ST. PAUL — Due to health problems in the past, the mother of Mayo's Jerriona Marshall had not been able to watch her daughter wrestle live.
That was true until Saturday at the MSHSL state girls wrestling tournament.
And Marshall made it count.
The Mayo sophomore came home with a state medal after pinning Apple Valley's Lily Wolke to place third at 235 pounds in the MSHSL girls wrestling state tournament on Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center.
It was a moment Marshall and her family won't forget anytime soon.
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"I'm just so happy they were able to be here and watch me," Marshall said. "So, so happy."
Marshall won her Saturday morning quarterfinal by a 1-0 decision before getting pinned in her semifinal. Yet, she bounced back against Wolke, who she beat for the Section 1-2 title a few weeks ago in Hastings.
"She's a great wrestler and a great competitor," Marshall said.
Still, Marshall didn't let that match dictate her mindset heading into the rematch.
"She's a great wrestler," Marshall said. "So I didn't know what to expect. I just had to keep doing what I have been doing this whole time."
Utilizing her position on top to start the third, Marshall was able to use her patented strength, utilizing her positioning.
"Never could did I think this was possible," Marshall said.
Other medalists — excluding state finalists on the girls side — were Pine Island freshman Lauren Elsmore, who placed third at 100 for her second consecutive state medal after placing second last year; and GMLOS' Mackenzie Armagost (126) and FCLMC junior Katie Whealan (185), each placing fifth.
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Class A boys
After a great day on Friday, Section 1A kept the momentum going on Saturday.
Not including state finalists, eight from the section came home with state medals on Saturday.
Dover-Eyota and Kenyon-Wanamingo each led the way with three on podium.
D-E's Bolton Thesing placed fourth at 132, Landon Lehnertz placed sixth at 170 and Tyler Mix finished sixth at 195.
For K-W, Gavin Johnson placed third at 132 with a 6-0 win by decision, Jaedin Johnson placed fourth at 170 and Will Van Epps placed fifth at 220.
Caledonia/Houston's Owen Denstad beat Thesing for third by a major decision, while Cory Scanlan continued his stellar wrestling with a sixth-place finish at 138.
St. Charles senior Tytan Small was 15 seconds away from third, before a late takedown from his opponent Matthew Haley of Jackson County Central with under 5 seconds left saw Small place fourth. It's his second consecutive state medal after placing fifth a year ago.
Chatfield junior Gage Bartels battled a foot injury to place sixth at 126.
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Class AA boys
In Class AA, not including finalists, four from the area found themselves on the podium.
Zumbrota-Mazeppa's Kaleb Lochner and Kasson-Mantorville's Luke Swanson met for what felt like the 10th time this year, this one in the third-place match at 152. Lochner secured a takedown in a third overtime for sudden victory, landing him third overall. Swanson was fourth.
Lochner's teammate Jack Krier brought home his third-consecutive state medal with a fifth-place finish at 126.
Byron's Carter Geerts ended his career with a pin to place third at 285.
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