Centralia freshman Jayci Shelton hasn’t let opponents escape the first period this season.

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The nationally ranked and undefeated Shelton (19-0) pinned five opponents Friday and Saturday during the Wonder Woman tournament at Battle High School in Columbia, including a reigning two-time state medalist and nationally ranked Calyese Dupree of Nixa for the 155-pound championship. 

The Wonder Woman is a tournament that brought 580 girls this year from seven states, including 30 nationally ranked wrestlers. The seventh-ranked Shelton said she was familiar with her 13th-ranked opponent and her wrestling style from her experience as her teammate on national dual teams and from observation from the weekend.

“She was good at the double legs so I just tried to keep my hands down most of the match,” Shelton said. “She always collar-ties with her right arm, so I just went in with my left underhook like I normally do. That’s how I got my takedowns.”

Shelton’s list of accomplishments are long despite not being finished with her freshman season. She was a national champion at the USMC Women’s National Championships in Spokane, Washington, was the runner-up in a national tournament in Fargo, North Dakota, finished third at the Super 32 Challenge in Greensboro, North Carolina, after she pinned the third-ranked girl in the nation, and medaled at the world team trials. 

Entering into competitive high school tournaments like this past weekend has still been new experiences for Shelton along with this freshman year even after wrestling for some high school. To her and Centralia girls wrestling head coach Tyler Forsee’s knowledge, she has thrived by letting only one opponent reach the second period against her in another big tournament at the Battle of the Katy Trail in Sedalia. The eighth-ranked Class 1 wrestler Shelton pinned returning state champion and second-ranked Class 1 grappler Justice Brewer, of Cameron, in 2:33.

“I’ve been nervous about wrestling in high school,” Shelton said. “I set goals and complete those goals and get out of my mind about losing and about how tough this is going to be.”

Forsee said Shelton is never “shook by the moment” and proved to be ready to go despite Dupree having success at the national level too.

“That says a lot about Jayci,” Forsee said. “She didn’t back down. She stepped up and said ‘Not today.’ It was convincing enough I don’t know whether it would be any day. The mindset she has is she stepped out there and said, ‘Let’s get it on’ and not ‘I hope I don’t lose.’”

Shelton said nerves have been a factor before like when she had to wrestle for first place at the Fargo tournament or at the world team trials, but that experience that many high schoolers don’t possess has made nerves less of an obstacle. The Wonder Woman likes to shine a spotlight on a singular mat and shroud its capacity crowd in darkness for the championship matches, and Shelton said she has been in that exact situation before, like at the Fargo national tournament. 

“It’s really helped my mental game,” Shelton said. “Wrestling on that stage in front of everyone has helped with knowing even with everybody watching, I’m still going to be the best I can be and I’m still going to do what I can do and show what I am.”

Forsee said Shelton is really strong physically as well, which explains why it’s been hard for her opponents to escape the first period. They have to escape Shelton’s clutches if they want to survive, and she hasn’t let them.

“She’s so strong,” Forsee said. “She’s like a bull. Her grip is unbelievable, and she’s actually very flexible too.”

Forsee said there is definitely a resemblance to her older brother Brayden, who graduated from Centralia last year as a two-time state champion before going to wrestle at Division North Illinois University in Dekalb. Jayci also has an older sister Madi on the team in a junior year that followed a state-qualifying season.

Shelton said being around her teammates has eased into the start of her high school career. Being part of a wrestling family has its benefits, giving her 10 years of wrestling experience at this point of her life and another valuable source of support.

“My brother, especially, has been out there helping a lot out in the wrestling room,” Shelton said. “He’s one of my favorite people to be around. He just pushes me to my full ability along with my Purler coaches and my coaches in the Centralia room.”

Her sister Madi won a match in the 125-pound bracket at Wonder Woman but was eliminated on the first day after being pinned by Cassville’s Kennedy Truman in the second period. Her previous loss was to nationally ranked and tournament champion Angelina Vargas.

“She did a good job of attacking and being in control of what she was doing,” Forsee said. “She got beat a couple times, but one was a nationally ranked kid and nothing you could do about that. Then Madi lost a tough one at the end that she was doing a great job in, made one mistake and the girl capitalized.”

Having the presence and accomplishments Jayci brings to the table can be a model for the less inexperienced girls, including the five Centralia sent to their first Wonder Woman in their first years on the mat, which can be an “eye-opener” but part of the tough sport, according to Forsee. Haleigh Long at 110 pounds, Jaylyn Woods at 115, Alexandra Baer at 120 and Jamila Juma at 130 each went 0-2 and Lyla Mattison at 170 had one 7-4 decision victory over Smith-Cotton’s Brooklyn Hoecker before being bounced out by the tough field as well.

Forsee said Centralia has been fortunate to have that type of presence in the wrestling room for two straight years. Ava Ward was the 115-pound Wonder Woman champion for the Lady Panthers in 2022 after garnering national rankings for her success at the national and international level. It makes Forsee chuckle that “little-bitty” Centralia can be blessed with two wrestlers of that caliber so close together but demonstrates what was necessary for that to be possible.

“It’s all them,” Forsee said. “It’s not necessarily our program. It’s all those girls and what they’ve done for many years. It’s not something that just started a few months ago when the season started. (Jayci) has had a lot of good coaches on the way up and has done the Purler wrestling, been in our youth program, traveled all over, wrestled all over and has had a lot of success. Why wouldn’t she be confident in what she could do?”

Forsee said another question Centralia is asking about Jayci is: Why not win it all at state this year? Given her ability and past, he said it is a “forgone conclusion” that is Shelton’s goal for this season and is more uncertain if she will wrestle the full six minutes in a match. Shelton is certain she would be ready for a state-tournament field since she has seen it before.

“I’m used to wrestling the best of the best out of the whole nation,” Shelton said. “Most high school wrestlers just started or they haven’t been wrestling for that long. Having that advantage over them and being able to wrestle them has been cool.”