New Palestine High School

June Wagner-Gilbert and Jillian Champ both earned spots to the IHSAA girls wrestling State Finals Friday, as they advanced from the Alexandria regional. Wagner-Gilbert finished second at 130 pounds, while Champ finished fourth at 140. The top four wrestlers in each 16-person weight class advance to the State Finals. Wagner-Gilbert advanced to the State Finals by pinning Anderson's Ashhante Jackson in 1:25 and then beating Franklin Central's Dayonna Dyson 3-1 in the ticket round. She pinned Lapel's Paige Stires at the final buzzer in the semifinals. In the regional final, she led Beech Grove's Jaydyn Madry 2-0 after two periods, registering the first takedown. But Madry scored three points in the final period to win 3-2. At 140, Champ earned her State Finals spot with two pins. She had a 5:48 fall over Southport's Natalie Vaeth, then pinned Alexandria's Riley Thomas in 50 seconds. In the semis, she fell to Franklin Central's Dayauna Myers 16-3, then was pinned by Warren Central's Shamiah Long in 4:31 in the third-place match. Two Dragons advanced to the ticket round, but dropped their quarterfinal matches - Calie Means at 115 and Ella Morris at 145. Lillian Kissel (135) and Julia Champ (155) also competed at the regional. The Dragons finished ninth out of 25 schools with 45 points. Franklin Central (133), Jay County (115) and Warren Central (111.5) took the top three spots. The State Finals will begin at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 17 at the Corteva Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis.