COLUMBIA — As thrilled as Brenya Crahan was to see a fresh face in Winnetonka’s Madison Leverknight, she was quick to say good night to her.
Crahan pinned Leverknight in 1:28 in the 125-pound final at the Girls State Wrestling Tournament on Saturday. It was their first match against each other.
“It was awesome wrestling someone new,” said Crahan (37-1), a Nixa sophomore.
Leverknight kept Crahan from possibly adding to her series of matches against Lebanon’s Halea Bartel. Leverknight beat Bartel 4-1 in the quarterfinals.
Over the past two seasons, Crahan and Bartel met nine times, including in last year’s 122 championship match at State. Crahan was 8-1 against Bartel.
“She was always working to beat me, so I had to come up with something new every time,” Crahan said.
Crahan had to fight off a strong upset bid by Francis Howell Central’s Neveah Smith in the first round. Crahan pulled out a 6-4 overtime win.
“Brenya had a great tournament,” Nixa coach Dustin Martin said. “It started a little tough, but she battled through that first match and then really got going.”
Crahan felt the timing of MSHSAA making changes to weight classes this season worked in her favor.
“It made a big difference for me,” she said. “I don’t think I would have wrestled 122 again. Last year, (the cut) was super easy and this year it was easy for me to get down to 125 by staying on my diet. But I don’t think I could have made 122.”
As Crahan looks to chase down four State championships, she is counting on her jiu jitsu background to help her on her way.
“When I was 4 years old, I started jiu jitsu and kick-boxing,” she said. “Then, I kind of broke off and went to wrestling, but I’ve started jiu jitsu back up again. I feel like my ji jitsu and wrestling will come together.”
