If it wasn’t for jujitsu, the dominant Park Hill freshman duo Allison Gonier and Lena Vargas might not have been able to help the Trojan girls’ wrestling team bring back the first state plaque in program history on Feb. 19.
The Japanese martial arts were the cornerstone that brought the two freshmen to begin wrestling which led to them eventually standing with a medal across their necks at Mizzou Arena when their freshman seasons came to an end. In what was Vargas’ fourth season wrestling – after wanting a different variation of the action she was intertwined with in jujitsu in middle school – the Trojan was the last wrestler standing in all of Class 4 in the 115-weight class.
Park Hill’s Lena Vargas, above, capped off her impressive freshman campaign with a state title in the 115-weight class at state wrestling on Feb. 19
“Winning state was my big goal; I knew that when I started wrestling that I wanted to be a state champ every year and this is the first step,” Vargas said. “It gives me a lot more motivation to get back at it and continue to get better. To get here I just had to go hard with my partner, she pushed me, and I push her and all of my teammates.”
Vargas’ freshman campaign came to an end with a remarkable 41-1 record on the season with three pins to reach the championship match. To earn the gold medal, the Trojan won by a 10-2 major decision over Annie Moore (Cassville).
“Lena is just a savage,” Park Hill wrestling coach Jacob Beck said. “She is obviously fun to watch and does everything the right way, I’m so proud of what she did.”
Gonier never wrestled before she was in high school, but that didn’t stop her from winning 42 of her 48 matches throughout the year and ending with a bronze medal. While Gonier had people push her to pursue the sport that she eventually excelled at, she also did jujitsu and that was an influence to beginning her wrestling career.
“My dad was a wrestling coach and a lot of people told me that I should wrestle, so I thought I would try it,” Gonier said. “I think the season went pretty good, all of the girls I wrestled against were older and more experienced than me so I think I have done pretty good.”
To start off at state, Gonier won her first match but was pinned by Harrisonville’s Chloe Herrick – who was the eventual runner-up – but bounced back with a pair of decision wins in wrestlebacks. In the consolation semifinals, Gonier pinned Liberty’s Julia Breeden in 2:45 to clinch a spot in the third-place match.
“She (Allison) trained so well every day, she just does the right things and she just bought in. She is very athletic, open-minded, put her head to the grindstone and got it done. As we watched her progress throughout the season, she got better week by week and she is just tougher than everybody,” Beck said.
In the third-place match, Gonier matched up with Lexi Hatfield (Staley) and eventually won on a 1-0 decision. Gonier and Vargas’ top-3 finishes helped Park Hill finish in fourth place as a team with 60 points in what could be the beginning of a bright future for the Lady Trojans’ program.
“Honestly, the goal at the beginning of the season was just to place. My teammates and training partner and coaches prepared me for it, and we have been practicing, so it feels good, and I’m excited for the future,” Gonier said.
Along with the freshman duo, Park Hill had another medalist with Eve Herlyn in the 141-weight class. Herlyn ended with a medal when she pinned Mid-Buchanan’s Layson Hafley in 2:20 in the fifth-place match.
Park Hill senior Taryn Johnson ended her career with a state qualification where she went 1-2 in the tournament. After losing on an 8-4 decision to Nadia Middendorf (Parkway South), Johnson pinned Zoey Schroeder (Knob Noster) in 2:13 before ultimately being eliminated with a 7-0 decision loss against Halea Bartel (Lebanon).
“They are all great leaders, and we have our program all together. They are feeding off our guys well, so they have a lot of leadership,” Beck said.