Lindner wins title at inaugural GNC/WVC girls’ tourney

Rhinelander junior Cassidy Lindner cemented herself as part of history in the blossoming sport of girls’ wrestling on Friday.

Lindner went 4-0 with three pins and a technical fall to win the championship at 120 pounds in the inaugural Great Northern/Wisconsin Valley Conference meet in Medford. 

Lindner (41-5) rolled through her matches and was one of 12 girls who earned the honor of being called a first-ever conference champion.

“A year ago, when I first started wrestling, I never would have thought that we would have a conference, or that I would be here, so it’s pretty crazy,” she said afterward.

“I think it’s very, very exciting for her to be the first girl in Rhinelander wrestling history to win a combined conference championship,” Hodag coach Caleb Radtke added. “I think she’s very excited about it and hopefully brings some of that excitement home with her, and helps recruit some more girls out for next year.”

    Rhinelander’s Cassidy Lindner looks to put Wisconsin Rapids’ Addison Morin to her back during the inaugural GNC/WVC conference tournament in Medford Friday, Feb. 6. (Matt Frey/Star News)
  

Lindner had a dominant night as she rolled through pool play with first-period pins over D.C. Everest’s Julie Vang, Wisconsin Rapids’ Addison Morin and eventual third-place finisher Cadence Thompson of Tomahawk. 

That put her in the championship match against Marshfield’s Logann Boon. Lindner dominated that too, shutting out Boon en route to a technical fall midway through the second period. 

“My early on matches were pretty quick, kind of got me warmed up for the night, but then once I got going in the third and fourth round, I really got to try out some new things and see what I’ve learned throughout the season to get me here,” Lindner said.

“She really opened up, let it fly tonight and that was exciting to see,” Radtke added. “That’s something we’ve been kind of working on. She’s been a little tense the last few weeks wrestling. And tonight she just opened up and we saw the saw results of that.”

Lindner was one of three girls who competed for the Hodags on Friday as they finished 10th overall in the 13-team meet. Both Skylar Leitl and Miranda Daab went winless on the night to finish sixth in their brackets. Leitl had a close call in the fifth-place match at 152, losing to D.C. Everest’s Kalie Dement 1-0. Daab was pinned in all three of her matches at 235.

“They both fought hard. this is a very tough conference with the GNC and Valley. Very good teams here, very, very good girls. They both battled,” Radtke said. 

Tournament play for the Hodags begins this coming Friday with WIAA regionals in Merrill. The top two finishers in each weight class will advance to the sectional round Feb. 20 at D.C. Everest.

“For the most part, it’ll be a repeat of what we saw tonight. So a lot of familiar names, a lot of familiar faces,” Radtke said. “I think the girls are ready though, especially Cassidy. Cassidy will be ready.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].