It is one more run for Alexus Johns and Abby Bowen.

The Mexico seniors each qualified for the Class 1 state tournament on Feb. 25-26 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia for finishing in the top four at the Class 1 District 2 tournament Friday and Saturday in Mexico. Johns was the 235-pound runner-up to earn her fourth state bid, which is a program-best, and Bowen was third at 140 to go for the third time.

Head coach Tony Senor said their state bids mean Mexico has had 10 state qualifiers in the six years of the girls program. He said he couldn’t help feeling “beyond ecstatic,” especially after welcoming a field full of 38 schools to Mexico’s gym.

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“This is one of the tougher girls districts in the state — both Class 1 and 2 — in my humble opinion,” Senor said. “To go out there and do what they did all season long to get their seeds, it is very impressive.”

Johns pinned two girls before losing via pinfall to Holt’s Angela Bereuter. In her match to clinch a state trip, Johns only needed nine seconds to pin Hannibal’s Lilionna Greenwood. 

Senor said Johns has been working more on conditioning to last longer into matches when necessary. However, Johns had faced Greenwood around 10 times over her career, according to Senor, so Johns took care of her fellow state qualifier.

“Lili has gotten a lot better,” Senor said. “We are happy for Lili and her growth, but for Alexus to go out there and pin her in nine seconds is very impressive.”

Bowen lost to Wright City’s Sadie Sehnert in the semifinals after being pinned with 12 seconds left in the match. Sehnert repeated as a district champion and finished fifth at 130 pounds last season at state. 

In the following match that decided whether she would be heading back to state, Bowen pinned St. Charles West’s Danielle Lovell. Senor said Bowen has shown a lot of toughness after wrestling with POTS — an autonomic nervous system disorder that comes with symptoms like fast heart rate, dizziness and fatigue — all season and having to take two injury timeouts against Sehnert, who she managed to take down once.

“She is very mentally strong,” Senor said. “Showing that resilience there, I have not seen a tougher girl than Abby Bowen.”

Bowen said it is “bittersweet” knowing this will be her last state tournament. She was aware she had to emerge from a loaded field of wrestlers first so she said she wanted to be smart and don’t rush or force anything, which is her match.

“Not rushing things, especially not forcing things, and letting the match come naturally,” Bowen said. “That’s something I really try to focus on is letting the match come to me naturally. I also like counter-offense and scoring out of defensive positions.”

Bowen said she is proud of how long she lasted against Sehnert considering she pinned her championship match opponent in the second period. Putting that behind her eventually led to excitement but also a feeling to which she is accustomed.

“I was happy, but it was almost like standard,” Bowen said after her state-clinching pin. “I subconsciously set for myself to make it to state. I was glad I went from losing to pinning the girl in the second period. It was a good mental reset.”

Senor said he is excited about the future of Mexico girls wrestling, too. Lilly Cuno, Addison Bowling and Lehua Grantz were all freshmen who wrestled on Day 2 of districts. 

The trend of qualifying girls for state needs to continue, Senor said, and sees a lot of potential for Mexico’s younger wrestlers. Cuno won a match to start Day 2, Bowling wrestled competitively in her elimination match and Grantz ran into some tough wrestlers, including three-time state champion Jayden Keller from Brookfield.

Before this season is officially over, Bowen said she wants to work on technique and conditioning but also her mental game.

“I want to be mentally being ready for the matches and not stress over it,” Bowen said. “Last year, I completely stressed about it. Same as my sophomore year. I need to stop stressing about it and just wrestle.”