Republic honored its seniors Thursday night and closed the home schedule with a sweep of Kickapoo, winning both the girls and boys duals on Senior Night.
The Lady Tigers built an early cushion and pulled away for a 54–18 win, picking up points in nine of the 14 weights and taking advantage of multiple open spots in the Kickapoo lineup. Republic recorded five falls and four forfeits on the night, scoring quickly and often to put the dual out of reach.
Reese Tate completed her match with a pin in just 23 seconds. Savannah Bratten and Gabby Shanks delivered back-to-back pins at 130 and 135 pounds, also in under a minute. Mabel Rogers, Millie Waterman, Ashleigh Dustin and Anna McBroom all added wins by forfeit. Rachel Clark and Bre-Elle Gutierrez also picked up forfeit victories. Kickapoo earned its points with falls at 170, 190 and 235 pounds.
The Republic boys followed with a dual win of their own, using a mix of pins and open weights to edge Kickapoo despite giving up several contested bouts. Republic benefited from forfeits at 132, 144, 150 and 285 pounds, and added falls from Kaiden Patterson at 157, Kameron Sutton at 165 and Ethan Montiel at 215.
Patterson and Sutton both ended their matches in under two minutes, and Montiel closed the night with a pin late in the second period. Kickapoo picked up points in the lower weights and again at 175 and 190, but Republic’s depth across the lineup proved enough to secure the team result.
After the duals, coach Eric Nolan reflected on the seniors from both programs.
“This group of girls, they’ve been a lot of fun to work with,” Nolan said. “Most of them—actually all but one, Anna McBroom—had never wrestled before high school… I really view them as crucial in establishing our culture, and that has led to us experiencing some recent success that we’ve enjoyed.”
Nolan credited the boys seniors with a similar role.
“There are a lot of those boys who have put in four years in this program,” he said. “I believe they’ve also played a big role in helping us establish a culture where winning is the expectation.”
Earlier in the week, Republic competed on the road at Waynesville, with the girls earning a 39–32 team win and the boys dropping a close decision.
For the Lady Tigers, Clark opened the night with a decision at 100 pounds, and Tate, Gutierrez, Rogers, Bratten, McBroom and Aara Shade all added wins. Bratten and McBroom both won by fall, while Shade and Tate scored forfeit victories to help Republic offset losses in the middle and upper weights.
On the boys side at Waynesville, Republic picked up wins from Aydan Walker, Bentley Packwood, Isaac Crowley, Keaton Overcast, Kameron Sutton, Izaiah Hull and Brentley Lahey. Walker and Crowley each won by fall, and Overcast and Hull earned technical falls to keep the dual competitive throughout the night.
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