Shorewood Girls Wrestling finishes in Top 10 at State with three girls in top 5

State Medalists. L-R Abi Chishungu, Finley Houck, Libby Norton
Photo by Jeremy Tantrum

By Tricia Norton

Shorewood Girls Wrestling continued their winning ways at Mat Classic XXXV this weekend as three girls finished in the top 5. The Stormray girls finished in 9th place overall. Sophomores Finley Houck and Abi Chishungu placed 3rd at 110 and 190 lbs respectively. Junior Libby Norton placed 5th at 105 lbs.

After losing to the returning state champion and the regional champion, Libby Norton came back to take 5th place overall. Photo by Jeremy Tantrum.

The path to the podium included a match with the eventual champion for each wrestler. Norton faced 2x defending state champion Libby Roberts in the semi-finals. The loss forced Norton into the consolation bracket where she dropped a match against her regional finals opponent Rebecca Serrati, but came back in her medal match to take 5th place over Born of Curtis.

Finley Houck lost to the returning state champion, then won four in a row to place 3rd. Photo by Jeremy Tantrum

Houck’s first challenging match came in the quarterfinal where she faced returning state champion, undefeated Ashley Naranjo of Moses Lake. Houck successfully fended off a pin and even scored on Naranjo, losing in a major decision 11-2. Houck then stormed back winning 4 in a row to take 3rd place. Houck improved her finish over last year’s Mat Classic, where she placed 5th.

Abi Chishungu lost to the 1st place winner, then won her next two matches to finish 3rd.
Photo by Jeremy Tantrum

Abi Chishungu won her first two matches and then faced off with Tru Willis of Silas. Chishungu battled hard but was eventually pinned in the 3rd period by Willis, who ended the night in 1st place. Chishungu then won her next two matches to finish in 3rd place. Chishungu’s improvement over this season was clear as she jumped from a 7th place last year.

Junior Izzy Crave logged five team points for the Stormrays, winning two and losing two, ending a great season one win short of the medal rounds.

King's student Mak Kanzler, in blue, wrestles with Shorewood
Photo by Jeremy Tantrum

Senior Mak Kanzler, who attends King’s High School, qualified for his second state tournament as a second year wrestler. Mak won 3 matches, but lost his second just shy of the medal rounds.

“I am super proud of my wrestlers. I am very grateful to be coaching such a resilient and fun group of kids. I look forward to next season. We want to be in that trophy hunt for a top 4 team finish,” said Stormray head coach Derek Norton.