Lopez-Moen picks up 50th career win for OTC

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

At first glance an eight-team wrestling tournament may not seem like a monumental moment. However, Friday’s girls wrestling tournament was anything but a normal night on the mat for the Otter Tail Central girls wrestling team.

For the first time in program history, one that began just a few years ago, the OTC wrestlers fielded enough people to compete in a dual meet. While half of their weights were left open, that didn’t stop the Bulldogs from doing something no other girls wrestling team has had the opportunity to do for the high school wrestling team—compete as a team and not just an individual.

“I’ve been looking forward to it since I scheduled it last year. I am super nervous for it,” said girls wrestling head coach Brendan Hart with a laugh. “I had it scheduled at the end of the season last year when they offered the opportunity I figured we would have more than eight girls so I thought lets try to do it.”

Even though the team went 0-3 on the night, they had plenty to celebrate as Kayetana Lopez-Moen picked up her 50th career win on the mat. 

The Bulldogs opened the tournament as the eighth seed and fell to top seeded Mora by a score of 64-6. The lone win for the Bulldogs came at 142 lbs. when Ella Rich picked up a pin at the 1:12 mark of the match to put OTC on the scoreboard. Kayetana Lopez-Moen dropped a close major decision at 136 lbs. by a score of 15-6 at 136 lbs.

Mora would go on to defeat Sauk Centre/Melrose by a score of 39-36 in the championship match.

In the consolation bracket, OTC fell to Cambridge-Isanti by a score of 47-18. 

Lopez-Moen and Rich both picked up a first period pin in the Bulldogs match against Cambridge-Isanti, while freshman Jolene Fosse won by a forfeit to give OTC 18 team points. 

In the seventh place match, OTC fell to Moorhead by a score of 54-24 to finish in eighth place overall. The Bulldogs had seven open weights in the dual that contributed to 30 points for Moorhead. The Bulldogs actually won more matches that were wrestled over the Spuds at 4-2.

Picking up wins for the Bulldogs was Ava Molter with a pin at 118 lbs., Lopez-Moen by a pin at 136 lbs., Rich by a pin at 142 lbs. and Ava Rousu at a pin at 170 lbs. 

In addition to OTC, Wadena-Deer Creek, Brainerd, Cambridge-Isanti, Moorhead, Mora, Sauk Centre/Melrose and Thief River Falls competed in the dual tournament. For some of the programs, fielding a full team has become a bit of a norm and not the exception since girls wrestling began as a sanctioned sport through the Minnesota State High School League. 

During the 2024-25 school year there were more than 1,500 girls in grades 7-12 on a wrestling team. That number was nearly double from a year ago and has grown from just 250 girls in the sport during the first year that the Minnesota State High School League sanctioned the sport during the 2021-22 school year. 

For OTC, girls wrestling has grown gradually over the past few years with 11 girls currently out for the sport in grades 7-12. The team started the year with 16 girls who were out for the sport, but a few of the girls are injured and others quit after giving the sport a try earlier this winter. There are currently eight girls out for wrestling from Henning High School alone, which is equal to the entire girls wrestling program last year that had just eight girls in the sport in grades 7-12. 

Hart expects the program to continue to grow over the course of the next few years as of the 11 girls currently wrestling for the Bulldogs there are no seniors on the team. There were also four girls in sixth grade alone that participated in a recent elementary practice in Henning. 

“It’s something new. It is something different I think a lot of the girls are interested in trying it and when they try it they like it,” said Hart. 

The second year head coach went on to say that some of the girls on the team have older siblings and relatives who were out for the sport, while others are simply joining it for something to do in the winter months. 

The goal for not only OTC, but other girls programs across the state is to continue the rapid growth of the spot. 

While the state tournament will still be just one class this year, the MSHSL doubled the amount of participants in the individual state tournament from just eight to 16. There are also talks of having a girls team state wrestling tournament down the road as well.

Hart said if 32 wrestling programs across the state can commit to filling at least seven weight classes the sport can get one step closer to being sanctioned by the MSHSL, which could lead to a girls state team tournament down the road. 

The Bulldogs will return to the mat on Friday when they travel for a tournament at West Central Area. 

Mora 64, OTC 6

100- Hannah Berg So., MORA over Forfeit, OCB (FF)

106- Forfeit, MORA vs. Forfeit, OCB (DFF)

112- Brianna Koch Sr., MORA over Forfeit, OCB (FF)

118- Bridget Bankers Jr., MORA over Ava Molter (0-0) 7th, OCB (F 0:30)

124- Valerie Pierce 8th, MORA over Forfeit, OCB (FF)

130- Etta Bakke Fr., MORA over Jolene Fosse (0-0) Fr., OCB (F 1:56)

136- Natalie Olson So., MORA over Kayetana Lopez-Moen (0-0) Jr., OCB (MD 15-6)

142- Ella Rich (0-0) Fr., OCB over Carly Yoder So., MORA (F 1:12)

148- Ava Showers Sr., MORA over Forfeit, OCB (FF)

155- Kylee Nelson So., MORA over Jazmine Saari (0-0) So., OCB (F 0:18)

170- Tabytha Lee 8th, MORA over Ava Rousu (0-0) Fr., OCB (F 0:30)

190- Shelby Strandlund So., MORA over Forfeit, OCB (FF)

235- Sylvia Carlstrom 7th, MORA over Forfeit, OCB (FF)

Cambridge-Isanti 47, OTC 18

100- Forfeit, OCB vs. Forfeit, CAIS (DFF)

106- Ava LaPoint (0-0) Sr., CAIS over Forfeit, OCB (FF)

112- Alysa Mertens (0-0) Jr., CAIS over Forfeit, OCB (FF)

118- Ashlyn Bondeson (0-0) Jr., CAIS over Ava Molter (0-0) 7th, OCB (TF 16-0 (2:14))

124- Taitum Kostecka (0-0) So., CAIS over Forfeit, OCB (FF)

130- Jolene Fosse (0-0) Fr., OCB over Forfeit, CAIS (FF)

136- Kayetana Lopez-Moen (0-0) Jr., OCB over Izzy Brandstrom (0-0) Fr., CAIS (F 0:44)

142- Kimber Senlycki (0-0) Jr., CAIS over Morgan Storlie (0-0) 7th, OCB (F 1:02)

148- Ella Rich (0-0) Fr., OCB over Merideth Robertson (0-0) Jr., CAIS (F 1:42)

155- Avery Blais (0-0) So., CAIS over Jazmine Saari (0-0) So., OCB (F 4:31)

170- Hannah Tilus-Tierney (0-0) Sr., CAIS over Ava Rousu (0-0) Fr., OCB (F 1:29)

190- Samantha Brekke (0-0) So., CAIS over Forfeit, OCB (FF)

235- Forfeit, OCB vs. Forfeit, CAIS (DFF)

Moorhead 54, OTC 24

100- Anna Rajesh (0-0) Fr., MOOR over Forfeit, OCB (FF)

106- Samantha Hanson (0-0) So., MOOR over Forfeit, OCB (FF)

112- Tia Kanneh (0-0) Jr., MOOR over Forfeit, OCB (FF)

118- Ava Molter (0-0) 7th, OCB over Marley Marts (0-0) 8th, MOOR (F 3:46)

124- Dulce Arpero (0-0) So., MOOR over Forfeit, OCB (FF)

130- Ariana Burrell (0-0) Fr., MOOR over Jolene Fosse (0-0) Fr., OCB (F 2:56)

136- Kayetana Lopez-Moen (0-0) Jr., OCB over Hazel Andersen (0-0) Fr., MOOR (F 3:58)

142- Ella Rich (0-0) Fr., OCB over Brooke Fritel (0-0) So., MOOR (F 0:39)

148- Cailey Williams (0-0) So., MOOR over Forfeit, OCB (FF)

155- Lexi Hancock (0-0) So., MOOR over Jazmine Saari (0-0) So., OCB (F 1:05)

170- Ava Rousu (0-0) Fr., OCB over Nevaeh Rysavy (0-0) Fr., MOOR (F 2:40)

190- Kaylee Peterson (0-0) Fr., MOOR over Forfeit, OCB (FF)

235- Faith Manneh (0-0) 8th, MOOR over Forfeit, OCB (FF)