FORT MADISON

Competing in their first tournament in the new month of December, the Highland girls went on the road to battle it out in the Fort Madison Invitational on Dec. 2.

Highland was once again represented by its duo of Maiya Singbeil and Chloe Sexton. As a team the Huskies acquired 20 points to finish 16th in the final standings.

The team title was won in overwhelming fashion by Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, taking first place with a score of 230. Ottumwa took the runner-up spot with 177 and the host school Fort Madison was third with 165.

Singbeil at 135 lbs went 2-2 on the night with her final match coming in the consolation semifinals.

The freshman won her first match of the tourney (by fall in 51 seconds over Burlington’s Sarah Cruz) but then was defeated in the quarterfinals by fall in 21 seconds by Fort Madison’s Mara Smith.

She bounced back in her next match with a win by fall in 3:39 over Cardinal’s Hadley Noe. Singbeil’s final match was against E-B-F’s Madison Connell who won by fall over Singbeil in 44 seconds. 

Sexton at 190 lbs also went 2-2 at Fort Madison, placing 4th in her bracket. Sexton’s first contest was a quarterfinal matchup where she was defeated by fall in 3:18 by Burlington’s Aijah Tilliw.

This loss did not deter Sexton as she won her next two matches (both by fall with the first coming in 2:28 over Cardinal’s Joey Tedrow and the next coming in 1:04 over Muscatine’s Alexis Cooke) to advance to the third place match.

In the third place match Sexton took a 3-0 lead thanks to a takedown in the first period against E-B-F’s Atalissa Lobberecht.

The second period saw Lobberecht take the lead by scoring seven points from nearfalls. Sexton was not able to make a comeback due to the match stopping after she was inflicted by injury, which led to Lobberecht claiming third place due to an injury default.

Up next for Highland girls wrestling is traveling to Wapello to compete in the Willard Howell Tournament on Dec. 7.