February 27, 2023 at 1:00 p.m.
Hodags' Swanson takes 3rd at state wrestling
Hodags' Swanson takes 3rd at state wrestling
After dropping her first match at state, Swanson marched thought the wrestleback, earning three pins and then a decision to walk out of the Kohl Center in Madison with a third-place finish at 185 pounds in the second-annual WIAA girls' state wrestling tournament.
Swanson fell by 2-1 decision to eventual state champion Ella Creighton of Badger in the first round before rallying back to place two spots higher than she did last year in the inaugural girls' state tournament.
"It's kind of bittersweet," Swanson said after winning the third-place match Saturday afternoon. "It's cool that I made it higher than last year, but I didn't win it, which was my goal."
Despite not achieving her ultimate goal, RHS girls' wrestling coach Eric Gobin said Swanson's achievements were still something to be proud of.
"Not only was she Rhinelander's first girls' state place winner, but she did it back-to-back," he said. "She's the first and second, so it's really kind of cool her ending her high school career here as a two-time state placer."
Swanson and Creighton were tied 0-0 after two periods in their opening round match. Swanson chose the neutral position after Creighton deferred the choice in the second period. Neither wrestler scored in that period and Creighton chose to work from the bottom in the third period. Creighton reversed Swanson midway through the period to go ahead 2-0. Creighton was penalized for stalling, and Swanson was awarded a point, late in the third period, but Swanson could never get away from Creighton to tie it, or get a reversal to win it.
"I was trying to ride her out and maybe get some near fall points or pin her, but she was working her bottom stuff and she got a reversal," Swanson said. "I don't know, that was my bad ... I was super disappointed afterward."
Creighton was seeded eighth and Swanson was ninth based on a computer formula used by the WIAA to set the field for the weight class. As it turned out, it was a matchup fit for much later in the tournament. Creighton pinned every other opponent she faced on the way to the state title.
"She was battling really hard on her feet, hand fighting," Gobin said. "I think when you get to (high) caliber wrestlers kind of like that but are battling for position and it kind of comes down one or two points. Overall, I think she wrestled really smart, but that match very well could have been a finals match."
Swanson then had to wait out Creighton's quarterfinal match to see if she would even get a chance to wrestle again. Creighton needed to defeat top-seeded Arial Haemmerle of Winneconne for Swanson to get a second chance. Creighton obliged, stopping Haemmerle 3:31 into the quarterfinal bout.
"We watched her match, and I was really scared because she's wrestling the 1-seed," Swanson said. "I didn't know if she was going to win and when she ended up pinning her I was literally jumping up and down. I was so excited that I was able to wrestle again."
However, that meant Swanson had to face Haemmerle to start the consolation bracket. Haemmerle defeated Swanson at last year's state meet on her way to a third-place finish, but Swanson turned the tables in Friday morning's rematch, pinning Haemmerle 38 seconds into the third period.
"I have been wrestling her since I was like 10-ish and she's the one I lost to last year in the first round," Swanson said. "I was able to come back and beat her in a dominant fashion. That was really cool."
Swanson then stopped New Holstein's Mercedes Kohlman Friday afternoon to clinch a spot on the podium.
She pinned the No. 2 seed in the bracket, Bloomer/Colfax's Kendra Hamman to open Saturday's placement rounds before running into a familiar foe - Wausau West's Christiana Nordstrom - in the third-place match. Swanson pinned Nordstrom for the sectional title a week earlier in Shawano and won the rematch, 7-2.
"I was going to hit some flashy moves because I wanted some cool pictures," Swanson joked.
Both Gobin and Swanson said the decision by the WIAA to include the girls' individual state tournament with the boys was a positive move. The inaugural girls' state tournament was a standalone event in La Crosse.
"It was literally so much better than last year," Swanson said. "Last year was super empty. There were no spectators anywhere. It was really cool to wrestle alongside the boys in a better venue. It was really cool. It was hyped up."
Added Gobin, "It was really cool to showcase the sport of women's wrestling and getting to show off all these great athletes. I think it will be a pretty cool atmosphere in the finals with all three divisions and the girls mat as well."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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