Yuma High School’s girls wrestling team got itself another placer and strong team score at the Colorado Girls Wrestling Championships, last week at Ball Arena in Denver.
Senior Ashley Marshall made it to the medal stand, placing sixth at 115 pounds, and four of the five grapplers won at least one match as Yuma finished 35th with 19 points in the one-classification field. Chatfield held off Discovery Canyon, 133 to 128, for another team title.
Marshall led the way with an exciting run through the 115-pound bracket.
The senior opened state action last Thursday with a 9-1 major decision over Vista Peak’s Amelia Bacon. Thursday morning, though, she ran into Loveland’s Lindsey Lopez in the quarterfinals. Lopez, who had one loss all season, handed Marshall a 15-4 major decision.
Marshall battled back, however, getting a 6-1 decision over Poudre’s Pearl Morris in the second round of consolation later Friday. She was back on the mat Saturday morning one win away from punching her ticket to the podium. Marshall got it done with a dominating win by fall at the 2 minute, 45 second mark against John Mall’s Ivey McAlhany.
She closed out her career with a loss by fall in the consolation semifinals, then lost the fifth-place match by a 7-3 decision, placing sixth.
She was the only Yuma wrestler to win their preliminary match and only one to get to Saturday. However, three of the other four won one match.
Chloe Smith was pinned on Thursday at 105 pounds. She bounced back with a dominating pin fall (2:09) over Chatfield’s Lauren Scott in the first round of consolation on Friday, but then was knocked out later in the day with a 6-1 loss to Kiana Suro of Denver South. Smith, a sophomore, went 34-14 this season.
Abril Montes de Oca suffered a pair of heartbreaking losses at 135 pounds. The senior lost her first match on Thursday by a 3-2 decision to Sydney Wu of Broomfield. She came back Friday with a dominating pin in 1:25 over Moffat County’s Cydny Witherell. However, Montes de Oca suffered another close loss later in the day, a 7-6 tie-breaker decision to Grand Junction Central’s Apollonia Middleton, to end her season. She went 26-9 in 2022-23.
Danika Dischner went 19-19 in her freshman campaign and picked up a state win at 190. She was pinned in the first period on Thursday by Mahalia Jones of Mesa Ridge. However, she dominated in the first round of consolation, Friday morning, getting a win by fall at the 2:14 mark over Wiggins’ Mackenzie Steinbar. She was knocked out of the tournament later in the day when she was pinned by Mountain Vista’s Ozi Ogu.
Destiny Henderson competed for Yuma at 130 pounds, losing by major decision and pin. She still finished with a strong 31-14 record.
