OKLAHOMA CITY — Lake County’s two medalists at the CIF State Girls Wrestling Championships last month came away with fourth-place medals on the national stage Saturday as the USA Wrestling/USMC Girls Folkstyle Nationals concluded its two-day run at Oklahoma City.
California champion Adriana Lopez of Upper Lake High School went 6-2 at 122 pounds, her final match a 3-2 loss to Team California teammate Monica Garcia in the battle for third place.
California runner-up Jasmin Clarke of Kelseyville High School also finished 6-2 in the 180-pound division, including a 1-0 loss to Brianna Staebler of Team Wisconsin in the third-place match.
While the two most decorated girls wrestlers in Lake County’s history each finished fourth, the journey they took to reach that third-place match was quite different.
Clarke, who a month ago entered the CIF State Championships unseeded in the 189-pound division and went on to pull off upset after upset while advancing to the finals, put herself on the brink of elimination early on when she was pinned by Kamilla Montengro of Team Nevada in her first match Friday.
One loss away from a quick tournament exit, Clarke ran off an impressive string of victories Saturday — six straight — before losing to Staebler by the slimmest of margins in the third-place match. After being bounced into the consolation bracket, Clarke pinned Brynlee Goodvoice of Team Oklahoma, pinned Natalia Villegas of Team Texas, beat Daniella Seely of Team Texas by 4-1 decision, beat Sarah Sams of Team Colorado by 5-1 decision, beat Rayana Vigil of Team New Mexico by 1-0 decision, and beat Faith Tuttle of Team Minnesota by 4-2 decision.
Lopez, a three-time state medalist in California, pinned each of her first three opponents to reach the 122-pound quarterfinals. After beating Jaryn Strong of Team Indiana, Starr Davis of Team Texas and Brelane Huber of Team Idaho, Lopez was pinned by Mary Harrell of Team Missoui, a loss that left an especially bad taste in her mouth, according to her coach and dad, Jose Fernandez.
“Her quarter match was hard to watch,” Fernandez said. “She pinned herself while doing a near side cradle. That’s the second time this season she has pinned herself.”
Lopez battled back with three straight wins to reach the third-place match. She scored a 6-5 decision over Team California teammate Elysia Urrea, won a 6-2 decision against another of her Team California teammates, Melanie Mendoza, then beat Autumn Teague of Team Michigan 7-2.
Clarke and Lopez, both seniors, will continue wrestling at the collegiate level once they graduate from high school later this spring. Clarke is headed to Life University in Marietta, Georgia, while Lopez will attend Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky.
