outstanding regional performance to reach state, and she finished the campaign with a 16-15 record. “Last year showed some of these girls what is possible,” Auderer said. “Girls that might have those goals, they can see it’s possible.” The team has several other grap- plers with talent and experience as well. Senior Brooke Hamers piled up 16 wins a season ago and nar- rowly missed out on a trip to state. She dealt with a lingering shoulder injury throughout the 2022-23 sea- son, but is hopeful her health will cooperate during her senior season.
Hamers and classmates Jaedyn Henry, Breanna Angus, Madison Shannon, and Anna Steenhoek give the Tigers a good core of leaders, and all of them have ex- perience on the mat. Steenhoek won 20 matches a season ago. “All of those girls are doing a great job,” Auderer said. “You’ll have a few underclassmen that will speak up at times too, but those (seniors) have been crucial.” Auderer thinks several of his younger wrestlers have a chance to take a significant jump this winter. Emma Britcher, a sophomore, is
poised to improve upon the 15 wins she earned last winter. Au- brey Dunn, another sophomore, has a chance to improve upon her 11 wins as a freshman, and class- mate Tatum Heaberlin fits into that mix as well. “Tatum Heaberlin is going to show a lot of growth because she wrestled a lot in the offseason,” Auderer said. “She is by far the most improved wrestler.” Gilbert will also be aided by the additions of three wrestlers from the Roland-Story school district who will put on Tiger singlets this
winter. Makenna Springer, Chloe McGuigan, and Cece Wagner are all freshman, but all have talent, Auderer says. “They all just started wrestling in the last year, but they all seem to like it,” Auderer said. “They’ve bought into wrestling and they’re serious about it, and that’s awe- some for some of our new girls to see. They really set a good example as far as their work ethic.” One issue the Tigers are trying to sort out are the weight classes. With half of the team log-jammed into three weight classes between 115 and 125 pounds, Auderer says it will take some time to balance things out. “We have 13 girls at those three weights, so that’s a problem,” he said. “But there will be some movement.”
So far, so good.
In their first competition of the season at a triangular against Col- fax-Mingo and Carlisle, the Tigers went 1-1 and narrowly missed a sweep. After beating Colfax- Mingo, 42-36, the Tigers gave up a late lead in a 40-37 loss to Carlisle. Madison Shannon won two matches on the mat at the triangu- lar, as did Britcher and Heaberlin. Springer and Lizzie Mitchell both pinned an opponent. “We had some awesome wins,” Auderer said. If the early reports are any indi- cation, Year 2 will be just as suc- cessful as Year 1.
12 GAME ON | WINTER 2023-24
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