Six Henderson County High School Lady Colonel wrestlers placed in last weekend’s regional championships at Central Hardin High School and will advance to the state finals in Lexington on Feb. 27.
“Our girls work work pretty hard,” head coach Jermaine Poynter said is one reason for their success. “They put in the work all offseason, go to camp, offseason tournaments.”
Another key to the girls’ success is their training methods—facing off against HCHS boys wrestlers, Poynter said.
“They come in here and scrap with the boys,” Poynter said, adding when they hit the mat against girls from other schools they’re not intimidated.
The wrestlers, weight class and regional place are:
- Jasmin Beckham at 185 pounds: 1st place region champion
- Evie Estes at 235 pounds: 1st place region champ
- Kailyn Franks at 138 pounds: 2nd place
- Kennedy Sohne at 114 pounds: 3rd place
- Charleigh Olmsted at 132 pounds: 4th place
- Serenity Rivera at 145 pounds: 4th place
Poynter said both HCHS’ first place finishers placed on the podium at the state championships last year, and he expects them to make it back again this year. Beckham and Estes are back-to-back regional champions and state qualifiers.
Beckham placed seventh last year. “I look to see her in the top 3, top 4, if not win,” the coach said.
Estes last year wrestled at a higher weight class—285 pounds—that was eliminated this year. She’ll be wrestling at 235 pounds. “She’s got a great chance of getting on the podium,” Poynter said.
He echoed the comments for Franks and Sohne, who placed second and third respectively at regionals.
Olmstead and Rivera are “going to have to scrap a little bit” but they also have a chance to place.
There’s also another wrestler, Kaizley Dunn, who finished fifth in the 165-pound category at regionals and will go to state as an alternate. If a wrestler in her weight class gets sick or doesn’t make weight, there’s a chance Dunn could see the mat at state, too.
The six, possibly seven, wrestlers who will compete at state are more than the five Poynter brought to the tournament last year when the Lady Cols finished fifth as a team.
“I think we got the potential to place in the top 5, if not higher” this year, he said.
The Lady Colonels finished in 3rd place as a team with a total score of 130.5 total team points. HCHS took nine girls to regionals.
The success is impressive for the girls team, now in its third year as a sport at the high school. It’s only the second year that girls wresting has been sanctioned by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.
Poynter credited his girls’ work ethic as well as his staff for getting them prepared and motivated to wrestle.
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The HCHS boys wrestling team will compete in regional championship in Paducah this weekend. Poynter said this year’s group has the potential to match or improve upon last year’s showing at the state championships, when six wrestled in Lexington.