Lady Buffs repeat state wrestling title, 3 Buffs claim individual gold

February 28, 2026 – Story Credit: GCHS Athletics

After Friday’s first day of the Class 6A state wrestling championship, the defending state champion Garden City Lady Buffaloes were only three points in front of their biggest challenger, Gardner Edgerton.

With just a 168.5-165.5 lead, the Buffs headed into Saturday’s final day and did what they have been doing all season – winning match after match.

The result was another resounding performance, finishing with 226.5 points to pull away from Gardner Edgerton, which finished second with 197.0 points. The 226.5 points surpassed their 2025 winning total of 219.5 points when Dodge City finished as the runner-up.

It was a significant milestone for the Lady Buffs, capturing their fifth trophy (top 3) since girls’ wrestling became a state championship sport in 2020. Also, it was the end of a long journey that saw the team travel more than 5,000 miles through five states since early December.

“We really don’t focus on or talk much about rankings or stuff like that,” head coach Paul Lappin said. “We talk about routines and doing the little things right, and working hard and being aggressive in matches. We want to take the pressure off the girls as much as possible.”

The Lady Buffs came home with two individual titles – junior Nicole Abrego at 100 pounds and junior Marina Loera at 125 pounds – three runners-up – senior Emjay Marez at 105 pounds, junior Crystal Loera at 115 pounds and sophomore Kylie Huber at 135 pounds.

It was the consolation bracket early Saturday that provided the final surge for the Buffs as senior Kaira Acosta (110), sophomore Aaliyah Garza (130) and freshman Aria Cordes (145) all finished third after dropping semifinal matches on Friday.

The consolation backside bracket proved to be the difference between the Buffs and Trailblazers. When Cordes won her third-place match to finish out the consolation bracket matches, the Buffs had enough points to secure the team victory. Incredibly, they had gone 13-3 on the backside matches on Saturday.

The final five championship bouts were simply icing on the cake. The Lady Buffs did go 2-3, but the three losses came against the No. 1-ranked wrestler in Class 6A and all defending champions.

“I know I sound like a broken record, but doing the little things correct matters,” Lappin said. “We lost one placing match because we didn’t do the right thing.”

Julissa Rodriguez, in what perhaps was the toughest weight division of all 14 at 120 pounds, placed fourth while senior Raygen Meza-McDermott won her fifth-place match to cap off a successful run in her final month of competing.

Abrego got the Buffs off and running in the championship matches when she dominated Madalyn Riedinger of Gardner Edgerton, the No. 1-ranked 6A wrestler (Abrego was No. 2) with a 13-1 major decision.

The Buff junior (36-8) took a 6-1 lead after one period with two takedowns; she got another takedown in the second period for a 9-1 advantage and then scored an escape and takedown in the first minute of the third period to earn her 13-1 major decision.

“I’m just really happy because I’ve worked so hard,” Abrego said. “My sophomore year didn’t end the way I wanted, and I’ve just improved in every position. I wasn’t very good on the bottom last year, but I’m much better now. I’m just so proud of the team for all the hard work we put in. This makes it all worthwhile.”

It was a significant victory with Gardner Edgerton being the closest challenger to the Lady Buffs in the team standings. In addition, Riedinger (39-4) was a state runner-up in 2025 and a state champion in 2024 when Classes 6-5A were combined.

After Marez and Crystal Loera had dropped title bouts to No. 1-ranked opponents, it was Marina Loera’s turn to come away with gold.

Marina, ranked No. 1, dominated Lacey Middleton of Topeka-Washburn Rural with a pin at 2:33 in the second period. She had notched a two-point reversal at 1:40 of the second and just seven seconds later got the pin. She had led 4-3 with an escape and takedown in the opening period.

“I just wanted to get the victory after Crystal lost,” Marina said of matching her sister’s 2025 title. “It motivated me to get a big win. We worked so hard to get our lineup together this season, and everyone contributed. We broke Manhattan in the quarters and then we broke Gardner Edgerton in the backside matches.”

Marez (29-9) faced defending champion Elizabeth Ramirez of Dodge City (40-1) but came up on the short end of a 0-15 technical fall score that ended with 0:50 left in the third period.

Crystal Loera, who had won the 125-pound state title a year ago, had switched weight divisions with her sister, Marina, met defending champion and No. 1-ranked Juliana Villanueva of Junction City in the finals. Villanueva defeated Marina in the same weight class finals in 2025, and this time earned a 9-2 decision over Crystal. Loera finished the season 39-7. Villanueva finished unbeaten at 36-0.

Huber, much like Crystal Loera, was facing a defending champion in Manhattan’s Alayna Slifer (39-1). The Lady Buff sophomore (35-12) trailed 0-3 after the opening period and then was pinned at 3:02 of the second period by Slifer. It was the second time the two had met, with Slifer winning the regional match two weeks prior.

In Saturday’s consolation bracket matches, the Buffs shined once again, coming up with big victories throughout the day.

That setup third and fourth place matches for Acosta (110), Rodriguez (120), Garza (130) and Cordes (145) along with a fifth-sixth place bout for Meza-McDermott. Three of those four battling for third — Acosta, Garza, and Cordes – all won while Rodriguez lost for the second time in the tournament to her nemesis, Reese Anderson of Wichita North.

Acosta (37-10) defeated Alayah Losey of Maize with a pin at 2:43 of the second period; Garza (42-11) earned a narrow 4-2 decision over Addisyn Masters of Shawnee Mission South and Cordes blanked Leila Scott-Pearson of Gardner Edgerton, 5-0. Rodriguez came up short in a 5-12 decision to Anderson, who had defeated the Lady Buff in the championship bout a year ago.

Meza-McDermott went 3-2 in the tournament to finish her career at 32-10. Her final match was a dominating 15-4 major decision over Alejandra Delarosa of Dodge City. Her journey to the state tournament came when senior Maggie Guzman was injured just before the Rocky Welton tournament at the end of January. Meza-McDermott, who had medaled at state as a freshman but unable to crack the lineup for her sophomore and junior seasons, persevered and filled in admirably for Guzman and earned one more medal.

Junior Olivia Dunlap went 1-2 to finish her season at 21-12 in the 155-pound division but was unable to earn a medal.

What makes the Buffs’ final 29.5 margin more impressive is it could have even been bigger if sophomore Mary Condo (190 pounds, 24-5, ranked No. 2 in 6A) had not suffered an injury just before the Rocky Welton. She had pinned two No. 1-ranked wrestlers during the Western Athletic Conference dual matches in January.

“I don’t think there was the pressure of being No. 1, we’d been there all season,” Lappin said. “But I think the girls got ticked off a little because everybody was against us. Everybody wanted to beat us. I think it put a chip on the shoulder of the girls and they wrestled lights out on Saturday.”

Lady Buffs Notes: The roster for the Lady Buffs will lose Marez, Acosta, Rodriguez, and Meza-McDermott. The medalists returning include Abrego, Crystal Loera, Marina Loera, Garza, Huber, Cordes, Dunlap and, if healthy, Condo and Guzman.

State Tournament Records: The Lady Buffs posted a win-loss record of 37-12, a .755 winning percentage. Taking on the state roster and then adding in wins-losses for Condo and Guzman, the Lady Buffs for the season were 416-109, a .792 winning percentage.

Another Trophy: The championship trophy is the fifth for the Lady Buffs since wrestling became a recognized state championship by KSHSAA in 2020. The first year, there were a combined one tournament for all classes. They were third in 2021 when 6-5A were combined and then second in both 2023 and 2024 when the two classifications were still together. In 2025, the two biggest classes split, and the Lady Buffs have now won both 6A state championships.

Tournament domination: The Lady Buffs competed in 9 tournaments, winning 8 of them and finishing second in the other. The 8 wins came at the Ice Queen in Colorado Springs, Colo.; The Wrestle Like a Girl in Cache, Okla.; the Conflict at Cleveland in Rio Rancho, N.M.; the Newton Tournament of Champions; the Les Mattacks Invitational in Denver; the Rocky Welton Invitational at home; the 6A regional in Wichita and the 6A state in Overland Park. Their runner-up finish was at the Kansas City (Mo.) Stampede when they were without two starters.

Dominating Points: The Lady Buffs finished the 9 tournaments with a plus point advantage of 449.0 points over the teams that were second or at KC, first. Their one loss was by four points. In the 4-0 WAC season, the Lady Buffs outscored their opponents by 197 points, thus compiling an overall point plus of 646 points.

Balanced, Deeper Field: Of the 14 weight classes, there were 9 different schools represented with state championships. The Lady Buffs, Dodge City, Junction City, Manhattan and Shawnee Mission South each had two titles; Gardner Edgerton, Derby, Campus and Olathe East had one champion each. The West regional had 10 champions and the East just four. Of the top 10 teams, seven came from the West regional.

Long journey to the title: The lady Buffs competed in tournaments in Colorado (2), New Mexico, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. In all, they had 10 road trips for tournaments and WAC duals. Their total mileage was 5,086.

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KSHSAA Class 6A

State Wrestling Championship

Friday-Saturday/Feb. 27-28

At Advent Health Sports Park at Bluhawk

Overland Park

GIRLS

Team Scores

1. GARDEN CITY, 226.5; 2. Gardner Edgerton, 197.0; 3. Topeka-Washburn Rural, 175.0; 4. Manhattan, 171.0; 5. Dodge City, 122.0; 6. Junction City, 122.0; 7. Shawnee Mission South, 118.0; 8. Derby, 81.0; 9. Wichita Northwest, 72.5; 10. Olathe North, 72; 12. Liberal, 50.0. There were 36 teams competing.

Garden City Results

100—Nicole Abrego, Jr., 1st, 4-0 (36-8). 1st Place: won by major decision, 13-1, over Madalyn Riedinger, Gardner Edgerton. The other 3 wins were pins.

105—Emjay Marez, Sr., 2nd, 3-1 (29-9). 1st-2nd Place: Lost by technical fall, 0-15, 5:10, Elizabeth Ramirez, Dodge City. Her wins were 2 by pins, one by major decision.

110—Kaira Acosta, Sr., 3rd, 3-1 (37-10). 3rd Place: won by fall, 2:43, over Alayah Losey, Maize. Her 4 wins were by pins; her loss was to champion Brielynn Jackson of Gardner Edgerton in the semifinals.

115—Crystal Loera, Jr., 2nd, 3-1 (39-7). Lost in final to two-time unbeaten champion Juliana Villanueva, Junction City, 2-9 decision; Her 3 wins came with 2 pins and a technical fall.

120—Julissa Rodriguez, Sr., 4th, 4-2 (31-7). She finishes her career as a two-time state runner-up and this year’s fourth place. Three of her wins were by pins, one by decision. Her two losses came against Reese Anderson of Wichita North, who had defeated her in the quarterfinals and in the 2025 state championship match.

125—Marina Loera, Jr. 1st, 4-0 (41-4). Loera, who was runner-up at 115 pounds in 2025, got her first gold to match her sister, Crystal. 1st Place: won by fall, 2:33, over Lacey Middleton of Topeka-Washburn Rural. She pinned all 4 of her opponents and only went to the second period in the final match.

130—Aaliyah Garza, So., 3rd, 4-1 (42-11). 3rd Place: She won by decision, 4-2, over Addilyn Masters, Shawnee Mission South. Her other 3 wins were 2 by pins, 1 by technical fall. Her semifinal loss was against Gardner Edgerton’s Josie Clouse, who placed second.

135—Kylie Huber, So., 2nd, 3-1 (35-12). 1st-2nd: lost to No. 1-ranked Alayna Slifer, Manhattan who was the defending champion. Lost by fall, 3:02 of second period. Huber had pinned her first 3 opponents.

140—Raygen Meza-McDermott, Sr., 5th, 3-2 (32-10): 5th-6th: defeated Alejandra Delarosa, Dodge City, with a 15-4 major decision; She won two matches by pins; lost in semifinals to state runner-up Scarlett Yeager, Maize. Her 2 losses were by 2-point decisions.

145—Aria Cordes, Fr., 3rd, 4-1 (35-9): 3rd-4th Place: won by decision, 5-0, over Leila Scott Pearson, Gardner Edgerton; Won 2 matches by major decisions, one by technical fall and one by decision. Her victory in the consolation final secured the team victory for the Buffs.

155—Olivia Dunlap, Jr., DNP, 1-2 (22-12). Won first match by fall. Lost her final match by a 0-1 decision.