four-point nearfall. And when Hanna was slow to get up after fighting off her back, she was dinged with a stalling point in the final couple seconds of the third which knotted the score at 8.In the sudden victory overtime, Hanna injured her right ankle while scoring the winning points."Youstina went to work with her takedowns and that girl caught us with a big move," Belfi said. "We had to come back in overtime with one of our own. She rolled her ankle on the throw. We got it iced down. We got it wrapped up pretty good. She actually had decent mobility for just spraining her ankle three hours (before her match with Johnson). She's a tough kid and she displayed it today. And will come back her in the morning and display it again."Elyria seniors Emilie Conley (120) and Jaelyn Green (145) battled back with two wins Saturday to advance to the consolation semifinals. They will compete for third through sixth place.Conley won a 15-0 technical fall in her consolation quarterfinal over Ross junior Caroline Ross."Honestly it's not what I expected to happen," Conley said. "I surprised myself. It feels really great to know that my technique is improving and it's not all just strength. That's my goal is to get it done out there as quick as I can. These days have been pretty long although the matches have been spread out it's still a super long day. Even though you get to go home (for the night), you're still waiting. Sometimes you can't eat. It's a super tough day but it is so rewarding at the end."Green won by pin over Indian Lake senior Annalise Rapp at 4:12. Green trailed 4-2 before trapping Rapp."I think honestly I could have wrestled a little bit better than that," Green said. "I wasn't really on my offense. Overall we got the win. I'm pretty comfortable with my defense so she shot in I knew I had to hip down hard."I could have faked better, shot better. Coming out I was a little bit nervous. I lost to that girl earlier in the year (at the Findlay Fight Tournament) and I think it got into my head a little bit about that. We went to overtime and I lost, 14-11, in overtime. It feels good. I had a long journey here. Last year I went 0-2 down here. This year I knew I had to come out here and give it all I got. It was my last year, one last time. I need to wrestle my hardest and whatever happens, happens."Elyria girls coach Paul Felton was upbeat about his wrestlers' efforts."It was a pretty nerve-wracking day. We didn't start off the day particularly well, losing both our quarterfinal matches," Felton said. "Both of them we had good chances to win. Jaelyn was winning her match when she lost. Conley wrestled (Clyde sophomore Meredith Greenslade) earlier in the year and won. We felt good coming into it."Obviously it didn't turn out the way that we wanted it to but these two have wrestled back very hard. It's tough because it's long days. You've got different sessions and you're coming back and forth and you have to keep your weight down because you have to make weight today. I think once won those matches they figured they were going to place the nerves were off them a little bit and just take it one match at a time and see if we can get as far as we can in this tournament."Black River junior Taylor Owen (155) battled back through the consolation bracket with a pair of wins after losing a tough 7-6 decision in the quarterfinals to Gahanna Lincoln junior KyLee Tibbs (46-2), last year's state champ at 140. Owen was fifth at 145 in 2024 and seventh at 145 last year.Owen first pinned West Branch junior Grace Bates at 1:36, then pinned Eaton freshman Dana Devilbiss in 49 seconds. Owen will face Hartley senior Maya Keane in today's consolation semifinals. The winner advances to compete for third place while the loser competes for fifth."I really wanted that match (versus Tibbs). It didn't go my way but that's OK," Owen said. "I'm bouncing back and working my way towards third. My mindset is, win or lose, praise the Lord. I've got to keep my mind focused and just keep on going, keep locked in and keep wrestling.""She wrestled great," said Black River coach Blake Owen, Taylor's father. "She took the defending state champ at 140 to three periods. She had the score tied with her at one point (5-5). She wrestled one of the best matches I've ever seen. It just didn't fall her way that time. I feel fully confident that she can come back and take third on Sunday. "Everybody makes mistakes. If you can capitalize on those and if you get opportunities you have to seize them. We may have missed a few opportunities but I couldn't be more proud of her and her wrestling and her courage and fire and how hard she is wrestling this weekend. We just need to keep going."Senior Destiny Cabot of Avon Lake and sophomore Cali Otero of Lorain were both eliminated after consolation second-round losses in the 100-pound weight class.A three-time state qualifier and 2025 state placer, Cabot was eliminated after giving up a late reversal in her 2-0 loss to Lakewood junior Riley Robertson. A two-time state qualifier, Otero was reversed and pinned at 3:48 by Aurora sophomore Giulia Zayas after Otero had taken a 4-2 lead.North Ridgeville senior Gianna Sanfilippo (115) was eliminated in the same round. She was reversed and pinned at 1:43 by Northmont junior Katilyn Tanner after taking an earlier 2-0 lead. Elyria senior Seraiah Jackson (170) was eliminated in the consolation second round after being pinned at 2:20 by Harrison junior Rylee Dearwester.Contact Paul Heyse at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.