Schanz, Bosserman lead milestones for other girls wrestling champions

SALINA, Kan. (Catch it Kansas) - Mulvane sophomore Kammie Schanz was ranked No. 1 at 138 entering the Division II state tournament Friday at Tony’s Pizza Events Center. Schanz and Royal Valley’s Maya Ogden, both former state runner-ups, had undefeated records.

Like many others, Schanz believed the pair would meet in the finals. However, Ogden lost three times at state, including by four points to Circle senior Courtney Holt in the semifinals. Ogden eventually took sixth.

“I was pretty surprised,” Schanz said.

The upsets continued in other weight classes. The 138-pound final was the third to last of the 12 championship bouts. At 109, 115, 120, 132, 170, and 285, the No. 1-ranked wrestler didn’t win the state title – nor in some cases, even reach the final.

The biggest stunner came at 132, the match directly before Schanz faced Holt. In that match, Marysville senior Elise Rose, a former nationally ranked wrestler and undefeated versus girls this winter, had beaten Mission Valley freshman Hope Blake in the regional and sub-state finals the last two weeks. This time, Blake earned a takedown and held on for the one-point win.

A similar circumstance occurred with Schanz and Holt. Circle and Mulvane are 36 miles apart and head to many of the same tournaments, especially in the postseason. Schanz defeated Holt by major decision in the district championship and by fall in the regional and sub-state titles. Schanz was aware of the other matches and another battle with Holt.

“It could happen to anybody,’” she said. “It’s state. Anything can happen.”

However, Schanz again controlled the match and won by fall in 3 minutes, 55 seconds. In her last two Holt matches, Schanz won by fall in 4:47 and 4:20. Schanz knew she needed to work her shots after not doing so at sub-state.

“Focus on shooting, and she will get tired before I am,” Schanz said.

Schanz, who battled injury and COVID-19 this winter, completed a 19-0 season. She captured her first two matches by fall in 3:03 and 4:55. Schanz, Paola 126-pound senior Jordyn Knecht, and Buhler 235-pounder Emilie Schweizer led all of state with 26 individual points. Schanz became the first Mulvane girl state champion in school history. Holt went 12-13.

“She definitely got tougher,” Schanz said. “As we went on, I could hear her coaches telling her, set up her shot, you know what she is going to do. You know how her shot is going to look. You know what she is going to do to set up her shot.”

Schanz was part of a group of state champions that set a variety of milestones, whether for themselves, school or family. Schanz becomes the eighth all-time Mulvane wrestling champion and the sixth individual to accomplish the feat.

“The goal was to win state,” Schanz said. “I mean, I wanted a perfect season. That would be obviously ideal, but it was just to win state. I knew if I had lost something earlier at like districts or regionals, I knew it wouldn’t matter, because I was going to state.”

Baldwin won the team crown with 54.5 points. Pratt was second with 49 and Paola third at 46. Baldwin coach Kit Harris became the first Kansas wrestling coach to win boys’ and girls’ state titles.

Schanz played football for many years and was on the Mulvane football team as a freshman. If healthy, she is expected to participate in softball this spring. Mulvane tied for 12th on Friday and Schanz scored all of her team’s points.

“Our practices are harder than any match I’ve ever had, so I was prepared well,” she said.

At 101, Oakley sophomore Citori Bosserman, in her first trip to the state tournament, finished 27-1 and captured the title. She won three decisions, 7-0, 6-3, and 5-3 versus Fort Scott senior Nicole Montojo in the championship. Northwest Kansas is historically great in boys’ wrestling, and Bosserman became the first girls’ wrestling champion from the area.

This spring, Bosserman said she improved “a lot” on her feet and became better on top. Bosserman went to camps and has enjoyed the sport after she watched her brother wrestle – and wrestled against him at home. Bosserman credited Oakley coach Levi Younkin for helping her. Oakley’s Mikyah Cain (25-5) took third at 120.

“It was really cool coming out here and experiencing it,” Bosserman said. “Had a lot of fun. It was great, and I just really enjoyed all the new things.”

At 126, Knecht, widely considered the state’s best girls’ wrestler entering state, enjoyed a historically dominant tournament. Knecht has back-to-back perfect winters and went 36-0 this year.

She won by fall in 21 seconds in her first two matches. In the final, Knecht featured Winfield junior Mikayla Konrade, who was 22-0 entering the match. Knecht beat Konrade last year in the state quarterfinals, and knew she would shoot immediately. This time, Knecht won by fall in 17 seconds. At 170, Council Grove’s Jolie Ziegler won her second straight title.

“I was waiting for that,” Knecht said. “And then as I waited for that, as she got the leg, I just like side stepped. And waited for to keep ahold of it, and then locked up the cradle and pinned her.”

The tournament ended with a neat moment at 155. Ottawa senior Darby Weidl, a defending state runner-up, won 13-5 against Oskaloosa sophomore Allison King. Darby’s coach is her brother, Dalton.

They became the first-ever brother/sister duo to win wrestling state championships. Weidl finished 26-2. Dalton won his title in 2014, also at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center. On Friday, they re-created the same photo they had seven years ago. The only other Ottawa state wrestling champion is Erroll Hooper in 1975, per the kansashswrestling.com database.

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