photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

The Lawrence girls wrestling team poses together after the KC Stampede wrestling tournament at Hale Arena in Kansas City, Mo. on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025.

Kansas City, Mo. — The Lawrence and Tonganoxie girls wrestling teams faced some of the top competition in the region at the KC Stampede girls wrestling tournament on Thursday and Friday.

The tournament brought tough competition, including several placers and winners at the Fargo Women’s Nationals, which is one of the top interstate wrestling tournaments.

“Our only girls that didn’t win a match here have been (wrestling) for three weeks,” Lawrence coach Carl Springer said. “That’s a tough ask. I’ll take them and their fight every day — it’s a ridiculously tough tournament.”

Goldy Stephens was the lone placer for the Lions in the top of the tournament, as she finished fourth in the 235-pound bracket.

“For her to place here shows she’s capable of winning the state championship,” Springer said.

Stephens won her first three matches by pins, leading her into the quarterfinal match, which she won with a pin. Her first loss came in the semifinal, but she won the consolation semifinal match to reach the third-place match. A loss there left her in fourth place in the tournament.

Her first win in the tournament was Stephens’s 100th for her career. She became the first wrestler at Lawrence to have 100 career wins since girls wrestling became a KSHSAA sanctioned sport.

Seven other Lawrence wrestlers competed in the tournament, and five won at least two matches in the A or B brackets.

Annabelle Ackerman placed second in the 115-pound A weight class, going 2-1 in the bracket. She started with a win by a pin, followed by a medical forfeit to reach the first-place match. There, she lost on a late pin.

Imogen Matter also took second in a weight class. She competed in the 145-pound B bracket and went 2-1 with two pins in her first two matches of the bracket and her loss coming in the first-place match with a pin.

Paige Fishburn and Juliana Hout both won two matches, while Ivy Ford finished with one win in the 130-pound A weight bracket.

For Tonganoxie, two wrestlers finished on the podium in the top of the tournament. Autumn Wilson placed third in the 120-pound weight class and won her first three matches by pins. She lost in a major decision in the quarterfinal but bounced back with three wins in the consolation bracket. That put her in the third-place match, which she won with a pin.

Kaylee Pankey took fifth in the 115-pound weight class. She started with two wins but lost her first match in a technical fall. She rebounded with four wins in the consolation bracket, two being pins and two being by decision. A loss in the consolation semifinal put her in the fifth-place match, which she won with a pin.

Katy Duncan won the 190-pound B weight class, starting with a tiebreaker win in the first round. A 4-1 decision put her in the semifinal, and a pin put her in the first-place match. There, she won in a 6-2 decision.

Kenzie Underwood finished third in the 110-pound B bracket, going 4-1. After starting with the loss, Underwood won with a pin, a 9-4 decision and a second pin to put her in the third-place match. There, she earned her spot on the podium with a pin.

Lawrence will settle in for the winter break before returning to competition at the start of the new year.

“I tell them, ‘Take this time to relax,'” Springer said. “We’ve got an ugly Christmas sweater party. (Use the time) to reaffirm that the ultimate goal is not wins and losses. It’s getting better by the end of the season.”