By Jayden Mies
Freelance contributor
Special to the Tribune

With their regular season tournaments recently ending, the Pratt High School girls’ wrestling team had been preparing for the annual Central Kansas League tournament and their regional contest. These two tournaments brought immense success for the Lady Greenbacks, including several state qualifiers.

First, Pratt traveled to Smoky Valley on Thursday, February 6 for the annual Central Kansas League tournament, which featured all the teams from their conference. Pratt took nine girls to this tournament, who were all determined to take the title.

First was Riley Hembree, who wrestled in 110 lbs. She had an overall record of 1-2 but was still able to place third in her weight class with a last round pin. She scored nine team points. Following her was Gabriella Cervantes in the 120 lbs. division. She posted an undefeated 3-0 record on the day, which gave her the individual championship for her class. She tallied two pins and won the championship by a major decision of 10-0. Cervantes racked up 19 team points.

Gracelyn Hembree was able to claim the championship title in the 125 lbs. division with a dominant 4-0 performance. Hembree pinned her first two opponents in under a minute, and

followed those up with two more pins, with the championship match ending in 1:20. In total, she scored 22.5 points for the Lady Greenbacks.

Wendy Candia had a perfect day in the 130 lbs. division. In total, she went 5-0 with all five of her wins being by fall. Even more impressive was the fact that her longest match was only three minutes long. Thanks to Candia, Pratt added 24 more points to their team total.

Adreanna Garcia-Pedroza competed hard in the 135 lbs. class. She posted a 2-3 record in this tough division, with both of those victories being pins. She placed third and scored 11 team points. Following her were Brylee Richardson and Miranda Webb, who competed in 140 lbs. and 145 lbs. respectively. First, Richardson only wrestled in two matches, going 1-1 but placing second in her class, scoring 4 team points. Webb was the team’s fourth individual champion, as she won both of her matches with two quick pins. She scored 9 points for Pratt.

Last was Jade Baker in 155 lbs. She ended the day with a 3-1 record, beating her first two by fall but unfortunately losing the third to a tough opponent from Haven. However, Baker bounced back in the fifth round and was able to win by injury default to claim second place. She tallied 16 points for the Lady Greenbacks.

With these performances, Pratt claimed the 2025 CKL title, scoring 124.5 total points. This was 30 more than second place Smoky Valley. The girls were able to utilize this momentum in their next contest, which was the 2025 4A West Regional Tournament at McPherson on Friday, February 14.

This tournament featured 30 total teams with some of the best wrestlers across the state of Kansas. However, Pratt was determined to have a repeat performance from the CKL tournament. They did just that, as the Lady Greenbacks were able to take the 2025 regional title with a total of 162 team points.

This was due to several stellar performances from the Lady Greenback wrestlers. The first placer was Creadick, who ended up in fourth place in 115 lbs. She scored 18 team points for Pratt. After her was Cervantes, who had a long day in a tough 120 lbs. class. She placed eighth in that division, and she scored 8 team points.

Gracelyn Hembree was next in 125 lbs. She continued her undefeated season up until the championship match, where she met another undefeated wrestler from Clay Center. Hembree lost in a major decision to finish second in her class, but she tallied 26 points.

Speaking of undefeated seasons, Candia was able to maintain hers with a perfect performance in 130 lbs. After receiving a bye, she pinned all four of her opponents to claim the individual championship. She scored 32 points for the Lady Greenbacks.

Garcia-Pedroza fought hard in 135 lbs., as she was able to go 2-2 and score 7 points. Richardson was next, who competed in 140 lbs. She claimed fourth place with a 3-2 record, including two pins. She scored 16 points for Pratt.

Pratt’s other individual champion in this tournament was Webb. In 145 lbs., she went a perfect 4-0 after receiving a bye. This included an exciting 4-1 win in the championship match against a tough Marysville opponent. Webb tallied 30 total team points.

Baker wrestled in 155 lbs. for the Lady Greenbacks and performed very well. After wrestling in a total of 7 matches, she placed fifth and scored 17 points for the team. Other wrestlers who competed were Jadynn Ruddock, Riley Hembree, and Elizabeth Stimatze, who added a combined 8 points to the team’s total.

With these results, Pratt will be sending seven wrestlers to the state tournament. These are Candia, Webb, Hembree, Creadick, Richardson, Baker, and Cervantes. They will travel to Salina for the 4A State Tournament over Friday, February 28 – Saturday, March 1.