Five members of the Salina Central girls’ wrestling team placed in the top five at the Newton regional last week, which qualified them to compete in the state tournament today and tomorrow in Park City.

Kodi Waite placed first at the regional meet, Natalia Garcia and Abbie Slothower took second, Phoebe Bohrer fourth and Izzy Hall fifth.

Slothower, a sophomore, said the practices in preparation for state had become more intense for the girls.

“We’ll have a better understanding of where we need to be [than we did at regionals], and we can tune out small details,” said Slothower, who takes a 27-4 record into state.

Assistant coach Richard Brake said he has high expectations for the state tournament.

“We are sending five out of the six that competed at regionals,” Brake said. “And we are looking for them to be in the top four, along with a couple championships.” 

Garcia, a freshman, said her middle school wrestling career helped get her ready for high school.

“The conditioning is a lot harder, but I think Lakewood technique wise helped to prepare us,” Garcia said. “It has been kind of challenging and definitely a lot harder than anything I’ve ever done before.”

Garcia has gone 29-15 so far this season.

Slothower talked of her determination and opponents she is looking forward to wrestling at state.

“There’s a girl I haven’t been able to beat,” Slothower said. “So hopefully at state I will be able to lock in.”

Brake said he has seen the returning girls help their teammates prepare for state. 

“There’s only two new ones which will be their first appearances at state, for the other three they have seen it and they have lived it,” Brake said. “The camaraderie and the support they give each other is phenomenal, it’s one of the best I’ve seen.”

Each girl is qualified to obtain a state title, head coach Dalton Peters said.

“Each of them have a different path to a state title, all of them are capable of it,” Peters said. “It’s just whether or not they’re going to be focused with their path.”