Three Huskies punch tickets to state
Owatonna wrestlers Aliah Fischer, Lucinda Ornelas and Kayla Pastika all finished the MSHSL girls section one tournament as champions earlier this month to earn the right to wrestle at the state meet.
Ornelas and Pastika will be making their state debuts; meanwhile, Fischer enters the field as a seasoned competitor, having qualified for state in four consecutive seasons since joining Owatonna’s program as a seventh grader.
Pastika was the first Husky to be crowned as champion by winning the 100-pound bracket with three straight wins by fall.
The sophomore started her day with a first-period pin over Dover-Eyota’s Katelyn Iseminger before sticking Cannon Falls’ Alaina Williams in the second period to advance to the finals.
In her championship match, Pastika left no doubt by beating Kasson-Mantorville’s Eliana O’Donoghue by fall in the first period.
Ornelas competed soon after in the girls’ 106-pound division and had the days longest route to the title.
While Pastika and Fischer both earned first-round byes and wrestled three times, Ornelas as not awarded a bye and had a four-match tournament.
Ornelas started off hot with a second period fall, but had a tough scrap in her second round matchup against Zumbrota-Mazeppa’s Kylie Schoenfelder.
The junior edged out a 2-0 decision win to advance; foreshadowing how the rest of her tournament would unfold.
The third round saw Ornelas beat Chatfield’s Emily Bova by a 5-3 decision for the right to wrestle in the championship, where she went on to win again in a close 2-1 match against Dover-Eyota’s Payton Gifford.
The four-match winning streak was by far Ornelas’ most impressive stretch of the season and came at the most important time for the junior after entering the tournament 11-10 overall on the season.
Owatonna’s final champion was Fischer in the girls 148-pound division.
After a first-round bye, the sophomore worked her way straight to the finals by pinning St. Charles’ Madysen Hundt and Simley’s Cassandra Torres in the first period.
Her finals matchup against Chatfield’s Eve Goetzinger was one of the most anticipated matchups of the day with Fischer entering the bout 16-0 and Goetzinger holding a 27-2 record.
The match looked great on paper, but when the whistle blew, Fischer worked her way to a 20-6 major decision.
Owatonna’s standout sophomore used relentless pressure and constant activity to nearly tech fall her opponent for the title.
The three Huskies will wrestle next at the state tournament held at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 9 a.m.
