NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC junior Ava Perkins secures a pin on her way to a 3rd place finish at 135 lbs. in Ogden.

OGDEN — The STC girls wrestling team crowned two individual champions and placed third as a team on Saturday, Jan. 10, at the Ogden Invitational.

Senior Autumn Elsbury (170 lbs.) and sophomore Maylee Rucker (140 lbs.) both won their weight classes for the Trojans. Elsbury, the returning state champion at 170 lbs., pinned Ankeny’s Aliayah Shade in 22 seconds in the championship match.

Rucker pinned all four of her opponents on the day to take the championship at 140 lbs. In her first three victories, Rucker pinned her opponent in less than a minute. In the championship match, Rucker beat Isabelle Harris of Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire by fall at the 2:36 mark.

Four additional STC wrestlers secured top-three finishes on the day. They were led by junior Livia Smith, who finished in 2nd place at 100 lbs. Smith won by fall over Norwalk’s Hannah Schmitz in the semifinal round, before falling to Spencer’s Kiara Ruiz in the championship match. At the day’s end, Smith pushed her season record to 28-3.

Junior Brooklyn Mitchell (130 lbs.), junior Ava Perkins (135 lbs.), and junior Kinley Jimenez (235 lbs.) all finished in third place in their weight classes.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC sophomore Jayva Gomez looks to escape in one of her matches at the Ogden Invitational.

Also earning points for the Trojans were: Junior London Jaennette (6th place, 125 lbs.) and freshman Miyah Grabenbauer (7th place, 120 lbs.).

In a packed field of 27 teams, the Trojans’ third place finish was impressive. STC finished 32 points behind second-place Osage (190.5). Ankeny won the invitational with 221 points. Algona (156.5) and Spencer (134) rounded out the top-five.

Up next for the Trojans is the Marilyn Tournament at East Buchanan High School on Saturday, Jan. 17, in Winthrop.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC freshman Miyah Grabenbauer wrestles at the Ogden Invitational. Grabenbauer finished 7th at 120 lbs.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC senior Ava Hendricks wrestles at the Ogden Invitational.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC junior London Jaennette wrestles at the Ogden Invitational. Jaennette finished in 6th place at 125 lbs.