The careers of Alexus Johns and Abby Bowen are among the best in the history of the Mexico girls wrestling program.

Johns and Bowen finished their fourth and third bids at state, respectively, on Thursday in the Class 1 girls wrestling state tournament at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. Neither senior medaled but reached uncharted territory prior to their final matches. 

Johns is the program’s first four-time state qualifier and four-time conference champion after becoming its first 150-match winner earlier in the season and has been all-state twice, including a runner-up at 235 pounds last year. Bowen joined Johns with the 100-pin milestone earlier this season and then advanced to Day 2 for the first time in her career before falling one match shy of a medal at 140 pounds.

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“They started wrestling when they were freshmen under me, green as green can be, as any first-year wrestler would be,” head coach Tony Senor said. “They have heart. They came into practice every day to work hard and learn the sport as quickly as possible to try to accomplish their hopes and dreams.”

Johns pinned Lexington’s Lainie Schumacher in the first period. Senor said Johns was focused and executed the game plan really well against a good wrestler Schumacher.

The quarterfinals would already be a battle with runner-up Kamauri Fowler, of Rockwood Summit, but something went awry for Johns. Senor said Johns had been dealing with a knee injury all season, but it took a turn for the worse against Fowler. Johns had to medically forfeit her next match to bring her high school career to a premature end.

“Alexus has been dealing with a knee injury all season and was just trying to make it through her senior year because wrestling means the world to her,” Senor said. “That last match was the final straw for her knee. She wanted to keep wrestling, but when your body says ‘no,’ you’ve got to stop.”

Bowen lost by a 20-2 technical fall to medalist Trinity Butler, of Festus. That’s how she began the tournament, but she would pin her next two opponents before losing 4-3 to Kearney’s Aida Appenfeller in the blood round. 

In her second match against Carl Junction’s Resel Rehobson, Bowen was trailing 6-2 before winning by pin in the first minute and then pinned Lafayette County’s Myla Petersen in the first period of a scoreless match. Bowen’s ability to come back from disadvantageous positions showed in this tournament, but Senor said it has been evident since last season when Bowen was diagnosed with POTS — an autonomic nervous system disorder that comes with symptoms like fast heart rate, dizziness and fatigue.

“Even though we got tech falled in the first round, I think that was one of her better matches where she executed a game plan to defend against her opponent,” Senor said. “She took care of her next two matches by pin and made it to the second day and was so close to getting a medal. That’s the kind of performance I want out of all of our girls.”

Now Mexico has two big subtractions in its wrestling room but is coming the first season it had a full starting lineup. 

“I will not be able to replace Abby Bowen or Alexus Johns,” Senor said. “I can’t express how much they mean to me — the leadership, the fight, the effort.”