By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

SPRINGFIELD, Ore.–  Madison Shockley found herself win away from the 110-pound Women’s State Qualifer Bracket Saturday at Thurston High School following her pins of Vernonia’s Ashley Jackson and Hillsboro Juliana Raabe, momentum was riding high when she faced the number-two seed in Macia Stewart from Thurston.

Top Four go to the State Tournament in Portland, happening at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, at the same time as the guys here in three weeks.  Very same set up as the Boy’s District/Regional tournaments across the State that are happening over the next few weeks.

But, for Shockley, she had to go through the consolation bracket to do so and keep an eye on an unique rule to get to Portland on February 17 and 18.

Her perfect record would be blemished by Stewart with a 8-1 decision that dropped Shockley to the consolation match against McKay’s Tess Barnett.

Winner of the consolation semi-final round will battle for third-place match while the loser may have one last crack at it through a built-in strange loophole with the district meet.

That loophole, pretty much if you didn’t wrestle someone in the consolation bracket as what happened in 105 and 145 Saturday that resulted in the ‘rule’ ruling that favored who won the earlier consolation match-up, it’ll be the loser of the third-fourth match will have to wrestle the fifth-place finisher for a ‘true’-fourth placer.  Confusing yes, but very unique.

The loophole will have to happen as Barnett pinned Shockley in their consolation match that sent Barnett to the third-place match versus Jackson from Vernonia.  The loophole played in being that Barnett and Shockley can’t meet again for fourth otherwise Barnett will default as fourth-place winner, so Barnett will have to win.

 

 

Shockley pinned Raabe again as she did in the championship quarter-finals to get to the fifth-place match and then she had to wait to see the result of Barnett’s match.

Barnett was facing Jackson, who Shockley beat earlier in the tournament so Shockley gave her some pointers in hopes Barnett would win.  And as Barnett walked by Shockley, Shockley boldly asked the result of the match:  Barnett won.  Majored decision 12-4 to set up another rematch, this time with Jackson.

“I knew I couldn’t lose, that’s the mentality you have to have of, ‘You can’t lose or you already beat yourself’,” said Shockley on the mindset of going into that fourth-place match as she embraced Barnett out of excitement knowing she has one last crack at going to State.

As she did in the second-round, this time under the overhanging light, Shockley defeated Jackson 6-0 to go to the Big Show in three weeks in Portland.

“It’s hard, but it’s good to get there.  A lot of hard work, got to eat but not too much.  It’s rough,” smiled Shockley on the work it took to get there.

 

 

Three weeks until the Big Show, the State tournament.  During the same time as the guys are doing the same things as the girls in fighting for that State Title.

For Shockley, she’s going to take what she learned from Saturday and incorporate that into her training, especially her endurance.

“You got to know what to do first of all, you got to know how you lost in the first place and you got to train harder than everybody else does in the next three weeks,” said Shockley.  “Definitely my endurance.  I kind of crash at the end, it’s hard going all three-rounds.”

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