Wawasee junior Kenidi Nine is set to compete at the IHSAA Girls Wrestling State Finals in the 135-pound class, marking her second straight State Finals appearance. (Photos by Mike Deak)
If paper and chalk have any merit together, the IHSAA Girls Wrestling State Finals should be a wild ride for the 135-pound bracket.
On paper, 12 of the 16 spaces of the 135 bracket are filled with ranked wrestlers from the most recent Indiana Mat ratings, and five of the 10 matchups feature ranked foes going head-to-head. Of those five, one includes our 35 pounder, Kenidi Nine, who is ranked No. 15 in the state and paired up with No. 7 Shelby Luper of Clinton Prairie in the first round of the event being held this Friday at Corteva Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds & Event Center.
Nine has had a pretty steady junior season in making her second girls wrestling state finals, qualifying for last year’s IHSGW State tournament as a sophomore. Rolling up a 30-9 record this year, Nine has admitted some troubles against some of the bigger names in her weight class such has NorthWood’s Naima Ghaffar and Homestead’s Katy Vardaman, but is nonetheless in the big dance where she wants to be.
“There are a few of these girls that I know are better, I just have to figure it out,” Nine said, offering a real talk moment. “I feel like when I’ve been against the girls ranked better, I haven’t done well at all. I have to turn that around if I’m going to get anywhere at state.”
Nine was just 1-1 at the sectional but finished second, then won the third place match at the Goshen Regional against No. 11 Helene Papadakis of Crown Point last week to finish up a 3-1 day. The notion of struggling against better competition is going to be at the forefront against Luper, who is 34-2 and owns some notable wins this season against top competition. If Nine makes it past Luper into the podium rounds, it’ll either be No. 2-ranked Kyla Johnson of Southport (12-0) or No. 8-ranked Madalyn McCarty of Mt. Vernon (15-3). The chalk says Nine is at a disadvantage, but Nine figured out how to beat both Papadakis and Isabella Reller of Penn in late rallies.
“I was just trying to do whatever I could,” Nine said of her regional showing. “I kept trying to get into a stupid roll I like to do (fat man’s roll) and I wasn’t in the right position for it, then finally got there, and it was pure luck. I know it was luck on my side in that last win (against Papadakis).”
Nine is looking to become just the second Wawasee girls wrestler to podium at a state finals, joining her best friend, Alex Garcia, who finished eighth at the 2022 IHSGW State Finals. Nine lost in the first round of last year’s IHSGW State Finals to Pendleton Heights’ Maddie Marsh, who eventually went on to win the 135-pound state championship.
“I am very proud of Kenidi Nine,” started Wawasee head coach Miguel Rodriguez. “Last year, her chapter didn’t end the way she wanted. So this year, she has been on a mission to not only qualify but to be on that podium. She’s been working all offseason to get where she wants to be. She is one of the hardest workers in the room and continues to push herself to get to that next level. I am honored to be in her corner and to be part of her journey in wrestling and in life.”
The Parade of Champions begins at Corveta at 9:30 a.m. Friday and wrestling starts at 10 a.m. Live streaming can be found on the IHSAA website and live bracket updates will be on USA Bracketing.