Fatima senior Heidi Struemph earned a return to the state wrestling tournament after a runner-up performance at last weekend’s Class 1, District 1 tournament at Mexico as the Lady Comets finished 21st as a team.

Coach Kurt Strope noted the team “usually only has one girl scoring points for us; this year we had several,” as Fatima claimed its highest team finish.

Struemph (130) lost to Alivia Bottoms (Boonville) by fall (1:49) in the championship match. She opened with a bye, and defeated Sage Foster (Trenton, fall, 0:21), Kaylee Brown (Ft. Zumwalt South, fall, 3:54), and Arianna Augustyniak (St. Charles West, fall, 1:26) to reach the finals.

“Heidi wrestled dominantly, pinning her way to the finals,” said Strope. “We wrestled her well and we have a few things to work on, but I think we can beat her at the state meet next week Wednesday and Thursday if we see her again.”

Renee Wilbers (120) went 2-2 on the day, losing in the fifth round of wrestle backs to Vivia Grooms (Warrenton, fall, 0:31). After a first-round bye, Wilbers lost to Hadlye Sackrey (Brookfield, fall, 0:39), and then had another bye. When she returned to the mat, Wilbers defeated Hayden Watlington (South Callaway, Dec, 12-6) and Jada Nichols (McCluer North, MD, 14-4).

Draven Cole (135) received a bye to start the tournament, and then knocked off Alaina Fitzpatrick (Lutheran St. Charles, Dec, 5-2). She lost to Payton Hammack (St. Charles West, fall, 0:35), then beat Raygan Mayes (Highland, fall, 2:58) before losing to Ella Baker (North Callaway, fall, 0:19) to end the day with two wins.

Ivy Ruecker (170) also won two matches. She had a first-round bye and then split the next two matches, defeating Lexis Manning (Owensville, Dec, 8-7) and losing to Lexington Johnson (St. Charles West, fall, 0:20). In the fourth round of consolation, Ruecker beat Audriella Crawford (Carrollton, fall, 4:18) before ending the day with a loss to Sophia Sexton (Holt, fall, 1:52).

“Renee, Draven, and Ivy really turned it on here at the end of the season,” said Strope. “They got close to making it out of districts.”

The other girls that competed were Aubrey Wieberg (100), Journey Markway (115), Elizabeth Meyer (125), Bailey Buschjost (155), and Emilie Bonnot (190) gave it their all, but did not claim a win. “I think this group of girls has a lot of positives and things to look forward to next season if they put in the work,” said Strope.

Overall, Coach Strope is pleased with the effort and future possibilities. “All of these girls had some of their best wrestling of the year at the tournament, and all but one will be returning for another season next year,” he said.

Struemph will be part of the Class 1 Grand March at the state tournament at 1 p.m. on Feb. 25, with the first round scheduled to begin at 1:15 at Mizzou Arena.