BENTONVILLE -- Fayetteville edged Bentonville High on Friday in a narrow duel to claim the 6A-West Conference girls wrestling title, held at Tiger Arena.
Fayetteville toppled the defending champions 102-94. The Purple Bulldogs entered the last two rounds leading the Tigers, 92-88.
"It was awesome, these girls came out with a goal in mind to win this thing and they battled every single round," Fayetteville coach Casper Petty said. "We got some big wins where we needed to and they came out on top."
Petty said it felt "very good" to take down the defending champs in just the second 6A-West conference tournament for girls wrestling,
"It was very close," Petty said. "We knew that they were the target this year ... we came out just ready to wrestle."
In the finals, Fayetteville claimed two titles. April Stanley defeated Rogers High's Hannah Scroggins 4-2 in the second period for the crown in the 132-pound division. Hailee Moore pinned Bentonville's Kalei Owen in the third period to claim the 165-pound division.
"We did fight pretty hard and I actually had a lot of fun," Stanley said. "I had lost to (Scroggins) previously and I came back and said 'I am not letting her win today.'"
Stanley, who goes into next month's state tournament with a 13-2 record and hopes to top her state runner-up performance from last year, was voted the lower weight division's outstanding wrestler.
"(It's going to take) just a lot of hard work, a lot of grinding, a lot of mental toughness," Stanley said of her attempt for the state title.
Ahead of the state tournament, Petty said his team is "pretty healthy," though they had a "little hiccup" with Margaret Jordan, who wrestles in the 235-pound division.
"She kind of messed up her elbow in the very first match of the day and that kind of hurt us with our team points," Petty said. "We'll have to take her back and re-evaluate her and see how she's holding up. She ended up wrestling her last match, but she wasn't 100% for sure."
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Prep wrestling
6A-West girls CONFERENCE Tournament
At Bentonville
Team Scores
1.) Fayetteville High 102; 2.) Bentonville High 94; 3.) Roger High 58; 4.) Springdale Har-Ber 54; 5.) Springdale High 43; 6.) Bentonville West 36; 7.) Rogers Heritage 29
Outstanding wrestlers
April Stanley (Fayetteville High), Lower weights; Michelle Gonzalez (Bentonville High), upper weights.
Individual Results
100 lbs. 1. Mackenzie Graves, Bentonville; 2. Camila Quiles, Bentonville; 3. Alexia Smith, Rogers
108 lbs. 1. Ashlin Jones, Bentonville; 2. Abby Fimbres, Fayetteville; 3. Leyla Griffith, Springdale Har-Ber
116 lbs. 1. Kassidy Haggard, Bentonville West; 2. Skyla Williamson, Springdale Har-Ber; 3. Molly Mounce, Rogers
124 lbs. 1. Emily Monk, Springdale; 2. Katie Palmer, Fayetteville; Liza Adams, Rogers
132 lbs. 1. April Stanley, 2. Fayetteville; Hannah Scroggins, Rogers; 3. Alyssa Bridges, Bentonville West
140 lbs. 1. Brooklyn Scott, Bentonville; 2. Calli Parrish, Springdale Har-Ber; 3. Malia Kehne, Fayetteville
150 lbs. 1. Michelle Gonzalez, Bentonville; 2. Byanca Cook, Springdale Har-Ber; 3. Elise Wilkins, Fayetteville
165 lbs. 1. Hailee Moore, Fayetteville; 2. Charlyn Otto, Springdale Har-Ber; 3. Kalei Owen, Bentonville
185 lbs. 1. Adeliz Meza, Rogers Heritage; 2. Alissa Castro, Fayetteville; 3. Lydia Wilkerson. Springdale
235 lbs. 1. Ruby Perez, Springdale; 2. Ashley Chinchilla, Springdale Har-Ber; 3. Margarett Jordan, Fayetteville