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Pritchett pins one, drops two at MSHSAA Wrestling Championships
Nevada Lady Tiger wrestler Claire Pritchett saw her season come to an end on Tuesday at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence Mo.
Wrestling is always a long season but with COVID-19 this year was for sure a marathon. The MSHSAA State Wrestling Championships are historically the week of Valentine’s Day. However, due to the additional of sectional tournaments in order to make tournament smaller, the championships are being wrestled this week almost a month later than normal.
Pritchett would enter the tournament as a 3 seed, meaning she would be facing a runner-up from another sectional. Pritchett would face Mari Lopez, a 28-7 senior from Eureka, in the first round of the championships. Pritchett pinned Lopez early in the second period to move on to the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals, Pritchett would meet the eventual state runner-up in Kyla Cornine, a 32-2 senior from Tipton.
Cornine pinned Pritchett early in the second period to send her to the consolation side of the bracket.
In what turned out to be her final match of the year, Pritchett faced Kennedy Eggering, an 11-5 junior from Francis Howell Central. Pritchett would be pinned by Eggering, who went on to finish sixth.
When asked what are some takeaways from this past season, Pritchett responded: "Some of my takeaways from this season are, wrestling is as much mental as it is physical exhaustion. There would be some practices where I would lose seven pounds in an hour and a half and feel so exhausted, but I had to keep pushing."
Her season did not end as she wanted it to, but Pritchett said she is happy with the season as a whole.
"This season, I didn’t get as far as I had hoped in the state rounds, but I’m choosing to look at my 33-4 season with a feeling of accomplishment," she said. "My coaches poured so much time in me, and I hope next year I can stand on the podium representing our city of Nevada and the girls sport of wrestling. God-willing, I will return even better."
Pritchett added that she hopes to attend some wrestling camps this summer and keep pushing herself in the weight room to get better prepared for next season.
Pritchett is the face of female wrestling here in Nevada and I asked her what advice she would give to young girls who have never tried wrestling but are thinking about it.
"I would encourage any young female, any size, to consider wrestling if you have the desire to push yourself mentally and physically," Pritchett said. "I’ve been a member of many different kinds of teams, and none of them compare to the camaraderie I get there. There is still a male mentality to many people when they hear the word 'wrestling.' Don’t let that deter or scare you. Let it serve as a motivator to push you even further."
When asked what advice she would have for young ladies who are already wrestling: "No matter how good you are, there is someone who is always better. No matter how bad you have it, there is always someone who has it worse."
Wrestling is a sport that takes grit. Wrestling requires you to pay your dues and to put in the time. Wrestling also rewards hard work. Pritchett exemplifies all of those things and represents Nevada Lady Tiger Wrestling and Nevada with class, a great work ethic, and a drive to succeed that is second to none. She looks to honor her teammates, family, friends, community, school and God in anything that she does.
Claire, congratulations on a great season, and we look forward to your accomplishments next year.