Senior Harper Andrews became the first girl from Eudora to medal at the state wrestling tournament this weekend, placing fourth in the 130-pound weight class.
But a year ago, she didn’t know if she’d ever be able to wrestle again. A car crashed into Gambino’s Pizza while she was working, leaving her severely injured.
That recovery was one of many things on her mind as she heard the whistle blow to end her fourth match. She knew if she won, it guaranteed her a medal. If she lost, her season was over.
Andrews had watched her brother lose a similar do-or-die round years ago and was determined to not have the same fate. She had spent the last 20 seconds of the bout on her back, staving off a pin.
When the whistle blew, she looked at her dad. When she saw him nodding his head, she knew she’d made history.
“That was probably one of the best feelings ever,” Andrews said. “Because I had won by one point.”
But it wasn’t Andrews’ first time making history. She accomplished a similar feat in Colorado a couple of years ago.
“I guess I just needed to match that,” Andrews said. “And honestly, it was kind of like one of my goals to be the first girl up on the wall for wrestling and be the first one to place for Eudora, which is kind of neat. Just kind of a little proud, like, goal achieved moment for me.”
Overcoming the injury she suffered a year ago only added to the joy for Andrews.
“Knowing that in the back of my head, and how far I’ve come from overcoming that,” Andrews said. “I was pretty proud of myself.”
After splitting her two matches on the first day, Andrews stormed through the consolation bracket, winning three straight matches before losing in the third-place bout.
Head coach Miles Cleveland credited her string of success to her resiliency.
“She knew coming out that the backside was win or go home, and she took that to heart and just wrestled her tail off,” Cleveland said. “It was awesome to watch.”
When those close matches got down to the wire, Cleveland said the coaching staff was more on edge than Andrews, who stayed calm and collected in the high-pressure final minutes.
“She knows how to win in big moments and she never loses her cool,” Cleveland said. “She’s always calm … I don’t think she ever really had a doubt that she would be able to pull it off.”
Cleveland wasn’t surprised at all that Andrews became the first Eudora girl to medal at the state wrestling tournament. He has known her since she was a little kid and said she feels like a daughter to him.
“She deserves all the credit in the world,” he said. “She wrestled her butt off.”
Junior Ryan Bretthauer joined Andrews at the state tournament but wasn’t able to win a match.
Bretthauer said she learned a lot during her first stint at the state championships. The experience helped her see what she needed to improve and how to build confidence.
She’s looking forward to trying to make a deep run at state next year.
“I really look forward to getting to wrestle with my teammates and having fun with them,” Bretthauer said. “But also just improving my own personal skill set and taking it further into my wrestling career.”
Cleveland said he knew it hurt to not win, but he was excited to see Bretthauer compete and knows she’ll be back next season ready to make even bigger strides.
“She’ll be back,” Cleveland said. “She’ll be working hard all summer, and she’ll be ready to go next season, I’m sure.”
Cleveland said he was excited for next season and knows the team will have to replace a deep graduating senior class.
As one of those seniors, Andrews said she was happy to get to leave her mark on Eudora wrestling by becoming the first girl to medal.
She recalled what she said to her dad after clinching a medal on Saturday.
“I guess I have a thing for making history, huh?”
Reach reporter Cuyler Dunn at [email protected]
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Harper Andrews placed fourth at state Saturday. Andrews won three matches in the consolation rounds over McLouth High School, Oakley High School and Phillipsburg High School. Andrews fell to Pratt High School while vying for third place. This is a file photo from her match Thursday against Hoisington. Photos by Annalynn Phanthadeth.
