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OMAHA - Color Evie Freeman gold as she became the first-ever Cedar Catholic female to win a state wrestling title at the 2026 NSAA State Girls Individual Wrestling Tournament held Feb. 17 and Feb. 18 at the CHI Health Center Arena in Omaha.
Three Lady Trojans made the trip to Omaha and all three won at least one match in their stay in the tournament.
Freeman pinned her first three opponents to arrive in her first finals after placing third last season as a freshman.
She used pins over Lailah Jones of Broken Bow (0:29), Abbey Chipps of Summerland (1:56) and Leah Thompson of Yutan (1:56) before meeting Hayleigh Meyers of Ord in the 120-pound finals.
“Last year I fell short of my goals, and my parents have put in so much work for me,” said Freeman. “They bought me workout machines, all the food. They did everything for me and I’m so grateful for them.”
The match with Meyers was a tough one as one would expect in a state final. Freeman would score her only points midway through the first two-minute session, then held on the rest of the way for a 3-1 decision.
Meyers’ point was a stalling call on Freeman with 29 seconds left in the bout. “I was so tired. It was the longest 20 seconds of my life,” said Freeman. “She is a really good wrestler as a freshman and I’m really proud of her. I was tired and I just had to trust my training.”
Ashlynn Dailey made it to Omaha as a freshman and went 2-2 in her first state tournament experience.
She pinned Lupita Alba of Wayne to open her meet but was defeated by a technical fall in the quarterfinals by a girl from Yutan.
Dailey responded with a pin over Laney Becker of Southern Valley/Arapahoe before being pinned in her final match of the tourney.
Morgan Kuchta won her second match in Omaha with a pin over Charley Pettit of Plainview in the first period.
Adam Central won the team title with 87.5 points, Lakeview was second with 82 and Yutan was third with 81.5 points.
The Lady Trojans posted a score of 38 putting them just outside of the top 20
2026 NSAA CLASS B GIRLS WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Team Results (Top 10 and Cedar Catholic):
1. Adams Central 87.5; 2. Lakeview 82; 3. Yutan 81.5; 4. Battle Creek 79.5; 5. Auburn 58; 6. Pierce 55; 7. Johnson County Central 49.5; 8 Southwest 49; 8. West Holt 49; 10. Wayne 48.5; 21. Cedar Catholic 38.
Cedar Catholic Individual Results:
110 - Ashlynn Dailey (2-2) def. Lupita Alba (WAY) by fall, 1:10; was def. by Addisyn Darling (YUTN) by tech fall-1.5, 17-0, 3:13; def. Laney Becker (SV/A) by fall, 4:27; was def. by Ava Cleveland (SUMM) by fall, 0:49.
120 - Evie Freeman (1st) def. Lailah Jones (BOW) by fall, :29; def. Abbey Chipps (SUMM) by fall, 1:56; def. Leah Rhompson (YUTN) by fall, 1:44; def. Hayleigh Meyers (ORD) 3-1 decision.
135 - Morgan Kuchta (1-2) was def. by Lilly Mefford (BaCr) by fall, 2:27; def. Charley Pittet (PLNV) by fall, 1:41; was def. by Savannah Pietrzak (WOOD) by fall, 1:55.
