Three Lady Vikes wrestlers head to state

On Feb. 17-18, three Viking female wrestlers went to the State tournament in Cypress, Texas, and junior Kaylynn Lairson placed 5th.

Lairson, Jaylah DavenPort and Okaleigh Porter advanced to the state tournament after placing in Region and then District. Lairson brought home the win by placing 5th in the 120 weight class division. 

“This is the third year in a row that they’ve been district champs, and we’ve got a really young group,” coach Gordon Stephens said. “I also think one of the things we noticed at the state tournament is that you don’t need a lot of girls to win a state tournament, you need four or five girls.” 

For each player, the experience at state was different. Some girls were filled with nerves and didn’t know what to expect, while some just wanted to do better than they had done previously. 

“For Jaylah… she was nervous. She had never been there and she didn’t know what to expect,” Stephens said. 

Jaylah Davenport is a sophomore and this was her first year advancing to State. Although she did not place, Stephens believes she will place next year. 

“I’ve accomplished so much this year, and I was just looking forward to making it to Regionals but turns out I made it to State,” Davenport said. 

Lairson placed 1st at District for three years and making it to State this year has fueled her with the motivation she’s been looking for all season. 

“You have to have a goal set in mind before you get somewhere or it’s going to be last minute and you’re not going to be fully intent with what you want to achieve,” Lairson said. 

The team believes that next year, not only can they place individually, but all together.