For the second straight year, Fort Campbell is taking home the runner-up trophy from the Girls’ Region 1 Wrestling Tournament.
The Lady Falcons topped last year’s region champion Union County by 18 points but finished second to North Hardin’s 167 points.
Fort Campbell will send four wrestlers to the state tournament in Lexington with one of them a region champion.
Eliza Allen, who entered the weekend ranked No. 5 in the state by Kentuckywrestling.com in the 152-pound class, upset top-ranked Gabriel Palomo of North Hardin to claim the region title.
Allen (40-6) lost to Palomo at last year’s state tournament but used a quick move to pin her at 1:55 of the first round and hand last year’s region runner-up and fourth-place state finisher just her second loss of the season.
Fort Campbell also had a pair of wrestlers finish in second place.
Lillianah DeWitt (34-6) was runner-up at 120. She scored three pins in her first three matches before falling to Union County’s Brailey Jackson in the championship match. Jackson was last year’s region winner at 126, while DeWitt is a region runner-up for the second straight season.
DeWitt is the No. 2 wrestler in the 120-pound class.
Cassidy Harrington (50-6) moved into the championship at 132 with three wins before meeting her nemesis this season – Ohio County’s Talynn Clark, who handed Harrington a loss for the fourth time this year. Clark is the second-ranked wrestler in the weight class while Harrington entered the weekend at No. 7.
Kayla Maslonka (39-9) will be wrestling at state after advancing to the semifinals of the 126-pound class. Maslonka, ranked No. 5 in the state, lost to No. 1 Sutton Fuller of Union County but bounced back to beat Ohio County’s Amelia Marcum – the state’s No. 7 wrestler – for third place.
Four other Lady Falcons reached the medal podium on Saturday.
Zemirah Witt (29-16) was fifth at 100, defeating McCracken County’s Jillian Conn – the state’s No. 6 wrestler – with a 14-6 major decision.
Delaney Perry (24-23) had to go into sudden death overtime in the 107-pound class to beat McCracken County’s Emmery Evans to claim fifth place.
Both Witt and Perry will be alternates for the state tournament.
Zy’Aziah Langley (20-8) finished in sixth place at 138, falling to No. 4 Mayte Lopez of Apollo in the fifth-place match.
Jennifer Velazquez (30-21) was sixth in the 145-pound class. She finished 2-3 with a loss to Lilyan List Apollo in the 5th-place match.
Fort Campbell’s team total of 138 points was 29 behind region champion North Hardin.
Saturday’s region tournament was held at Central Hardin High School. Wrestlers from Regions 1-3 comprised the field.
