The Pekin girls wrestling team turned in a dominant performance on Monday, November 24th, winning the Columbus Invitational team championship with 174 points and placing five wrestlers atop the podium. Van Buren County finished second with 130 points, and Highland took third with 106 in the 12-team field.
Five Individual Champions
Pekin’s lineup delivered standout results across multiple weights, including several dramatic wins with three new champions: Bree Earnest, Lila Miller, and Ivory Small.
Lexa Nelson (110) – 1st Place
After a first-round bye, Nelson faced two Van Buren County opponents and gave up just two total points. In the championship match, she scored on a takedown, nearfall, and reversal before securing the victory by fall.
Bree Earnest (115) – 1st Place
Earnest showed impressive grit in the finals. Trailing 2–3 after giving up a takedown, she fought back and earned the win by fall for her first varsity championship (she won the JV championship for the 110 weight class in Sigourney).
Lila Miller (130) – 1st Place
Miller continued her strong start to the season by capturing her first title at 130 pounds winning by falls in each first period. Her final scores were all by a 3-point margin (3-0, 3-0, 5-2).
Ivory Small (135) – 1st Place
Small escaped a tight opening round bout—down 7–8 before turning her opponent for the fall—then dominated the rest of the tournament for her first championship of the season.
Hailey Pedrick (145) – 1st Place
Pedrick was spotless on the night, not surrendering a single point on her way to the championship for the second straight meet in a row.
Additional Podium Finishers
Pekin also saw several wrestlers score valuable team points with top finishes:
- Ella Rose (155) – 3rd
- Autumn Coleman (125) – 4th
- Reece Brisby (130) – 5th
- Rylee Frye (235) – 5th
- Alyvia Traner (120) – 6th
- Carly Clubb (190) – 6th
Also competing for Pekin were Zoe Heisdorffer (130) and Brinley Phillips (145).
Coach Chapman: “A Great Night, But We’re Still Building”
Head Coach Al Chapman praised the team for bringing home five individual titles and the overall team championship, but emphasized that the season is still very much a work in progress.
“Winning five gold medals and the team championship out of a 12-team tournament is definitely something to be proud of,” Chapman said. “Nelson, Miller and Pedrick are almost automatic at this point when it comes to the podium, but seeing Earnest and Small get to the top tonight was huge for them. That was a great moment.”
Despite the success, Chapman said the coaching staff still sees room for improvement across the lineup.
“We don’t feel that overall we are hitting on all cylinders yet,” he said. “The coaching staff is challenged to get everyone to understand that and continue to push our practice intensity. If we want to keep climbing, the work has to stay consistent.”
With the holiday break approaching, preparations may look different this week, but the Panthers won’t be slowing down for long.
“Having Wednesday through Friday off from school will be a slight interruption,” Chapman added. “But the girls will be right back on the mat Saturday at Belle Plaine. We want to keep that momentum moving.”
Three tournaments into the season, Pekin now has two third-place finishes and one team championship—something Chapman believes is a strong foundation.
“It’s a positive start to the season,” he said. “We still have a few weight classes to sort out and adjustments to make, but this group wants to keep improving. That’s what matters most.”
And the night finished with one more highlight:
“The girls getting together to win a first-place plaque on my birthday was pretty special,” Chapman noted.
Photography courtesy of Rylie Nelson.
