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Three Connecticut wrestlers win medals at Junior and 16U nationals in Fargo

Connecticut’s Kayla Batres, left, Calli Gilchrist, center, and Sarah Henckel each won medals  and All-American honors at the USA Wrestling Junior and 16U nationals Sunday in Fargo. (Photo courtesy Sarah Jadach)

Three Connecticut wrestlers earned All-American honors on Sunday at USA Wrestling’s Junior and 16 and under national championship tournament at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota.

Southbury’s Sarah Henckel went to the championship match for the second time in three years but fell to Illinois’ Valerie Hamilton, 3-0 in the title match at 145 pounds in the Junior freestyle tournament.

Milford’s Kayla Batres finished second in the 16U freestyle tournament at 112 pounds while Norwalk’s Calli Gilchrist took third at 120 pounds in the Junior freestyle event.

Thirteen girls from Connecticut competed in the two freestyle tournaments – 16 and under and Junior. Connecticut finished 14th in the Junior freestyle tournament with 35 points.

Henckel, who attends Blair Academy in Blair, N.J., won six straight matches to earn a spot in the finals. She got a takedown with 23 seconds left in the match to beat Illinois’ Sydney Perry in the semifinals.

Hamilton got a key takedown in the first period and maintained control throughout the match.

Hamilton, who was named the outstanding wrestler of the tournament, became the first girl to win USA Wrestling’s Triple Crown in Junior freestyle. She also won the Girls High School Showcase tournament in Las Vegas in April and the Folkstyle national championship meet in March.

Henckel earned her third medal in Fargo. She was third in Junior at 152 a year ago and won the 16U title at 138 in 2022.

Batres, who attends Greens Farms Academy in Westport, won her first five matches win a pin and three technical falls to secure a spot in the championship match. Batres got a takedown with 1:21 left in the match to beat Michigan’s Nakayla Dawson in the semifinals, 3-0.

In the final, Batres fell to New Jersey’s Charlie Wylie, 8-0. A year ago, Batres beat Wylie in the quarterfinals in this tournament at 106 pounds. A year ago, Batres also finished second.

Gilchrist, who wrestles at Choate-Rosemary Hall, earned All-American honors for the fourth time to become the third Team Connecticut wrestler to achieve that milestone.

Gilchrist went 7-1 at 120 pounds. She dropped a 12-9 decision to Pennsylvania’s Savannah Witt in the semifinals. Witt rallied from a 7-2 deficit after one period with a strong second period. Witt’s takedown with 21 seconds left turned a one-point lead into a three-point advantage.

Gilchrist, who finished with three pins and three technical falls, had a pair of pins in the consolation round. She pinned Florida’s Milana Borrelli in 1:59 in the consolation semifinal and pinned California’s Shayna Ward in the consolation final in 1:24.

The last Team Connecticut wrestler to win four medals in Fargo was Plymouth’s Sara Broadus, who won five from 2015-18. Vermont’s Erin Clodgo (2005-08) was also a four-time placewinner in Fargo with a pair of Junior Division championships, according to tournament historian Jason Bryant. She lived in Vermont but wrestled with Team Connecticut.

Milford’s Selena Batres (106) won two matches in the 16U tournament while Sybella Landrie of Berlin went 3-2 at 110 points with two pins in the Junior freestyle tournament.

2024 Junior and 16U national championship results and brackets (FloArena)

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of Connecticut Wrestling Online. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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