In their final night competing on a home mat, the Centralia girls seniors basked in the moment.

Centralia Senior Night Photo Gallery

The No. 7 Lady Panthers lost to district foe and No. 2 Brookfield 40-22 on Thursday after being pinned four times by the Lady Bulldogs. However, two seniors Ava Ward and Madie Shelton picked up wins at 135 and 140 pounds respectively.

Head coach Mike Adkisson said he liked how his girls fought against Brookfield’s team full of ranked and state medalist wrestlers, including Jayden Keller at 110 and Mya Sackrey at 155, and a program that has been the Class 1 runner-up for the past two years.

“I’m happy with how we went out and tried to attack our style. For the most part, we did that,” Adkisson said. “They are a very good team. We were able to get some wins, and even in a couple matches we didn’t win, we wrestled very well.”

Adkisson mentioned Avery Adams competed well against state No. 4 and district No. 1 seed Raylee King before being pinned at 100 pounds. The “attitude and grit” Centralia had on the mat was demonstrated by others, Adkisson said, including the seniors. 

State No. 1 Ava Ward defeated reigning state 140-pound runner-up and state No. 4 Riley Howell by a 10-2 major decision for the second time this season in the 135-pound match. This happened not long after Ward was voted as the Queen of the Mat to add to her long list of career accomplishments on the national and international level, including a Wonder Woman Tournament championship as a Lady Panthers two years ago.

“Ava has had a very storied wrestling career,” Adkisson said. “Ava has meant a lot just being around with the experience and confidence she brings to the room and to her teammates. The other girls look up to her.”

Shelton pinned her opponent on Senior Night at 140 not long before her sophomore sister Jayci Shelton won by pinfall after bumping up one weight class to 190 pounds. Jayci Shelton can always say she is the first girls state champion for Centralia, but Madie Shelton can always say she was the first for another accomplishment. Earlier this season, Shelton earned her 100th career win to make her the first Lady Panther ever to reach that total.

Madie Shelton has had a career that has included wrestling at state and most recently winning in her final match on her home mat. Shelton said she was happy to win on Senior Night in front of her big support team and that same team was excited for her 100th win just like her.

“I grew up around amazing wrestlers my whole life, and to be the first girl wrestler to do something at Centralia High school, it feels unreal,” Shelton said. “I want little girls to look up to me, want to be me and want to wrestle like me. It’s just amazing.”

Shelton has been wrestling since eighth grade after she said Brian Schmidt, who supported her “in whatever sport” she was doing including gymnastics before hitting the wrestling mat, convinced her that she would be great at the sport. Her relationship with family and God has helped her along the way, she said, and she has seen some improvement in her wrestling.

“The thing I’ve put the most work into is definitely my shots on my feet,” Shelton said. “I’ve had amazing coaches and Purler and Centralia coaches and teammates push me to be my best.”

Adkisson said Shelton moves to her positions well and demonstrated that in her win on Senior Night.

“There’s only one first,” Adkisson said about Shelton’s 100th career win. “I’m proud of her for that, and that’s something she can remember for the rest of her life.”

Jaylyn Woods had a shoulder injury that prevented her from wrestling on Senior Night, Adkisson said, but she will be back for the Class 1 District 2 Tournament starting at 5 p.m. Feb. 14 at St. Charles West in St. Louis. Woods has given “her heart and soul” for the past couple years.

“She got into wrestling later on in life but has improved daily and weekly and is vastly improved from a year ago,” Adkisson said. “She has a chance in districts to put herself in a position to possibly get into some matches to qualify for state. She’ll have to wrestle very well, but that’s where she sits.”

Centralia now switches focus to the postseason, and Madie Shelton plans to value her remaining time in the program.

“This program has not only helped me when it comes to my wrestling but life in general,” Shelton said. “We talk so much about the mental aspect of wrestling thanks to our coaches. It has made me so much tougher so it has definitely prepared me for the real world and my future outside of just wrestling.”