If Brenya Crahan had picked up where she left off last season and stayed at 135 pounds, she'd likely be eyeing a countdown to the end of this season more than a countdown toward becoming Nixa’s all-time winningest wrestler.
Crahan endured wrestling burnout aș a junior a year ago and not because her quest to become a four-time state champion ended with a quarterfinal loss at the Class 2 State Tournament.
Following her 145-pound championship at the COC Tournament on Friday, Crahan related her overwhelming struggles from last season to keep her weight at 135.
“When I was at '35, I was cutting a lot,” she said. “It made me feel defeated about the sport. Cutting weight had changed my mind about wrestling. I was debating about wrestling in college.”
In contrast, she’s felt refreshed at 145.
“At '45, I don’t have to cut weight anymore,” Crahan said. “I sit around four pounds under (145). I'm here having fun and not being miserable all the time. I'm enjoying the sport. Everything is perfect — 100 percent better mood.”
She’s smiling more than ever before, savoring all the memories she’s making as a senior.
“I'm taking in all the moments with my teammates and coaches, trying to spend quality time with them,” Crahan said. “I’m super close with most of the girls on the team.”
Crahan's four wins by fall at the COC Tournament put her at 36-0 entering the post-season. Her career record stands at 179-5, placing her second among Nixa’s all-time wins leaders and within six wins of overtaking Zan Fugitt atop that list.
Fugitt graduated last year with a career record of 184-8. Joe Velliquette is third with a 175-16 record and Peyton Moore fourth with a 167-24 mark.
“That's the goal,” Crahan said of finishing as the all-time wins leader. “Zan has quite a few wins. We’ll see if I can get up there or not. That's something I want to achieve, to leave something big like that (as her legacy).”
Crahan’s chances of getting to 185 wins, as well as capturing her third state championship, appear very good. She’s been ranked No. 1 at 145 by MissouriWrestling.com all season. She’s been so dominant all but one of her 36 wins have been by fall.
As far as the rest of the 145 field, no likely challenger to Crahan has stepped forward, yet.
Washington’s Annelise Obermark, who knocked off Crahan 8-0 in the quarterfinals en route to winning the 135 championship last year, moved up to 140 and has stayed there all season while going 39-2.
The lone competitor to go the distance with Crahan this season hails from Oklahoma.
Crahan doesn’t want an easy road to a state championship
“It's not been stacked at all,” she said of the 145 class. “I would like to have competition. I don't want to have a walk-through at State.”
