Carthage is hosting and it’s senior night for the ladies. The Lady Firebirds are 5-7 in dual
meets this season. Carthage has 5 Wisconsin preps on roster led by Karina Torres and Abigail
Jutrzonka. The Firebirds are 0-3 in their history against Point. Carthage has a new coach this
season Tarkyia Mensah. The team is improving and should give Point their best test yet.
Stevens Point is the cream of the crop for Wisconsin women’s wrestling. The Pointers
have 26 in state recruits led by nationally ranked #8 Kara Kuge 180 and Alexis Wincke at 110.
The Dawgs are 5-1 this season only losing to the national championship Wartburg Lady Knights.
Coach Wozniak has impressed me a lot leading these young women. He is helped by an
abundant staff of 6 assistants including the Thurber brother/sister combination and Matt Berlin.
Tonight’s probable and predictions:
103: Alexis Winecke SP over Kirsten Cortez CAR pinfall 6-0
- Alexis is ranked third in the region and has been wrestling well. Cortez will give up some
size here which will make it difficult to complete her techniques. Alexis just pinned Cortez
on the 11th, she should be able to replicate that result here.
110: Karina Torres CAR over Briana Martinez SP pinfall 6-6 - Karina is ranked 5th in the region. Torres pinned Martinez on the 11th in only 53
seconds. It will take her a bit longer, but she will secure the pinfall victory on her senior
night.
117: Crystal Gutierrez CAR over Margaret Gilmore SP decision 7-9 - This is a toss up match. Neither girl has wrestled each other in the past and they share
no common opponents. Gutierrez will be giving up some size, but her technique should
guide her to victory. Kenosha Indian Trail has been running a great women’s program for
years.
124: Amelia Adams SP over Aliana Hollendoner CAR decision 10-10 - This is our match of the night! Amelia Adams is ranked 5th in the region. On the 11th
Hollendoner tech falled Adams 10-0. This is the first result from that day I see flipping
and momentum is starting to build for the Lady Pointers.
131: Cera Philson SP over Alexis Hozeska CAR pinfall 16-10 - Cera is ranked fifth in the region. Cera pinned Hozeska on the 11th at the Lakeland
Scramble. Thorp’s finest keeps the momentum going for the dawgs.
138: Cadie Percy SP over Abigail Jutrzonka CAR technical fall 21-10 - Percy is ranked 5th in her region. Cadie is a recruit from Colorado. My heart was telling
me to pick Racine’s freshman for the upset, unfortunately my brain controls the typing
and thinks Percy gets the job done with bonus for the Pointers.
145: Brooke Schuenemann SP over Sierra Pienkowski CAR decision 24-11 - Brooke is also ranked, wait for it, 5th in the region! Brooke tech falled Sierra at the
Lakeland scramble. The Plymouth junior has been a Stevens Point staple for years and
adds to the Dawgs growing lead.
160: Amerrah Kayon SP over Josie Hosea CAR decision 27-12 - Even though Kayon didn’t hit the upset pick last week, The Kenosha native rebounds in
her hometown tonight. The pride of Shoreland uses the hometown crowd to get the
victory. Josie made the drive up from St. Louis, but will take some more seasoning to
beat a Point lady.
180: #7 Kara Kuge SP over Forfeit CAR 33-12 - Kara is ranked second in region five. I am really hoping to watch Kuge wrestle in person
Friday. She looks great on tape and better on paper. Carthage hasn’t had a wrestler in
this weight class this year, but if someone wants a challenge what an opportunity.
207: Kate Riege SP over Jasmin Ocampo CAR decision 36-13 - In the premier weight class, Riege avenges her two earlier losses to Ocampo and closes
out the dual for Point. Ocampo owns a 2-1 victory and pinfall over Kate. Ocampo comes
to us by way of Illinois, but tonight is about the Arrowhead prep and for her third time is a
charm.
Pro tip: Team scoring in freestyle wrestling is different from folkstyle. You can lose the match
and score a team point for your squad if you score a point during the match individually.
Thank you for reading this far, I will leave you with some words from Rebecca Smith, “There is
no biological difference between excitement and fear. It’s the mindset.”
