By Garth Shanklin
The News Democrat
West Union’s girls wrestling team started the season with a strong performance at Western Brown’s Hammer and Anvil tournament on Saturday, December 3.
The Lady Dragons finished sixth in the team standings with 66 points. Harrison won the team title with 137.5. A total of 35 schools competed in the event.
Scotlyn Adams placed second in the 105-pound class. Adams pinned Western Brown’s Ashley O’Hara in 2:41 in her first match then defeated Taylor’s Isabella Savage via pin in 1:41 to advane to the finals.
Harrison’s Chloe Dearwester, the top overall seed, pinned Adams in 57 seconds in that match.
Leena Blanton won the 130-pound title for the Lady Dragons.
Blanton pinned Taylor’s Savannah Young in 32 seconds in her first match. She then pinned Norwood’s Kenji Smith in 1:03 to advance to the semifinals.
In the semifinals against Clermont Northeastern’s Janelle Donahue, Blanton earned a spot in the championship bout with a pin in 1:50.
Another pin of top-seeded Jocelynn Malone in the championship match in 1:57 clinched the championship for the West Union junior.
Alexia Cowan took third overall for the Lady Dragons at 235 pounds.
Cowan won her first match via pin in 1:07 against Brush’s Le’Naysia Dickson. In the quarterfinals, she pinned New Richmond’s Shayne Manning in 2:49 to advance to the semifinals.
Greeneview’s Karlie Harlow pinned Cowan in 1:23 in the semifinal bout, dropping the Lady Dragon sophomore to the consolation bracket.
In her first consolation match, Cowan pinned Fairfield’s Analosa Curtis in 2:03 to advance to the third-place match. She quickly pinned Batavia’s Kiara Martin in 14 seconds for the win.
The Lady Dragons are scheduled to return to the mats on Thursday, December 22 at Harrison High School in the Shelly Ruberg Classic.