By Marisa Dawson
The Bennington High School girls wrestling team put in strong performances across multiple events from January 5-10, highlighting both individual excellence and team resilience amid injuries and tough competition.
The week kicked off with standout results at the Seward JV Tournament, where Kamryn Tack claimed 1st place and Fae Hirsch earned 2nd. Coach Craig Pokorny noted the significance of the event: “In our first true JV tournament of the season, the girls wrestled hard. They have been preparing all season, while having very limited competition options alongside our duals, and now our JV schedule starts to ramp up.”
The highlight came at the highly competitive Norm Manstedt Invitational, regarded as one of the toughest in-state girls tournaments. Bennington finished 10th overall with 92 team points in a field stacked with top programs. Individual medalists included Mia Anderson (1st), Sabhana Thapa (4th), Katie Kos (4th), Addi Shippen (6th), and Sophia Crumly (6th).
“In Mia’s return to competition, she went right back to her pinning ways, pinning all 3 opponents in the first period. Those included the #7 and #2 ranked girls at her weight. In total, Mia spent less than 2 minutes on the mat,” Coach Pokorny said.
Katie Kos battled a brutal bracket: “Katie Kos faced a very tough field, facing the top 3 rated girls at her weight throughout the day. In the semifinals, she lost 4-2 to the #1 ranked girl in a close match where 1 mistake caused her to give up a takedown in what ended up being the deciding score. In her very next match, Katie won on a late comeback over the #3 ranked girl. In her medal match, Katie fell to the #2 ranked girl where she gave up two late period takedowns. Katie has been wrestling very well the last few tournaments while facing some of the top girls in the state.”
Sabhana Thapa and Addi Shippen delivered some of their best tournaments of the year, while Sophia Crumly picked up a notable win over the #1 ranked wrestler at 100 pounds despite facing all ranked opponents.
“Overall, I’m very proud of how all of the girls wrestled. This is the most medalists we’ve had at this tournament, and finishing top 10 is a strong accomplishment,” Coach Pokorny added.
On Saturday, the varsity squad competed in the EMC Girls Dual Tournament in Waverly, facing challenging matchups while dealing with injuries.
Dual results:
– Bennington 48, Gretna 30
– Bennington 36, Elkhorn 38
– Bennington 18, Blair 63
– Bennington 24, Waverly 51
“Going into Saturday, I knew we’d have tough duals, especially with needing to overcome a number of injuries that really affected our dual lineup. We took care of business in the first dual and nearly pulled off the win in the second. We were simply over matched in our last two duals,” Coach Pokorny said.
Highlights included Mia Anderson and Katie Kos going undefeated at 4-0, with Sabhana Thapa finishing 3-1.
The Bennington girls wrestling program continues to build momentum in a growing sport. Looking ahead, the team has a triangular against Millard South and Millard West on Tuesday, followed by the Schuyler Invite on Friday and the Schuyler JV event on Saturday.
With strong individual performances and a resilient team spirit, the Badgers are gearing up for an exciting stretch in the remainder of the 2025-26 season.
