Center Grove wrestler Krejsa wins state title

From the time she started wrestling as a sophomore, Anna Krejsa’s career has been trending the right direction.

The Center Grove senior reached the summit Friday night, winning the 126-pound weight class at the Indiana high school girls wrestling finals inside Kokomo’s Memorial Gymnasium.

“It was really meaningful for me with this being my last year of high school and not picking up the sport until my sophomore year,” said Krejsa, who completed a 15-0 season (all by fall) with a first-round pin of Bellmont’s Andrea Hernandez in the championship match.

“I’ve stood at the fourth spot (on the podium) as a sophomore and second as a junior, so to be standing at No. 1 was incredible.”

Krejsa was one of three Johnson County wrestlers who qualified, the others being Indian Creek sophomores Phoebe Dowty and Hannah Seitzinger. The two Braves secured third-place medals at 120 and 132 pounds, respectively.

Krejsa, who had a career mark of 34-5, recently committed to attend Life University, an NAIA school in Marietta, Georgia, that earlier this month won its first national duals championship in women’s wrestling.

She will wrestle for the Running Eagles and major in psychology.

Meanwhile, Dowty and Seitzinger expect to benefit from the experience of being a state finalist.

Dowty lost a 3-2 semifinal match to North Montgomery senior Catie Campbell, then responded with a 3-0 defeat of New Palestine’s Sydney DeLois in the third-place match. Seitzinger lost to Campbell’s twin sister, Cailin, in her semifinal before pinning Jayla Logan of Hamilton Heights to wrap up the third spot.

“The (finals) were really emotional for me because there were a lot of girls that I had been working to beat that I had to wrestle,” Dowty said. “I wish I could have done a little better in my match against Catie Campbell, but she beat me by eight points at regional, and I lost by one point this time.

“I think I was more confident in my wrestling this week.”