Lady Knight grappler becomes first girls silver medalist

Henryetta senior Lily Haywood made history this past Saturday evening at the Jim Norick State Fairgrounds Arena in Oklahoma City.

Haywood became the first-ever state runner-up medalist in girls wrestling at Henryetta, as well as Okmulgee County.

The Lady Knight grappler advanced to the championship match in the 155-pound weight division of the Class 5A girls state wrestling championships with a sudden-victory win over Tuttle’s Marlow Folsom, taking the first overtime period by a 3-1 margin.

The only wrestler standing between Haywood and the first-ever girls state wrestling championship in school history was Peighton Mullins of Fort Gibson, who won the 152-pound weight state championship in 2022 and was the 170-pound weight state runner-up last year.

Haywood gave Mullins a tremendous battle, but ultimately, suffered a pinfall loss to the Lady Tiger grappler at the 1:58 mark to finish with the state runner-up medal. Haywood began her first state tournament appearance with a quarterfinal pinfall victory at 1:37 of the opening period over Comanche’s Celina Quezada.

With the state runner-up finish, Haywood joins 2-time bronze medalist (2021, 2022) Madison Byroads as the only Lady Knight wrestlers to earn Top 3 finishes at the girls state wrestling championships.

Morris senior Skyler Hunter was the only other county girls wrestler to earn a Top 5 finish at the 3-day event, finishing fourth overall in the 115-pound weight division.

Hunter began her state tournament appearance on a sour note, suffering a pinfall loss to McLoud’s Launa Troutt at 4:23 of their quarterfinal matchup.

Hunter rebounded from the loss with a pinfall win over Warner’s Jayden Windrix in the consolation quarterfinals and an injury default win over Pawhuska’s Savanna Hendren in the consolation semifinals.

Hunter’s bid for a Top 3 finish ended with a decision loss to Troutt in the third-place match, falling to her McLoud foe by a 4-3 margin.

Henryetta’s Kiley Haywood was the third county representative at last weekend’s Class 5A girls state wrestling championships in Oklahoma City. The Lady Knight freshman competed in the 130-pound weight division and had her state tournament appearance end abruptly with a pinfall loss to Tuttle’s Millie Bradley at the 1:55 mark of her Wrestle-In Match.

— Oklahoma State Wrestling Championships Girls Class 5A

115 lbs. – Skyler Hunter (Morris)

Quarterfinal: lost by pinfall to Launa Troutt (McLoud); 4:23 Consolation Quarterfinal: won by pinfall over Jayden Windrix (Warner); 1:44 Consolation Semifinal: won by injury default over Savanna Hendren (Pawhuska); 3:40 Third Place Match: lost by decision to Launa Troutt (Mc-Loud); 4-3 — 130 lbs. – Kiley Haywood (Henryetta) Wrestle-In Match: lost by pinfall to Millie Bradley (Tuttle); 1:55 — 155 lbs. – Lily Haywood (Henryetta)

Quarterfinal: won by pinfall over Celina Quezada (Comanche); 1:37 Semifinal: won by sudden victory over Marlow Folsom (Tuttle); 3-1 First Place Match: lost by pinfall to Peighton Mullins (Fort Gibson); 1:58