photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State's Jessica Berg gets a pin in the 5th Annual Leavenworth Challenger on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Leavenworth.

Leavenworth — Free State and Lawrence’s girls wrestling teams returned to the mat for competition on Saturday with the 5th Annual Leavenworth Challenger.

Free State placed fifth while scoring 240.0 points, and Lawrence finished 12th with 120.5 points. There were 18 teams in the tournament. Four Firebirds earned medals as either the tournament champion or the runner-up. Lawrence’s Goldy Stephens was the lone medal winner for the Lions, as she was the runner-up in the 235-pound bracket.

Firebird Ellie Earl won her 155-pound B weight class with five pins in the tournament. Her first three pins came in the first period and she won her fourth with a second-period pin. In the fifth round, Earl won with a pin in just over a minute.

Three Firebirds were runners-up in the tournament. Brielle Preston placed second in the 110-pound bracket with four pins to start the competition. Her lone loss came in the first-place match where Preston was pinned.

Miley Ellis finished second in the 115-pound weight class and also started with four pins, the second of which came 17 seconds into the match. Ellis advanced to the first-place match with her fourth pin of the day but was pinned in the final bout.

Jessica Berg in the 120-pound bracket was the third runner-up. She started with a pin in the first round and received a bye in the second. She won her next two bouts with pins to get to the first-place match, where she lost by a pin late in the third period.

Delaney Earl and Madilyn Pierson placed third in their weight classes. Earl competed in the 125-pound bracket and started the day with three pins, including a 14-second pin in the first round. After losing in a 17-14 decision in her fourth match, Earl won with a pin in the third-place bout. Pierson started with two pins but lost her next two matches in the 190-pound weight class. Her final match was a quick pin, which gave her third in the tournament.

Lucy Koch won fourth in the 120-pound B weight class after winning her final match with a pin late in the first period. AJ Collins in the 235-pound weight class took fifth with three wins, including in the fifth-place match with a 21-second pin.

For Lawrence, Stephens’s second-place finish in the 235-pound weight class was the top finish for the Lions. She started with four pins to reach the first-place match, which she lost from a pin in just under a minute.

Dorcas Fakunmoju finished fourth in the 100-pound B weight class, winning her first-ever match in the first round with a pin.

Three Lions placed fifth in the tournament. Annabelle Ackerman took fifth in the 115-pound bracket with three wins, including a pin in the fifth-place match. Paige Fishburn won two matches in the 120-pound class, including a win via a forfeit in the fifth-place match. Juliana Hout won three matches in the 135-pound weight class, including a pin in the fifth-place match.

Lawrence will be on the road on Wednesday for a dual against Shawnee Mission West, while the Firebirds will have another tournament on Saturday at Olathe Northwest.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Delaney Earl grapples with a wrestler in the 5th Annual Leavenworth Challenger on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Leavenworth.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Juliana Hout wrestles in the 5th Annual Leavenworth Challenger on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Leavenworth.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Miley Ellis shoots for the legs of a wrestler in the 5th Annual Leavenworth Challenger on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Leavenworth.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Daisy Mosso-Ramos grapples with a wrestler in the 5th Annual Leavenworth Challenger on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Leavenworth.