The Lady Knights Wrestling team had a successful season this year. Their accomplishments this year include winning a regional title, becoming sectional runner up, only missing the win of a third Sectional Title by 8 points. The knights also finished 7th out of 168 teams at the IHSA state tournament neglecting to win a single class state title by only 21 points. Finally, their dual meet record was 12-0 this season and 32-2 over three seasons. The Richwoods girls wrestling program has grown dramatically in the last few years, both in number and quality.
Coach Penney’s goals for the Lady knights wrestling team were very high, saying, “I believe in the abilities of our athletes coupled with their hard work and dedication the outcome could be awesome. I set three goals for the wrestlers: goal #1, be competitive: goal #2, support your teammates; goal #3, train hard.” Coach Penney set an expectation for them, and they reached it.
Jaida Johnson, varsity senior wrestler, had a lot of pressure put on her this year. Johnson managed to get her 100th win this year and has been a clash national champion as well as a Midwest national champion. Her perseverance and skills lead her to win many awards and plaques of recognition. Johnson says her thoughts this season included, “This is your last year so you got to end with a bang and just get as far as you can.” She finished this year as a sectional and regional champion.
There were some notable accomplishments for two seniors. Jaida Johnson earned 103 match wins in her RHS career. In her IHSA state competition, she finished 2nd at 155lb in 23-24, 8th in 22-23, 2nd in 21-22, and 3rd in 20-21. Kaila Williams earned 65 match wins in two years wrestling for RHS. In her IHSA state competition, she finished 3rd at 140lbs in 23-24, and 8th in 22-23. Both girls were national Fargo qualifiers in 23-24. These girls were truly dominant and set the standard for excellence for the future of Richwoods girls wrestling!
Overall, the wrestling season was a successful one. The Lady Knights have come a long way in the three years that the program has been put in place. Their continued uprising and success are inspiring to future female wrestlers in the Peoria area and represents the Standard of Excellence that Richwoods High School strives for. Coach Penney is proud of the girls and the efforts they made this year. “Our Lady Knights are a special group, wrestling is only in its third official season, and they have come a long way and have learned a lot about the sport and themselves. They have risen to many challenges repeatedly. Without question they are an awesome bunch of overachievers. I am most proud of the fact that these ladies could do and be anything, but they chose to be wrestlers.” We applaud our Lady Knights, and we can’t wait to see what they will accomplish next year!
