The Mexico girls’ wrestling program wasn’t quite as busy as expected last week.

 Inclement weather and a session change led Mexico to withdraw from the St. Charles Invitational scheduled for Friday and Saturday. And although the team was able to take part in duals in Hannibal and Osage, the Lady Bulldogs’ opponents had trouble filling weight classes, so action was limited.

 Mexico opened on Wednesday with a win over Palmyra in Hannibal.

 The Lady Panthers needed to get an additional weigh-in prior to Saturday’s deadline, so they made the trek to Hannibal for what was originally scheduled as a two-team dual.

 Palmyra had only two girls competing, and the squads split those contests.

 Mexico picked up a win by fall with Kaylynn Pehle (115 pounds) pinning Anna Ragar, while the Lady Panthers’ lone decision was a 9-7 victory for Grace Fessenden (194) over Matty Tolbert.

 The Lady Bulldogs tacked on five forfeit wins to wrap up the 36-3 dual before moving on to a North Central Missouri Conference clash with the host Lady Pirates.

 Again, the Lady Bulldogs found themselves in a dual with only two filled weight classes, with Katie Bowen (110) earning six points with a win by fall and Tessa Higgins (159) falling in her contest. Still, five wins by forfeit were enough to push Mexico to a 36-12 win.

 The low turnout from Palmyra and Hannibal wasn’t a surprise, Mexico head coach Tony Senor said, as Palmyra is in just its fourth season with a girls’ wrestling program and Hannibal is in its inaugural season.

 “To give you perspective,” Senor said of Hannibal, “They’re like us last year. We only had five or six girls last year, and this year they only had four girls out.”

 He also expects the Lady Pirates’ program to grow, and said that it’s not only a positive for Hannibal, but the entire North Central Missouri Conference.

 “It’s very, very encouraging that all of our conference teams have girls’ programs now,” he stated.

 The Lady Bulldogs had a quick turnaround with a tri-meet in Osage on Thursday, and again found themselves in a contest with just two opponents.

 Opening against host Osage, Alizabeth Welch (115) and Brett Iman (141) dropped their matches, but the Lady Bulldogs were able to fill seven other weight classes to pick up forfeit wins en route to a 42-12 victory.

 Taking on Versailles next, the Lady Bulldogs embraced additional action, with four weight classes filled.

 Mexico got wins by fall from Pehle, Abby Drew (125) and Tolbert, and tacked on five forfeits to cruise to a 48-18 win.

 “This was a good couple matches to knock some rust off,” he continued. “Kaylynn and Abby went out there and got some pins for us.”

 Senor also noted that Tolbert was impressive, avenging an earlier loss to Versailles’ Maris Ollison.

 “Matty came out and wrestled a complete match,” he said. “She controlled the match and ended up pinning the girl in the third period. We pretty much outworked her and outgassed her the entire match, so I’m really proud of Matty.”

 Mexico was scheduled to host a Senior Recognition Day scramble on Monday before traveling to Moberly for a dual on Tuesday, but results were unavailable at press time.

 “We’re happy to be recognizing our seniors: Brett Iman, Ivy Perez and Luisa Urbina,” said Senor. “That’s always a special time to honor those who’ve been wrestling for us.”

 Thursday the Lady Bulldogs head to St. Charles for a tri-meet that also includes conference-foe Fulton.

 “The big match this week is Thursday—we’re going to be wrestling Fulton,” Senor said. “That essentially could be for the conference championship. This is the first time that girls have the opportunity to take home a team trophy in the NCMC, so we’re looking forward to that opportunity.”