‘We can only keep going up’: Winslow girls surprise coach with second place at state

GILBERT, Ariz.

Winslow girls wrestling coach Scott Larsen sensed that his team was destined for great things.

Little did he know that his program was ready to explode as every member of the team brought home some hardware from the Arizona Interscholastic Association Girls State Wrestling Tournament last weekend.

Two of those wrestlers captured gold with junior Leia Kalk winning the 182-pound weight class while sophomore Charry Benecke took the 220 crown as both wrestlers won their respective finals in resounding fashion with a pair of pins.

“We’ve definitely talked about this before,” Larsen said of his program operating at an optimal level. “We got some tough, special girls and going 6-for-6 is pretty impressive.

“I’m so proud of the girls,” he said. “They’ve worked so hard for this and they earned everything they’ve been able to accomplish today.”

Besides the individual accolades, the Winslow team left quite an impression among the state’s best as it finished in a two-way tie for second-place in the team standings.

With only six wrestlers, the Bulldogs tallied 108 points and matched 6A school Peoria Liberty for the runner-up trophy.

State champion Basha High won the state title with 191 points as the 6A Chandler school had 14 wrestlers compete, filling every weight class at the all-girls state tournament, which was held at Mesquite High School.

“I didn’t expect this,” Larsen said of their second-place finish. “I knew we were sitting about fourth but the point (spread) was pretty close. I think we were within four, five points but, you know, those double pins will do that for you. The last two pins pushed us up there.”

As a first-time wrestler, Kalk never envisioned being a state champion She had contemplated whether she should even join the team.

“I never really pushed myself into it but this year I said, ‘Why not?’” the 182-pound wrestler said. “I’m kind of a little shocked that I won state because I didn’t get a chance to see any of the girls in my weight class.”

As the tournament’s top seed, Kalk won all of her matches by a fall as she finished the abbreviated season undefeated at 7-0.

“That’s pretty cool, especially with it being my first year,” she said. “I came out and dominated all of my matches so I feel pretty good about that.”

In the finals, Kalk pinned Basha’s Hannah Gertis in 66 seconds, as she needed a second attempt to earn a fall.

“(Leia) went in there and did a hip-toss headlock and she threw her on her back,” Larsen said. “I thought she had her pinned but her arms slipped out.”

And after both wrestlers had reset, Kalk turned Gertis on her back again and she finished her opponent off with a fall.

“She turned her over and she pinned her with a half-nelson,” the Winslow coach said.

Benecke, meanwhile, took less time in pinning Maricopa’s Ryleigh Westerfield. The Winslow grappler, however, almost lost the match as she was nearly taken down.

“She kind of pulled me down and I almost got onto the mat,” said Benecke, who improved to 9-1 overall. “I was kind of scared but I was like ‘I’m not giving up here.’ I got back up and I got on top and I pinned her.”

Larsen said his pupil bounced back nicely and he credited her tenacity.

“Charry is a little ball of fun,” he said. “That girl is so emotional and she tries so hard. It’s great to see her be successful. She went out there and wrestled tough. She did exactly what we talked about before the match and it went well for her.”

At 170, the Bulldogs got a third-place finish from junior Nova Ragnoli as she also earned a fall in her final match. Ragnoli pinned Avery Nash, an American Leadership Academy-Gilbert wrestler, late in the first period.

“I’m happy that I got third,” Ragnoli said. “Last year I placed sixth so moving up feels pretty good.”

Ragnoli was one win away from reaching the 170 finals but she was sent to the consolation bracket after losing to Basha’s Trinity Bouchal in the semifinals.

“She was really that good,” Ragnoli said of her Basha opponent.

Needless to say that loss motivated her as she pinned her last two opponents to win third.

At 152, junior Elyna Lopez placed fourth while junior Riley Davila (120) and senior Alyssa Cordova (106) took sixth.

“What the girls did is unbelievable,” Larsen said. “I’m more happy for them and what’s great is we’re still pretty young. Our 220 is a sophomore and the other girls are juniors. We can only keep going up.”

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