The two wrestlers who beat Savannah Bratten at the Class 2 state tournament had 89 wins between them. Everyone else, the Republic freshman handled herself. Bratten placed fourth at 125 pounds, scoring 18 team points in her first trip to state.
Bratten pinned Eureka’s Amara Vanderhoof in 3:35 in the opening round, then needed just 60 seconds to pin Liberty’s Angel Patton in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals. That semifinal appearance made Bratten one of the first three Republic girls to reach the state semis, with all three competing in back-to-back-to-back matches at 115, 120, and 125 pounds.
“Being one of the first girls to make it to the semis — that was very fun. I was very proud of myself for that,” Bratten said.
Northwest’s Amelia Robison pinned Bratten in the semifinal at 5:12. Bratten bounced back with a fall over Grandview’s Yomara Gutierrez in 4:10 in the consolation semifinal, then lost the third-place match by fall to Francis Howell’s Anna Bowles at 4:18.
Coach Eric Nolan said Bratten was close to reaching the finals.
“Savannah was right there. She had a chance,” Nolan said. “She battled and came up a little short, but she showed a lot of grit and determination to battle back and win in that consolation semifinal and put herself in position to wrestle for third place.”
Bratten said the team atmosphere carried the Republic wrestlers through the weekend.
“It was amazing. Everybody was supportive of everyone,” she said. “Even the girls that didn’t make it to state, that didn’t make it through districts — they were always supportive of everyone who made it.”
As a freshman, Bratten said she’s already looking at what comes next.
“I still have things to improve on. I have lots of things to improve on, because I’m so young,” she said. “I need to feel and wrestle like I’m old out there, instead of wrestling young.”
125 Class 2 — Savannah Bratten (29-3), 4th place, 18.0 team points
Champ. Round 1: Bratten fall Amara Vanderhoof (Eureka), 3:35
Quarterfinal: Bratten fall Angel Patton (Liberty), 1:00
Semifinal: Amelia Robison (Northwest) fall Bratten, 5:12
Cons. Semi: Bratten fall Yomara Gutierrez (Grandview), 4:10
3rd Place: Anna Bowles (Francis Howell) fall Bratten, 4:18
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