Kelsey Watts went through about as many emotions Saturday as one could possibly have while actually not wrestling in a match she's battled long and hard to get to.
Watts won the Class 2 District 3 115-pound championship Saturday by medical forfeit. For a split-second, though, she was worried she was forfeiting the final to Lebanon's Adeline Cottongim
"I had no clue," Watts said of Cottongim's status. "My coach had told me I wasn't wrestling, but I remembered we talked (Friday) because I had an injury myself. I hyperextended my knee. So, I thought I was going to be the one forfeiting. I was like, 'No, no, I'm good, I want to wrestle. I'm fine now.'"
The forfeit wasn't the only reason Watts had less mat time, by far, than any champion. Remarkably, the Nixa junior needed just :40 to breeze to her title. She received a first-round bye as the top seed, pinned her quarterfinal opponent in :14 and put her semifinal foe on her back in :26.
Watts' :40 of dominance allowed her to reach 40 wins. She's 40-5.
All this from a 130-pounder who lost in the first round of Districts and managed a mere 15 victories a year ago.
"This season has definitely exceeded my expectations by a lot," Watts said. "Last year, I wasn't very good at all. This year, I was just aiming to place at Districts."
Watts was under-sized at 130 and giving up weight in possibly every match. But she consideres the experience invaluable.
"(130) was the only spot open for me and I'm glad I did it because of getting the chance to wrestle," she said. "I learned a lot from it and it made me a better wrestler."
Watts' confidence has grown immeasurably over the course of this season.
"Around December I realized, 'I'm a lot better than I expected,'" she said. "At The Wonder Woman (in Columbia), I wrestled a Cassville girl (three-time State qualifier Kailey Artherson) and pinned her. It was a big eye-opener for me. Also, people in the practice room that would beat on me a lot last season, I can (beat) this season."
Watts was one of four Lady Eagles crowned District champions. Brenya Crahan, Cali Dupree and Mylee Harper also won titles.
Crahan was her usual dominant self and stayed perfect on the season by collecting three pins to up her record to 46-0. If any fans were rooting for the two-time state champion to be upset, she might have even won them over by showing remarkable composure.
Crahan's pin in 3:41 against Lebanon's Taylor Johnson in the 135 final seemed matter-of-fact enough until immediately afterward, when Johnson pushed Crahan off-balance and back onto the mat. Crahan simply got up and shook Johnson's hand.
Johnson, who has lost three times to Crahan this season, was penalized for the incident.
"She's one of my good friends," Crahan said. "She had her hand in my face and I guess it kind of frustrated her when I pinned her.
"I've dealt with that a lot (at her father's mixed martial arts gym) where someone will get mad and hit you," she added. "You've just got to keep your cool."
Dupree posted three pins her way to the 155 championship. At 44-5, she, too, is a member of the Lady Eagles' 40-win club.
Harper was a surprising champion as the second seed at 120. The freshman pinned Ozark's Maelynn Sundlie, the top seed, in 4:24 in the final. Sundlie was winning 3-0 at the time of the fall.
"She went for a shot and I was able to hook her," said Harper, a freshman who improved to 35-13.
In their previous meeting at the COC Tournament, Sundlie handed Harper a 16-0 technical fall defeat.
"She beat me badly. It's good to come back from that and get her," Harper said. "I definitely went out there today with more confidence against her. I feel in practice we've been working harder and I've been working on the things I need to work on. I've been pushing myself further.
"I didn't expect this for my freshman year," she added. "It feels good to go out and get it."
Harper wrestled in junior high, but twice suffered season-ending injuries. A torn meniscus weighed heavily on her mind for a long while.
"I've gotten better about forgetting about it and just going out and wrestle, instead of worrying about what might happen," Harper said. "It's definitely been nice to continue throughout a season."
Nixa received runner-up finishes from Ava Hansen (29-12) at 105 and Addison Harkins (42-5) at 125. Also qualifying for State were Ava Frye (28-12) at 130 and Taelor Dorr-Tilla (3-4) at 145.
