Bonner Springs junior Olivia Stean won her third straight Class 6-5A championship at the Kansas High School Girls State Wrestling Tournament at Hartman Arena in Park City on Thursday.
Stean capped off a perfect 39-0 season with a first period pin on Valley Center’s Grace Timmons in the 170 lb championship game. She finished the season ranked as the No. 1 pound for pound in the state by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association.
“It’s so crazy. To be honest, I still struggle to think about it,” Stean said. “I’m still in awe.”
Timmons was the first wrestler to score a takedown on Stean at the state tournament, stunning the two-time defending champion with the first takedown of the match. It only took Stean 2 1/2 minutes of floor time to pin his top three opponents, so being down early and deep presented a new challenge.
“I just needed to take a second, calm down and think,” Stean said. “I knew what I had to do, I just needed to take a second and step back and put my head back in the game.”
When Stean pulled herself together, she executed a title-winning move flawlessly by lifting her left shoulder to tip Timmons onto her back, then using the momentum to roll and flip Timmons in the process. In less than 10 seconds, Stean went from bottom to top and pinned her opponent for the win.
Olathe South junior Nicole Redmond also became a three-time state champion by winning the 130lbs division to complete a 48-1 season.
Other Kansas City area state champions were Turner senior Arianna Ortiz (100), Olathe North sophomore Kaylan Hitchcock (120), Gardner Edgerton senior Shelby Davis (135), Leavenworth junior Avari Johnson (145) and Leavenworth Sr. Hannah Jackson, who completed an undefeated 38-0 season with her second straight state title at 235.
