Bulldog Sports Recap

The fall semester flew by and the winter sports season has already started. Here is your KPGZ Bulldog Sports Recap:

Boys Wrestling

On Wednesday, November 30, a shorthanded Boys Wrestling team traveled to Grain Valley to take on the Eagles. Despite having 5 opens on the night, the boys competed well and kept the team score close until the very end. The final team score: Grain Valley 42 - Kearney 28.

Picking up key wins for the Bulldogs include:

  • 113 Ryder Shelton WBD 9-4

  • 138 Brennan Green WBF

  • 157 Braddock Dillon WBF

  • 190 Jak Gist WBMD 9-0

  • 215 Jase Jackson WBD 7-1

Girls Wrestling

The Girls Wrestling squad season opened their season on Wednesday, November 30, against the Grain Valley Eagles. The girls came out strong from the start and ran away with a 72-12 victory.

The dual began at 135, with Kearney Junior Savannah McDowell getting the second-period pin after trailing early in the match. It was all downhill for the Eagles from there. Seniors Elise Arellano and Hailey Romero both registered first-period pins.

Sophomore returning state medalist, Bailey Martin, was in a high-octane physical match with the crowd on their feet. She dominated from start to finish over a very good opponent, winning by second-period pin.

Girls Swim and Dive

The Girls Swim and Dive season began on Thursday, December 1, against Winnetonka, Staley, Oak Park, Northtown, and St. Pius. The girls had a great showing and threw down some fast times. Here are the highlights.

200 Medley Relay - Malia Fairchild, Jillian Bonderer, Amelia Byers, and Claire Woehrman showed out and earned a state consideration time of 2:17.57 and came in 4th.

200 Freestyle - Elizabeth Demers was Kearney's sole competitor in this event and she earned a 3rd place finish with a time of 2:59.26.

200 IM - Jillian Bonderer placed 3rd, Malia Fairchild placed 4th, Amelia Byers placed 5th, Kelsey Eise placed 7th,  and Jaycie Davis placed 8th with times of 2:53.45, 2:53.86, 2:56.40, 3:17.58, and 3:39.99 respectively.

Diving - Kearney had 2 divers compete last night. Anna Williams placed 3rd with a score of 174.40 and Hailey Thorpe placed 11th with a score of 102.45.

100 Butterfly - Amelia Byers got a 4th place finish with a time of 1:26.62

500 Freestyle - The Bulldogs earned a lot of points in this event as two team captains got the gold and silver. Claire Woehrman posted a time of 6:24.34 and Ruby Dunn posted a time of 6:37.55. Elizabeth Demers earned a 5th place finish as well with a time of 7:49.09.

200 Freestyle Relay - The A team relay comprised of Ava Gable, Kelsey Eise, Elizabeth Demers, and Malia Fairchiled came in 4th with a time of 2:14.26.

100 Backstroke - Claire Woehrman came in 6th place with a time of 1:13.87. Malia Fairchild swam a time of 1:19.31 to earn a 7th place finish. Adelynn McCourt and Hailey Thorpe placed 12th and 13th respectively with times of 1:28.28 and 1:29.60

100 Breaststroke - Ava Gable posted a time of 1:26.08 to earn 6th place. Ruby Dunn and Jillian Bonderer placed 8th and 9th with times of 1:29.51 and 1:29.53. Kelsey Eise came in at 11th, Grace Thurnston came in at 15th, and Emmy Dibben placed 16th.

400 Freestyle Relay - The relay made up of team captains (Ruby Dunn, Jillian Bonderer, Amelia Byers, and Claire Woehrman) placed 3rd with a time of 4:39.53

KPGZ Sports - Brian Watts contributed to this story