The Mexico girls made some progress for the end of the season.

Mexico Girls Wrestling Home Quad Photo Gallery

Thursday’s home quad occurred in early December, but the Lady Bulldogs won some matches against district opponents Brookfield and Holt in the program’s first ever girls-only home quad. The six-girl Mexico squad went 48-24 against Brookfield, 78-6 against North Point and 52-18 against Holt.

Head coach Tony Senor said Mexico was excited not just for the fact it was a girls-only home quad but also because the Lady Bulldogs welcomed opponents with plenty of good wrestlers. Brookfield, for example, is a favorite to win state this season. Senor mainly wants to see his girls learning to put them in a better position for the end of the season, which is why Mexico likes to see district opponents any chance it can get.

“The things we’re seeing out of girls is we’re seeing a lot of growth,” Senor said. “We’re seeing them doing things from practice to the mat. That’s exactly what we need. Drills we’re doing everyday are transferring to the mat. They may not be winning the matches yet, but they’re learning and getting better.”

Mexico did have some girls win some matches, though, especially returning 235-pound state runner-up Alexus Johns when she pinned Brookfield's Aubrey Wilson and Holt's Isabella Winingear. Abby Bowen pinned Brookfield's Kaecen Brown at 135 pounds to go 1-1, and Jazzmin Torres pinned Holt's Sophia Sexton at 170 pounds to go 1-1. 

Johns defeated Winingear in the state semifinals last season and was locked in an even bout with her on Thursday night before picking up the pin in the second period. In a tournament in Versailles earlier this season, Johns wrestled two other state medalists from last season, going 1-1 in those bouts, to collect a third-place medal to go with her two first-place tournament finishes.

“I saw a lot of confidence in Alexus (tonight), and that’s what I want to see,” Senor said. “I don’t want to see her back down from anybody in any match. We just want to be confident and be on the attack.”

Senor said Johns was so confident that she decided to pick top position instead of bottom, which Senor usually prefers, in her bout against Winingear. After that decision, Johns pinned her.

“Second period, I looked at Senor and said, ‘Top. Just go top. Trust me, top,’” Johns said. “I’ve been going top recently. I heard her coach saying, ‘Tripod. Just tripod’ and she tripoded, I grabbed her leg — called the Karisa in honor of a graduate (Karisa Hayden) last year — drove her nose into the mat, and kept my hips on top. It was wearing her out.”

Johns said Winingear is a tough opponent with strong arms and legs. She said Winingear has been wrestling more over the summer so she needed to literally drive the important win home. In those matches against district opponents, Johns said earning a higher district seeing near season’s end was her motivation and wanted a victory over such an opponent after losing via decision against returning state medalist Loghan Sumner at the Versailles tournament — viewing as an opportunity to improve since “you learn more by losing than winning.”

Bowen is Mexico’s other returning state qualifier who has medaled at tournaments this year along with Johns. She recorded a district victory and lasted until the second period against North Point’s Katharine Tyson.

“Abby’s been fighting a little bit of sickness and hasn’t had a whole lot of mat time practice,” Senor said. “She is able to go out with her experience and wrestle. She wrestled Brookfield, and that’s a huge win and is going to help us down the road when we get to the seeding meeting.”

The end is what mattered in Torres’ match against Holt as she was down 7-1 before catching her opponent in a pinfall. The program’s first ever Rookie Wonder Woman medalist secured an important victory in her season as a brand-new wrestler. 

“She was like, ‘Third period, whatever. I’m just going to go win this match,’” Senor said. “She just kept wrestling, and that’s what we need to see out of our girls who are still learning.”

Another new wrestler this year Marali Herrera was down in points in her match against Holt’s Jaelynn Simpson before losing via 13-5 major decision. However, the soccer and tennis player fought to earn back points and keep her alive in the match, which showed Senor she is learning.

“She is a really solid athlete,” Senor said. “She didn’t win her match, but she did not get pinned and kept trying to fight and score.”

Johns is an upperclassman who has finished as high as second at state but still considers this season a “learning year.” Even in her time at practice, which is usually spent drilling with Senor (she jokes that she “beats him up in practice”), Johns said she feels that she needs to work to stay ahead and doesn’t have a “weak mindset” anywhere anymore thanks to wrestling.

“I’ve got to focus and train harder because these girls are training harder,” Johns said. “I can’t just go out there and make myself look like a fool. I have to compete, I have to be confident in every match and I have to be ready to work.”