BY BRETT MARSHALL
Winning state wrestling championships at the same weight class in 2021 during their respective junior seasons was a memorable moment for Great Bend’s Breanna Ridgeway and Dodge City’s Damian Mendez.
Those performances enabled the pair to earn Western Athletic Conference Wrestlers of the Year for their divisions. They accomplished those with perfect records of 36-0 and 35-0.
They knew they’d carry a target on their backs heading into the senior campaigns. They repeated as state wrestling champions.
Ridgeway (132) swept through her opponents with a perfect 36-0 record en route to the Class 5-6A state championship last year.
What to do for an encore?
“I had the same mindset because of what I went through with my mental stuff about my matches,” Ridgeway said after repeating her state gold-medal finish and a 37-1 record. “I kept a positive mindset and it helped with winning the matches.”
Ridgeway pinned every single opponent.
“I decided I’d shoot more my senior year and get more takedowns,” Ridgeway said. “My junior year I was waiting for my opponent to screw up. The big thing was to keep my head straight.”
Mission Valley state champion Hope Blake (24-0) beat Ridgeway at the Rock Creek Invitational in January.
“She’s really good, but that loss helped me,” Ridgeway said. “I hadn’t seen a great wrestler. It made me more aware of how important it is to be the aggressor.”
At the state tourney, Ridgeway secured pins of KC Sumner’s Alissa Harris (2:26), Andover’s Olivia Randle (0:44), KC Harmon’s Kamahni Jackson (1:35) and Dodge City’s Hailey Ramos (3:06).
“The semifinal was the most memorable. I worked extra to get a second throw and eventually the pin,” Ridgeway said. “I got her in a headlock and that put me in the finals. It was a big relief to make it back to the championship match.”
Ridgeway originally signed with Hastings (Neb.) College, but declined the offer since the school does not feature a dental hygienist program. Ridgeway plans to attend Barton Community College, which does not feature a women’s wrestling program.
“I’d like to do some coaching at the middle school level and decide where to go and wrestle again,” Ridgeway said of her plans. “I know I want to stay connected with wrestling.”
Ridgeway finishes with a third-place finish and a third non-sanctioned state wrestling title.
“It made my hometown people and the school proud,” she said. “I was part of starting a program. We have some good wrestlers coming up. That’s a good thing to see.”
Repeating WAC Wrestler of the Year means even more to Ridgeway as she completed her final year.
“Winning a year ago was special, but knowing how difficult it is to repeat, makes this even more amazing,” she said.
Dodge City’s girls captured the 6A team title for the WAC’s first state title.
MENDEZ EARNS HONOR — Dodge City’s Damian Mendez completed a four-year run with three state championships and a runner-up finish to complete a 159-9 record. Mendez finished 107-1 the past three seasons. He holds the record most takedowns in a single season.
Mendez won 45 matches, including wins in Colorado over a pair of highly ranked and state championship wrestlers.
Six state champions were crowned from the WAC.
Garden City 285-pound sophomore Sebastian Lopez (32-2) captured the 6A crown. Lopez pinned Brett Carroll after trailing 5-0.
Hays High’s Gavin Meyers (220) finished 37-0 in 5A. Great Bend’s Kaden Spragis (120) ended 42-7 and Wyatt Weber (138) ended 43-3. Dodge City Luke Barker (170) finished 41-1.
WAC GIRLS ALL-LEAGUE
DODGE CITY—120—Denys Ochoa, 9; 126—Ariana De La Rosa, 10; 155—Ashley Arroyo, 11; 170—Jolette Almarez, 11; 235—Sindy Gutierrez, 10
LIBERAL—101—Mana Chanthasone, 11; 191—Leilani Torres, 12
HAYS—109—Sarah Zimmerman, 11
GARDEN CITY—115—Sara Chapa, 12; 138—Bethanie Cruz, 11; 143—Alondra Guzman, 12
GREAT BEND—132—Breanna Ridgeway, 12;
WRESTLER OF YEAR—Bre Ridgeway, Great Bend
COACH OF YEAR—Tate Lowe, Dodge City
SECOND TEAM ALL-WAC
GREAT BEND—115—Rosa Campos, 12; 126—Daizy Gomez, 10; 143—Sierra Ferguson, 10; 191—Haylee Holinde, 9; 235—Kynslee White, 11; DODGE CITY—109—Ashley Alonso, 9; 132—Hailey Ramos, 9; 138—Dayanara Garcia, 10; GARDEN CITY—101—Jessica Rivera, 9; 155—Angel Serrano, 11; HAYS—120—Addison Otte, 10; LIBERAL—170—Jasmine Rangel, 9
WAC BOYS ALL LEAGUE
GARDEN CITY—106—Braydon Pacheco, 9; 126—Ryan Heiman, 11; 145—Ethan Allen, 10; 152—Colin Kleysteuber, 11; 182—Alan Chairez, 11
DODGE CITY—113—Dylan Wainscott, 10; 132—Damian Mendez, 12; 170—Luke Barker, 11
LIBERAL—160—Easton Zapien, 12
GREAT BEND—120—Kaden Spragis, 12; 138—Wyatt Weber, 12; 195—Brody Schnoebelen, 9
HAYS—220—Gavin Meyers, 12; 285—Gavin Nutting, 12
WRESTLER OF YEAR—Damian Mendez, Dodge City
COACH OF YEAR—Carlos Prieto, Garden City
SECOND TEAM ALL—WAC
GREAT BEND—126—Avery Wolf, 12; 152—Skyler McMullen, 11; 182—Matthew Johnson, 10; 220—Keyven Schroeder, 10; HAYS—106—Elijah McCullough, 10; 113—Tacoma Augustine, 10; 132—Harley Zimmerman, 10; DODGE CITY—120—Raymond Hernandez, 10; 145—Ismael Ramirez, 12; 195—Roman Loya, 11; GARDEN CITY—138—Sebastian Rodriguez, 12; 160—Salvador Barintas, 12; 285—Sebastian Lopez, 10; LIBERAL—170—Trystian Juarez, 11
