Avery will be representing Centralia girls wrestling at state.
That actually means the Lady Panthers have two state qualifiers this season because Avery Adams and Avery Griggs advanced out of …
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Avery will be representing Centralia girls wrestling at state.
That actually means the Lady Panthers have two state qualifiers this season because Avery Adams and Avery Griggs advanced out of the Class 1 District 2 tournament on Friday and Saturday in Mexico to compete Feb. 25-26 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. The sophomore Adams earned her second state trip by finishing fourth at 100 pounds and the freshman Griggs was fourth at 110.
Head coach Mike Adkisson said this district tournament with 38 schools was one of the toughest he has coached. Centralia’s team approached this season with “attitude and effort” and thought he saw plenty of that this past weekend.
“To make it out of this tournament, you’ve got to be a quality wrestler,” Adkisson said. “I’m very proud of Avery Griggs and Avery Adams for fighting through and being able to do that.”
Adams should know what to expect after wrestling at state last season, Adkisson said. Griggs has been at state tournaments before but this will be the first high school state tournament of her career.
Each girl needed to gut out a victory in the blood round to earn a spot. Adams defeated Marceline’s Alyssa Hicks 9-8 in the consolation semifinals while Griggs beat Hallsville’s Bella Berendzen 12-10 in the consolation semifinals.
“Avery Adams was able to get a lead on her feet and get to some leg attacks,” Adkisson said. “Then we gave up some points on a reversal, and we had to get another reversal to secure the match.”
“Avery Griggs went out against Berendzen of Hallsville, who is a two-time state qualifier, and Avery stayed in great position and wrestled really well on top. She went for a cradle, and when she got it, she locked it up and was able to score with that and secure the match.”
Even in her first loss, Adams wasn’t pinned by state qualifier Brianna Bodine, of Owensville, in the semifinals until there were seven seconds left and then she lost 6-1 in the third-place match to Fort Zumwalt South’s Carly Williams. Adams has earned multiple medals for Centralia this season and lasted to Day 2 of the nationally competitive Wonder Woman tournament. She went 0-2 at state as a freshman.
Adams said it takes much effort in practice to gain enough confidence to succeed in matches. She said that’s what helped in her 9-8 victory because “every second matters, every takedown matters,” and so is “giving it your all no matter what position.”
“Having the mindset like, ‘It’s this or done’ and how bad you want it after all the effort you put in all season, it’s for this,” Adams said. “I want to have the opportunity at state so I really gave it my all out there and worked through every period.”
Griggs lost 3-1 to state qualifier Zakiyaa Humbles-Walls, of STEAM Academy, in the quarterfinals. Still, she has finished as a runner-up at tournaments several times for Centralia this season and has won some big matches. Like Adams, she said mindset is important and was helpful to win that crucial 12-10 match.
“I really wanted the opportunity at state so I went out there and asked myself, ‘How bad do you want it?” Griggs said. “It’s really awesome to have this opportunity as a freshman. I’m not taking anything for granted.”
Adkisson said there were some other girls who had a nice tournament but were just “one step away” from state. Ana Bruce was pinned by Kirksville’ Bristol Neff in the 115 consolation semifinals after “a nice double leg takedown to start the match,” Triztyn Tinker was 2-2 at 190 after a 4-1 quarterfinals loss and being pinned in “an absolute war” blood-round match. Karli Andersen was eliminated in the 125 fifth round wrestlebacks but went 3-2, losing to state qualifiers.
“This roster, I’ll have them all back,” Adkisson said. “We’re going to grow and get better in the offseason. Come next year, we’ll be a year better, a year stronger, a year more mature and that will make a difference.”
The Averies will each have a focus for state.
“I’ll work overall on some of my number ones on my feet and getting to what I know off what they give me,” Adams said. “I overall want to work my hardest out there in every position given.”
“I also want to work really hard,” Griggs said. “My mindset is what matters the most.”
