Rochester’s Peppler finishes 6th, Gerald 8th at state

McKee eliminated in first round

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Laine Peppler Lilly Gerald Makenna McKee

Rochester wrestlers Laine Peppler and Lilly Gerald both earned spots on the podium for the second time in their respective careers at the IHSAA girls wrestling state finals at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis Friday.

Peppler, a junior, went 2-2 on the day and finished in sixth place at 170 pounds. Gerald, a junior, went 1-3 and finished in eighth place at 105.

Makenna McKee, the third Lady Z competing at state after winning the regional at 125 pounds last week, lost by fall to Franklin Central’s Alia Russell in 3:21 and was eliminated in the first round.

As a team, Rochester scored nine points and finished in a tie for 54th place out of the 121 schools that had at least one representative at the first ever IHSAA state finals.

Gerald, who finished fourth at 98 pounds as a freshman in 2023, clinched a spot on the podium with a 12-10 win over North Posey’s Kenna Kleinschmidt in the first round.

Gerald, ranked No. 4 per IndianaMat.com, then lost to Daleville’s Kynlie Keffer by fall in 37 seconds in the quarterfinals. She then lost 11-8 to Griffith’s Grace Pinkelton in the consolation round and finished her day with a loss by fall in 1:24 to Hobart’s Joanna Cantu in the seventh-place match.

Gerald finished the season 28-7.

Peppler, ranked No. 3, began her day with a 4-0 win over Penn’s Amani Reed.

That earned her a match with Jay County’s top-ranked Mallory Winner, who pinned her in 3:42. Peppler won her consolation match with an 8-6 win over Fairfield’s Jacinda Brown.

In the fifth-place match, Lebanon’s Claira Gramlin avenged a loss to Peppler at last week’s Rochester regional and claimed an 9-3 decision.

Peppler finished the season 28-6.

Peppler also finished fifth at state last year at 145 pounds when it was held under the auspices of Indiana High School Girls Wrestling.

McKee, the ninth-ranked sophomore who is in her second year of competitive wrestling, finished 25-8.

Columbus East won the team title with 89 points. Merrillville was second with 65.

While the boys wrestling state finals are a two-day affair, the first girls state finals were crammed into one day.