Anna Cullens is the 109 pound state champion.

by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Anna Cullens at 109 became the first Wellington state champion wrestler since 2008 when she won the Division II state title.

Cullens would have to go into overtime before she defeated Skyleigh Pflaster of Abilene 6-4 in the championship final. She would beat the second, third, and fourth-place finisher at 109 to capture the state championship.

Overall, the Wellington girls would place fourth, the highest for a Crusader team since, perhaps, 1991 when the Wellington boys won the state championship. All three girls who qualified for the state tournament placed. Wellington would finish with 39 points. Baldwin won the state championship with 54.5 points. Pratt had 49, and Paola had 46. There were 49 schools in the tournament (see results here).

State Championship battle at 109 was a classic.

Averie Burns at 235 placed fourth and Kaitlyn Hain finished sixth.

The big story was Cullens, who finished her sophomore year with a 34-1 record and a state title medal.

She would defeat Rylee Cagle of Fort Scott with a quick pin in the first round. She then decisioned Addison Saporito of Columbus 6-1. That set up a showdown with Pflaster, a girl she has seen before, pinning two weeks ago in the regional.

Many had anticipated a second matchup between Josiah Ortiz of Lakin, who had handed Cullens her only loss of the season last week in the sub-state championship on a 4-2 decision. But that never materialized because Pflaster knocked out Ortiz in the semifinals 7-2.

Cullens would dominate for the first two periods of her championship bout. She scored two takedowns and gave up one escape. But going into the third period, Pflaster did something unconventional. She chose the top. Normally, a wrestler, when given the choice will pick the bottom in hopes of getting an escape or a reversal.

Cullens is hugged by teammate Kaitlyn Hain after winning the title.

“That wrestler knew if she got the escape, Anna would shoot and get the takedown,” said Wellington head wrestling coach Mitch McComb. “You are giving up a point right there. Anna’s specialty is shooting. She shot three times in this match and got three takedowns.”

The third period was rough for Cullens. Pflaster’s decision worked out for her. She never allowed Cullens an escape and would eventually get her trapped in a chokehold for a three-point near fall erasing a 4-1 deficit. But Cullens would never give up the pin. Then, with her bad shoulder, the official called a timeout as she nursed her injury with three seconds remaining.

Once the overtime began, Cullens shot and scored a takedown to win the state title.

Not since 2008 when Kody Page won the state title at 215 pounds had a Wellington wrestler stood on top of the state championship podium.

McComb said they prepared for the situation of Cullens getting into a stronghold. He brought in a 130-pound boy to wrestle her during practice throughout the week just in case the wrestler chose top in the third period.

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Averie Burns with the near fall in first-round matchup.

Burns had an outstanding tournament. Not bad for a wrestler who joined the program midway through the season.

One could describe her day as feast or famine. In the first round, she took a 6-0 lead on Madi Hargett of Baldwin in the first period, only to get pinned near the end of the first period. Her second match was just the opposite. She was down 6-0 in the consolation semifinals to Kylie Meredith of Sabetha and was clearly being dominated going into the third. She would then escape, score a takedown, and then pinned her opponent in a turn of events that was breathtaking.

She would get pinned by Hargett in the consolation finals.

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Kaitlyn Hain gets the pin in the consolation quarterfinals.

Hain, who went 1-3, had the kind of tournament that if she was playing basketball, she would lose on buzzer-beaters. The first match was the exception when she lost by pin to the eventual state champion Hope Blake of Eskridge-Mission Valley. The second match she would pin Emily Welch of Columbus after taking an 8-2 lead.

That led to two aggravating matches in which she lost to Ellington Hogle of Silver Lake 3-2 in the consolation semifinals. She went into the third period ahead 1-0 but Hogle used an escape and takedown to take a 3-1 lead. She would then get an escape to narrow the lead to one. She would get two takedowns but the official said they were both out of bounds in the waning seconds. She appeared as if she was going to finally get a game-winning takedown when time ran out on her.

In the consolation finals, Hain lost in the final second when Jill High of Augusta, her nemesis throughout the postseason, scored a takedown to break a 4-all tie.

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Overall, the Wellington girls program looks very promising. All three state qualifiers are returning as is the bulk of the team. Wellington also has some eighth graders coming up who are very promising as we Patriot League Tournament champions. Keep your eye on this program.

“The thing is girls wrestling is just going to get more and more competitive,” McComb said. “You saw the competition today and you’ve watched a lot of boys wrestling state tournaments. This has become just as competitive.”

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Individual results are as follows:

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