Narrow misses
KHS JUNIOR Mylene Jones works for position during one of her consolation matches at last week’s 5A regional. Jones placed sixth in her weight class, just missing the state tournament. [KT&FP Staff Photo]
Two Kingfisher High School wrestlers came within a single win of becoming the first girls state qualifier in their program’s history.
However, both fell just short of that feat Tuesday during the Class 5A west regional being held at the Kingfisher APB.
Harrah won the regional championship with 177 points, edging McLoud and Cache, who tied for runner- up with 169 apiece.
The one-day regional had 33 different schools representing it.
The top five placers in each weight class qualify for state.
Mylene Jones (110 pounds) and Rylee Hamil (125) both found themselves wrestling for fifth place Tuesday evening.
However, it was Cache’s CJ Landry who was able to pin Jones in the second period and move on to state at 110 pounds.
Hamil suffered a 9-1 major decision defeat to Brinlea Weant of Newkirk at 125 pounds, ending a long trek through the consolation bracket for both Hamil and Jones.
Hamil was sent there immediately as she lost her opening match to Cordell’s Baylor Moore.
That set up a string of three straight wins by Hamil in the consolation bracket.
She beat TT Akano of Tecumseh 5-0, Brintlee Burch of Davis 7-5 and A’Naisha Crawford of Douglass 11-6 to get a rematch with Moore in the consolation semifinal.
A win there would have locked up a state bid for Hamil, but Moore again bested her, this time with a pin at 3:35, pushing Hamil into the match with Weant for fifth place.
Jones was victorious in her opening match as she grabbed a thrilling sudden victory win against Ayana Guest of Douglass.
Gabby Lozano of Mc-Loud pinned Jones in the third period of their quarterfi nal, sending the KHS junior to the consolation bracket.
Jones beat Madill’s Andie Wallace 8-7 and Bethel’s Ariel Velasquez 7-1 to reach the consolation semifinal.
Like Hamil, Jones just needed one more win to reach state, but Mannford’s Olivia Hamilton pinned her at 1:07, pushing her into the fifth place match with Landry.
Hamil, a sophomore, and Jones combined for 13 of Kingfisher’s 21 points.
Lexi Otey (100) and Elizabeth Pickle (235) scored four apiece.
Pickle went 1-2 with her victory coming via pin at 1:16 of her second-round consolation match.
Pickle was eliminated in the next round.
Otey also went 1-2. She pinned Clinton’s Adrean Rodriguez at 1:03 of her second-round consolation match for her victory.
All 11 of Cashion’s points came from 100-pounder Madison Lawther.
Lawther pinned Otey at 4:25 in the opening round for both grapplers.
She then downed Rian Martin of Douglass at 5:01 to earn a spot in the semifi nals.
Needing just one win to reach state, Lawther came up short over her next three matches.
Kaitlyn Patterson of Cache pinned her at 3:30 of their semifinal.
Lawther then lost a 6-1 decision to Lizzy Hernandez of Tecumseh in the consolation semifinal and narrowly lost 10-9 to Rian Martin of Douglass in the fifth-place match.