CEDAR RAPIDS – Hailey Kemper has learned a valuable lesson in reckoning.
The Lady Hound sophomore beat two wrestlers who had beaten her multiple times earlier this year as she worked her way through the 100 lb .bracket at the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s Region 5 state qualifier in Cedar Rapids.
Kemper rolled through the 10-girl bracket without a loss avenging two first-round pins earlier this year at the hands of Mid-Prairie junior Gabi Robertson (32-5), who was the top seed at Friday’s event.
“I’ve gone against her twice and she beat both times so I did not expect to win that match,” Kemper said.
“It’s really crazy up here. From the moment we walked in here and saw the whole arena, it was something we just weren’t used to. So, it was really cool.”
Fort Madison Head Coach Kyle Doherty said the win would give Kemper at least a top six seed at Thursday's IGHSAU State Tournament at the Xtreme Arena in Coralville. The union hosted six regionals and the top four girls from each regional advancing. But he said she could break the top four depending on seeding criteria.
“Getting two pins there in the final two tough rounds, I would think she’d be a top four seed going in.” he said.
“We have a webinar on Sunday and I’ll have more information then, but she wrestled very well today and she should be in the top four.”
Kemper (18-8) got two byes to start the day coming in as the No. 2 seed in her weight class. She then ran up against Terranae Wyatt (14-16) of Cedar Rapids Kennedy in the quarters.
Kemper scored a 2-point take down 46 seconds into the match for the only points of the first period, but then racked up six more in the second period on two near falls. She was penalized for locking her hands twice in the period and carried a 8-2 lead into the final period.
Wyatt scored a quick takedown in the third period, but Kemper scored a two-point reversal and turned it into a pin for the win up 10-4.
The win moved her into the semifinals where she met up with Abigail Kennis (22-11) of Bettendord. Kennis scored a takedown 15 seconds from the start whistle, but Kemper would battle under Kennis for about 30 seconds before catching Kennis off-guard and rolling her into a pin to move to the finals against Robertson.
In the title match, the two girls went through a scoreless first period measuring each other and battling Kemper’s recurring bloody noses. Kemper would start down for the second period and work an escape just over half way through the period. She was given a warning for stalling, but Doherty said that was better than risking Robertson’s sweep.
With the penalty the girls were tied at 1 and then scored a 2-point take down, which Robertson would escape from 20 seconds later. Kemper would carry a 3-2 lead into the final period. Robertson would escape from her down start and then capitalize with a quick 2-point take down seven seconds later to take a 5-3 lead.
The match worked its way to the left edge of the circle where Kemper worked a nifty reversal when Robertson lost a grip. Kemper was able to roll the move into a package right on the circle and get the pin and the title. After getting her hand raised she ran over and gave Doherty a hug as the first ever Fort Madison girl to qualify for the state wrestling tournament.
She said despite having to stop three times for a bloody nose, she kept her focus
“I wasn’t thinking about that, just the end result. I knew I wanted to beat her and I wanted to give them an upset,” she said.
“This feels really good to be the first girl to go to state from our school.”
Doherty said he was proud of how Kemper handled herself considering two of the three girls she wrestled had beat her during the season.
“She had gotten a look at that Bettendorf girl, and that girl is really, really good. So coming out and getting a win over her was big. Gabi had beaten her - pinned her - every single time in the first round so for her to go out and wrestle in a close and action-packed first period and keeping it close was great. And then in the second period getting some momentum going into the final period was just huge.”
Doherty said Robertson likes to sweep so he told Kemper to not get into that trap.
“That was a good match and I was fine with her getting a penalty for stalling because it kept her out of Robertson’s sweep, and then she was able to score on her after that.”
But as is the case at most qualifiers, the sweet also comes with a little bitter.
Freshman Mara Smith took 5th place in the 130 lb division, just one place out of qualifying for state. With the 5th place win, Smith earned a possibility of a wrestleback for fourth place, but Bettendorf’s Alexys Peterson knocked off Iowa City High senior Claire Brown (21-4). Brown had beaten Smith in the semifinals and if she had won the title, Smith would have earned a shot to wrestle for fourth place. Smith watched Peterson get the win two mats away and saw her state hopes dashed.
Sadie Brandon (11-14) advanced to the 5th place match but fell to Benton Community’s Jessa DeMoss (21-11) to get sixth place overall in the 12-girl field. She wrestled six matches on the day and went 3-3.
Fort Madison was a high as 10th place overall in team scoring in the 25-team field, but finished at 13 with 78 points.
Complete results of all eight Fort Madison wrestlers can be found at the following link: https://www.trackwrestling.com/predefinedtournaments/MainFrame.jsp?newSession=false&TIM=1674884764518&pageName=%2Fpredefinedtournaments%2FTeamResults.jsp&twSessionId=dtpucxzgjb
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