Three EV/TC Wrestlers Finish First, Team Places Fourt at Girls SICL Conference Meet

THORNBURG—On January 22, the Tri-County Trojans hosted the 2024 girls SICL conference wrestling tournament. The EV/TC girls finished in fourth place with an aggregate score of 69.

Junior Kadie Troyer earned the 110 title via a bye, as there were no other 110 wrestlers at the tournament. 

Junior Christy Knapp pinned her way to first place in the 135 bracket with two pins that both came in 27 seconds.

Freshman Lila Shilling was the third and final EV/TC wrestler to take home the gold at the SICL tournament. Shilling won both of her bouts against Lillie Jones of Colfax-Mingo with one pin coming in 25 seconds and the other coming in 57 seconds.

Others to earn points for the EV/TC team were Betsy Wells (140), Lyle Smothers (120) and Kaylee Frazier (115) all placed fourth in their respective weight classes. 

After the tournament, EV/TC Head Coach Steve Hester spoke on the night with, “It was nice. I think we are seeing some confidence in those girls that finished in first. Christ Knapp has been really coming along. At the Louisa-Muscatine tournament she got third place there, and went undefeated here. Kadie (Troyer) is finally healthy again. She hasn’t been healthy since the second tournament of the year. It will be really nice to have her back in the mix. Lila Shilling has been really coming along as a freshman. She is getting more confidence the more she wrestles. Everybody is improving, and that is what we wanted. We didn’t have a full lineup due to the honor choir and illness, but things are looking good.”

The EV/TC team will return to action on January 26, when they head to Hyvee Hall in Des Moines for the 2024 Super Regional Tournament.

Coach Hester wants his team to remember, “One match at a time. One situation at a time. Hopefully we can chip our way in.”