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Breaking barriers: Merrill Varsity female wrestlers shine on the mat

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Westby High School competition

The Merrill Girls Wrestling Team traveled to Westby High School for a competition on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. “The team fared well,” said Scott Arneson, Head Coach for the Merrill Girls Varsity Wrestling Team. “As a team, they were able to unofficially score the most points as a team—so if team points were scored, they would have been first. Also as a team, their record was approximately 38-13. It was neat to watch the girls pull together and cheer for each other.”
“Some team highlights—Marissa Miles’ sweet arm spin, Natalia Woller’s comeback OT win over a wrestler that had beaten her earlier this season, Bryanna Doerr’s two ‘perfect’ sweep singles, and Merin Yates’ ‘I had her scared moment.’”

Individual results:
• Natalia Woller 3-0, Kendell Klug 5-0, and Kaylynn Allen 5-0 all finished in first place
• Merin Yates 4-1, Marissa Miles 2-1, Adison Clark 4-1 & Madlyn Hunter 4-1 were all 2nd place finishers
• Liberty Fuchs 4-1 took third place
• Bryanna Doerr 2-3 took sixth place
• Shelby Yates 3-2 and Gracie Vanvuren 2-3 - both took seventh place
“The Merrill Lady Jays Wrestling Team has been busy thus far in January, and they won’t be slowing down any time soon,” Arneson said.

Tomahawk dual

On Thursday, Jan. 23, the Merrill Girls Varsity Wrestling Team traveled to Tomahawk High School where they “got to make history again by competing in the ‘first ever’ dual meet against Tomahawk,” Arneson said. “By the Merrill coaches only, it was called the Northern Wisconsin River Rumble, but no matter the name, Lincoln County wrestling fans got to see a great match.”
“The only negative is the girls missed the great match going on in Merrill with the Boys wrestling Marshfield to a tie,” he said.
“A big thank you goes out to Coach Garrou and staff, Ryan Flynn the AD, and the Tomahawk community for offering the opportunity to compete and help promote the growth of women’s wrestling,” Arneson said. “The dual meet was back and forth, and the crowd got to enjoy a great battle between the Lady Hatchets and the Lady Jays. Merrill was able to sneak out the win 37-27.”
“They have a great group of girls with about 30 on their team,” he said. “Bob Garrau and staff are doing a great job with their girls program which has been growing the past few years.”
“The TEAM of 12 that represented Merrill High School Varsity were: 100 pounds Natalia Woller, 107 Madlyn Hunter, 114 Gracie Vanvuren, 120 Lauren Hoffman, 126 Kendall Klug, 132 Adi Clark, 138 Kaylynn Allen, 145 Bryanna Doerr, 152 Liberty Fuchs, 165 Marissa Miles, 185 Merin Yates, and 235 Shelby Yates,” Arneson said. “The TEAM (Together Everyone Accomplishes More) competed with high energy, great enthusiasm, and awesome effort.”
“The weather sure has been cold, but the Girls Wrestling Team is on fire!” he said. “Ok, they have been wrestling well.”

Saint Croix Falls tournament

The very next day, on Friday, Jan. 24, the girls were at Saint Croix Falls High School for a huge team competition. “With little rest, the girls enjoyed a 3.5-hour bus ride one-way to Saint Croix Falls High School to compete in the 30-team individual (bracketed style) tournament,” Arneson said. “This is the first double-elimination style tournament the girls wrestled in.”
“It came at a great time, because it will be the same style for the WIAA Regional and Sectional Tournaments coming up,” he said. “This was a high-level tournament which included some teams from Minnesota. All but one of the girls took a loss on the day, but their ability to persevere, shake off losses, and continue to fight for the next highest individual place earned the TEAM a ‘well-deserved’ third place finish.”

Individual results for the Saint Croix Falls Tournament:
100 - Natalia Woller - 1-2
100 - Madlyn Hunter - 6th place - 3-2
114 - Gracie Vanvuren - 0-2
120 - Lauren Hoffman - 5th place - 4-1
126 - Kendall Klug - 5th place - 4-1
132 - Adi Clark - 7th place - 3-2
138 - Kaylynn Allen - 5th place - 4-1
145 - Bryanna Doerr - 0-2
165 - Marissa Miles - 3rd place - 3-1
185 - Merin Yates - Champion - 4-0
235 - Shelby Yates - 3rd Place - 3-1
Team Results:
Merrill took third place out of 30 teams

An open invitation

“We still have room for girls looking to be part of the excitement of Merrill Women’s Wrestling,” Arneson said. “We are getting in shape, we are getting stronger, drilling good technique, and we are becoming a better team as well as individuals—one step at a time.”
“The coaching staff would like to thank all the parents for supporting our team and allowing us to coach their daughters,” he said. “We’d also like to thank Merrill Area Public Schools and Mr. Chris Hahn for allowing us to start a women’s wrestling team this season. The positive support we have from the parents, the school, and the community will definitely help us reach our goal to be one of the top girls wrestling TEAMS in the state—in the near future.

Next up for the Merrill Girls Wrestling Team:

• Another individual-style double-elimination bracket tournament at Eau Claire North on Saturday, Feb. 1
• A home tournament on Friday, Feb. 7, at Prairie River Middle School
• Merrill hosts the WIAA Girls Regional Tournament on Friday, Feb. 14, at Merrill High School
“Come out and see the girls compete,” Arneson said. “Don’t forget we have our Middle School 30-team meet at the high school on Friday, Jan. 31. and Saturday, Feb. 1. Merrill hosts our Junior Jay K-8 Tournament. You can definitely find some wrestling matches to watch in the next two weeks in Merrill.”

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