Wellington wrestlers Kaylee Horninek, Aubrey Hunt advance to state at home regional

February 12, 2023 Cueball

Kaylee Horninek places third at 170 at regional and qualifies for state.

Aubrey Hunt at 190 qualifies for state after finishing third.

by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — The Wellington girls’ regional tournament did not end the way the host program wanted. But it got two state qualifiers and a huge heaping supply of goodwill for hosting one of the sport’s biggest tournaments in its short history.

Wellington sophomore Kaylee Horinek at 170 pounds and junior Aubrey Hunt at 190 will be heading to the Class 4A State Girls Wrestling Tournament on Feb. 22-23.

Overall, Wellington finished with 54 points and ninth place – a far cry from a second-place finish it was hoping to complete. Also, Wellington head wrestling coach Mitch McComb said he expected four to get in and was hoping for six. He got two.

“I think there were a few different factors at play here,” McComb said. “But I think hosting the tournament actually worked to our disadvantage. It made the girls too relaxed.”

Wellington girls lost four matches to girls they had previously beaten during the season. Five times they lost as the higher seed. The Crusaders went on a devastating 12-match losing streak that Horinek only broke in the consolation semifinal blood round. There were countless matches in which Wellington wrestlers were ahead in points only to lose by pin or a decision.

Even Horinek’s third-place finish was tinged with a little regret as she was slated to beat Jaiden Jones of Chaparral in the championship semifinals but lost.

“I was proud of her coming back and pinning the Abilene girl in the blood round,” McComb said. “Then she came out and won the third-place match which was essential for her as far as seeding goes for state.”

Hunt was the lone Wellington wrestler that exceeded expectations for the Crusaders, placing third. Her third-place pin of Madison Haley of Chaparral was against a top-five wrestler.

“Aubrey isn’t a flamboyant wrestler, but she is tough as nails,” McComb said.

Mikayla Ybarra

There were three heartbreakers in a matter of an hour on Saturday. Mikayla Ybarra lost to Sydney Cummins of McPherson in a gut-wrenching 7-6 decision marathon match in the 140-pound consolation round. Ybarra had beaten Cummins in a previous tournament.

Then Isabelle Cullens lost by major decision to Braelynn Patterson of McPherson 18-6, which she too had beaten in a previous tournament.

Isabelle Cullens

“I told the girls at the beginning of the tournament that just because you have beaten a girl in a tournament doesn’t mean you will automatically beat that girl again,” McComb said. “We have a young squad and hopefully, that is a lesson learned.”

Then came the Bri Walker blood match with Lyons Alexa Guzman. Walker has been Wellington’s most success wrestler all season as a freshman, going undefeated through December and coming into the tournament with a 29-6 record.

Bri Walker

She was leading 4-1 in the second period when Guzman got her in a headlock and threw her on her back for a stunning pin.

“I told Bri she needed to be more aggressive and continue to shoot,” McComb said. “Instead, she let the girl hang around and got in trouble because of it.”

Sophie Parkey

Pratt, as expected, won the tournament with 168 points. Smoky Valley placed second with 114 and Mulvane had 103. The full results can be found here.

All the Wellington individual results can be found here.