Murry crashes in state finals to 155 pounds
By Mark Schnabel
Newton Kansan
PARK CITY — Newton High School has a wrestling tradition dating back more than 80 years.
Within a few short years, the Railer girls started adding to that long list of champions and medalists.
Newton doubled his medal haul with two more and claimed his first state finalist Wednesday and Thursday at Hartman Arena, taking 16th place in the team standings.
Senior Jaymie Murry finished second at 155lbs and senior Emily Torres finished fifth at 120lbs. Freshmen Avery Hinojos at 110 lbs and Jaeann James at 130 lbs also scored.
Washburn Rural won the fight by 153 points, 12 points over Garden City. Dodge City was third with 109 points. Newton scored 43 runs.
“We qualified four,” Newton manager Tommy Edgmon said. “In previous years, Jaymie was our only qualifier. Yesterday in the first round everyone won a game. We beat Jaymie in the semis and in the finals. Emily went through the back door and got a medal. They are two medals. It’s quite an achievement. We finished 16th out of 56 teams. We are growing. The sport is growing”.
Newton’s full roster lists three seniors and the rest of the team are freshmen or sophomores.
“A lot of freshmen who didn’t make it this year and two freshmen who made it,” Edgmon said. “A young group. We have a lot of middle school girls on the way. … As the years grow, I think we can become a top contender.
Murry was a trailblazer for the Railers in her past seasons, claiming Newton’s first two medals.
She added another step to her journey by being the first girl Railer to reach the state finals after a 3-0 day. She becomes the Railers’ first three-time medalist finishing sixth as a sophomore and fourth as a junior.
“It’s so surreal right now,” Murry said. “I put in all that work and it paid off. I have my priorities right with God and wrestling, and everything else falls into place.
Murray opened against Blue Valley Southwest’s Hayley Flores, hitting a first period takedown and back point, a second period reversal and back point, and a third period breakaway and takedown for a big 13–0 decision.
In the quarterfinals against Wichita North’s Kimberly Valdovinos, Murry needed just 28 seconds to score the pin to capture her third straight medal.
In the semi-final against Olathe West’s Laney Finazzo, Murry got a trip for a takedown, but was quickly overturned and placed onto her back, giving up three points. Murry scored a run late in the period and trailed 5-3. In the second period, Murry hit a two-point near-fall, gave up a run, scored another takedown, and gave up another run, leaving the game tied 7–7.
In the third period it took Murry just five seconds to score a break and was able to hold off Finazzo for the win. Murry was hit by a stall warning with 54 seconds left, but managed to stay active for the rest of the game.
“I’ve never fought her before,” Murry said. “I’ve never seen her until this tournament. She is a pretty solid fighter. I had faith. I was a little nervous at the start of the game, but went in thinking I could take care of business. Normally, (giving up back stitches) would rattle me. I knew it was going to be a tough match. Good things are never easy. I knew I had the willpower to fight back and win the game.
“My coaches work a lot on something they call a baseball catch. Once we’re ahead, we don’t want to give up any points. You don’t want to stop, but you are so aware of your legs. Our coaches are really good. I was a little nervous about the stall warning, but I did what I could.”
In the Finals against undefeated and league-leading Sage Rosario, Murry was dropped early and gave up two sets of points arrears before Rosario scored the pin with 30 seconds left in the first period. Rosario finishes the season 35-0, winning its second state title.
“I was 0-2 in regionals my freshman year, now here I am in the state finals,” Murry said. “I’ve come a long way. It’s not how I wanted it to end, but I’m so proud of myself. I knew he had that sweep (leg), so no blame on my coaches. I did my best and came up a little short.
Murry finishes the season 31-9 and his career 81-42.
Murry said she is undecided about whether she will continue with wrestling. She mentioned that she has had some offers from colleges. Soon she will also decide whether to compete in the spring and summer tournaments.
Unlike in previous years, Murry wasn’t alone in state this round. He has three competing teammates. All three ended the day 1-1, reaching the quarterfinals.
“It’s great,” Murry said. “I am so proud of my team this year. Everyone made it to day two. I don’t think they realize how proud I am of them. I’ll have to send them a message to express how proud I am of everyone.”
Torres finished the tournament 4-2.
“It was definitely a tough start,” Torres said. “I felt like I was under pressure. I have to gain weight the next day. I had to watch what I eat. I had to stay mentally focused the next day. It was just too much and I let it get to me too much. After the day was over, I just needed to focus on today and what I wanted to do and what I wanted to accomplish.
Torres received a first-round forfeit win over Wichita West’s Ariyana Norphlet. In the quarterfinals, Torres faced Shawnee Mission West’s Ella Weber. Torres gave up breakaways early in both the second and third periods. Torres gave up a penalty point and a takedown, losing the match 5-0.
Torres opened Saturday with a second-quarter pin on Campus’ Erin Jackson. In the consolation quarterfinals, Torres hit two takedowns, a two-point near-fall and a breakaway for a 7-1 win over Great Bend’s Kaylea McMullen.
In the consolation semifinal against Washburn Rural’s Annie Gallegos, Torres gave up an early takedown in the first period, but tied the game with a two-point fall in the second. In the third half Torres scores an upset, then gives up on the escape. Gallegos scored a takedown with 15 seconds left and held on for the 5-4 decision.
Gallegos fell to Torres earlier this season.
“I got three different stops on (potentially) dangerous moves and was so close to blocking it,” Torres said. “I was so frustrated.”
In the fifth-place match against Emporia’s Katina Keosybounheuang, Torres hit two takedowns and gave up two escapes in the second period. Torres hit a takedown in the third period to knock out Keosybounheuang for the 6-2 decision.
The two had split previous games with each scoring a pin.
“I had snatched her from the regional championship and I had beaten her, blocked her,” said Torres. “My mentality was so different. There was no pressure. If I lost, she beat me first. If I win, it would be much better. She beat me (at the Newton Tournament of Champions). … She was a regional finalist against me. I was much more confident. I knew I could do it again.
Torres ends the season 33-10. He said he’s considering wrestling in college.
“I’ve talked to a few different coaches,” Torres said. “I hope I will sign soon in March.”
Torres skipped wrestling last year. She wrestled in her club last year, finishing fourth at the state folkstyle championships.
“I felt like I had a lot to prove,” Torres said. “Jaymie was amazing. He has pushed and motivated us throughout the season. It’s really nice to have my name on the wall at Newton High. All my goals have been achieved this season. I was surrounded by amazing wrestlers. We all had high expectations this season. Wrestling was like Nick (Treaster) and AB (Stokes) in the room. And trainers like Logan Treaster and Edgmon. They pushed us so hard. We learned faster and improved faster. I don’t know if I would have been able to do it without those people in the room.
At 110 pounds, freshman Avery Hinojos made her in-state debut against Kansas City Piper’s Maia Dolinar, scoring a first-period takedown and blocking a second-period cradle for the pin.
Hinojos faced 28-1 Sarah Zimmerman of Hays in the quarterfinals. Zimmerman scored throughout the game, but she failed to get the pinfall, settling for an 18-0 technical fall in the third period.
In the second consolation round, Hinojos downed Gardner-Edgerton’s Kaira Mannio 8-2, scoring two takedowns, an upset and a two-point near fall. In the consolation quarterfinals, the only points were a near drop by two points to Shawnee Mission South’s Stella Segura.
Hinojos ends the season 29-13.
At 130 pounds, freshman Jaeann James made her state debut against Shawnee Heights’ Isabel Reyes, taking a 6-1 lead early on and 8-4 after the first period. A late breakaway and one-point penalty for James in the closing seconds of the second period kept the score at 11-11. Down 15-14 in the third period, James scored a breakaway, a takedown and then the pinfall with 36 seconds left in the game.
In the quarterfinal match against top seed Nicole Redmond of Olathe South, James was pinned in 49 seconds. In the second round consolation, James was blocked by Bonner Springs’ Emmalee Foya in the second period.
James finishes the season 13-9.
Class 6-5A State Girls Wrestling
Team Scores: Washburn Rural 153, Garden City 141, Dodge City 109, Shawnee Heights 73, Leavenworth 66.5, Hays 65.5, Olathe Northwest 64, Olathe North 62, Olathe West 62, Wichita North 59, Seaman 57, Gardner-Edgerton 56, Junction City 51, Bonner Springs 46, Derby 46, Newton 43, Olathe South 40, Kapaun-Mount Carmel 40, Salina Central 37, Valley Center 35, Liberal 33, Manhattan 33, Shawnee Mission South 32, Spring Hill 32, Bishop Carroll 31 , Great Bend 30, Goddard 29, Topeka West 28, Wichita West 27, Kansas City Turner 26, Emporia 25, Hutchinson 24, Olathe East 22, Salina South 22, Goddard Eisenhower 20, Kansas City JC Harmon 19, Shawnee Mission West 18, Andover 16, Blue Valley Southwest 12, Shawnee Mission Northwest 12, Wichita Southeast 12, Pittsburg 10, Basehor-Linwood 7, Kansas City Piper 7, Kansas City Sumner Academy 7, Shawnee Mission East 6, Mill Valley 5, Wichita Northwest 5, Kansas City FL Schlagle 4, Kansas City Wyandotte 3, Shawnee Mission North 3, Highland Park 3, Campu s 3, Kansas City Washington 2, Topeka 1, Blue Valley 0, Blue Valley West 0, De Soto 0, Lansing 0, Lawrence Free State 0.
Newtonian results
110 – Avery Hinojos (2-2, 29-13): 1. V Maia Dolinar, Kansas City Piper 3:07; L Sarah Zimmerman, Hays 18-0 tech.fall (5:25). C2. W Kaira Mannio, Gardner-Edgerton 8-2; CQF. L Stella Segura, Shawnee Mission South 4-3.
120—6. Emily Torres (4-2, 33-10): 1. W Ariyana Norphlet, Wichita West, forfeit; QF. L Ella Weber, Shawnee Mission West 5-0. C2. W Erin Jackson, Campus 2:58; CQF. W Kaylea McMullen, Great Bend 7-1; CSF. L Annie Gallegos, Washburn Rural 5-4; 5th: W Katina Keosybounheuang, Emporia 6-2.
130—Jaeann James (1-2, 13-9): 1. W Isabel Reyes, Shawnee Heights 5:24; QF. L Nicole Redmond, Olathe South :49. C2. Emmalee Foya, Bonner Springs 1:48.
155 — 2. Jaymie Murry (3-1, 31-9): 1. W Haley Flores, Blue Valley Southwest May 13-0 Dec.; QF. Kimberly Valdovinos, Wichita North :29; sf. W Laney Finazzo, Olathe West 7-6. FL Sage Rosario, Manhattan 1:30.
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