Rusher brings home gold, Owens 4th

By Alan Carman
The Imperial Republican
    The NSAA decided to hold the Girls State Wrestling Tournament on it’s own this year for the first time. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 18-19, the girls took center stage at the CHI Health Center in Omaha.
    CCS qualified three girls from the B4 District tournament held in Bayard.
    Hayley Rusher, a junior at CCS, kept her undefeated season in tact, (47-0), going 4-0 in the tournament and bringing home a gold medal and State Championship Title at 145 pounds, becoming the first CCS female wrestling State Champion.    
    Rusher pinned all three of her opponents in the first three rounds of the Tournament.
On Wednesday night the finals were broadcast on PBS live.
    From the start of the championship match against Bekah Butterfield of Stanton, Rusher was the aggressor, taking control of the match from start to finish. With 0:17 seconds left in the second period, Rusher turned Butterfield to her back for the fourth time in the match, giving her a 15 point tech-fall victory, 15-0.
    Senior Peyton Owens, (30-6), just picked up wrestling this year and caught on very quickly, wrestling at 140 pounds. Owens finished second at the B4 District Tournament to earn her trip to Omaha.
    Owens won her first round match in Omaha over Megan Jones of Ainsworth, 3-1, and won her quarterfinal match by pin, which assured her a medal.
    In her semifinals match, Owens lost to Rylie Arens of Crofton/Bloomfield, (28-4), putting her into the consolation bracket. Owens won her next match, putting her into the match for third or fourth place.
    In a very close contest, Owens dropped a 4-6 decision to Payton Whited of Ord to finish with a fourth place medal and a 3-2 record in Omaha.
    Freshman Paige Owens took second place at the B4 Districts last week, to earn her spot in Omaha at 125 pounds.
    In her first match at State, Owens got caught in a pin 0:25 seconds into the third period, dropping her to the consolation bracket.
    Owens secured a pin in the first round of consolations over Katlyn Oakley of St. Paul. In the second round, Sydnie Brown of Overton put Owens out of the tournament with a 2-9 decision win. There is a very good chance that we will see Paige back in Omaha for the next three years.
    There were 84 schools participating in class B. Chase County finished in a very respectable 14th.
Top 15 Team Scores
    1. Yutan 130, 2. Lakeview 97, 3. Conestoga 79, 4. Johnson County Central 75, 5. Battle Creek 70, 5. Crofton/Bloomfield 70, 7. Palmyra 62.5, 8. Southwest 62, 9. Fort Calhoun 53, 10. Minden 52, 10. West Holt 52, 12. Louisville 50, 13. Stanton 49, 14. Chase County 48.5, 15. Broken Bow 46.
Individual results
    125 Paige Owens (40-6): was pinned by Rhiannon Tramp (32-20), Palmyra, 4:25, pinned Katlyn Oakley (23-16), St. Paul,  4:52, lost by decision to Sydnie Brown (36-6), Overton, 2-9.
    140 Peyton Owens (30-6): won by decision over Megan Jones (37-18), Ainsworth, 3-1, pinned Ella Henkel (31-18), Yutan, 4:20, lost by major decision to Rylie Arens (28-4), Crofton/Bloomfield, 4-13, pinned Pyper Daugherty (43-17), North Bend, 2:48, lost by decision to Payton Whited (35-7), Ord, 4-6 for fourth place.
    145 Hayley Rusher (47-0): pinned Lanica Zimmerman (26-12), Overton, 3:54, pinned Kiya Tornez (35-17), Tri County Northeast, 1:44, pinned Lucia Campbell (40-8), Auburn, 1:41, won by tech-fall over Bekah Butterfield (35-7), Stanton, 15-0 for first place.