Kari Gibb/MDN Minot High freshman Ella Brown pins Siri Bryce Volk from Devils Lake at the 106-lbs preliminary rounds at the Minot Early Bird invitational held at Minot High on Saturday, November 23.

The Minot High girls wrestling team has started their season with a bang.

Ten girls teams attended the event at Minot High with the Majettes being one of the more dominant teams at the meet.

Monica Boakye, a junior at the 106-lbs classification was the first wrestler of the season to win her weight category. The opponent? Freshman teammate Ella Brown. Such is the standard of competition, skill and ability for the Majettes on the mats.

“About half the team are returning wrestlers who know their sport and are driven to succeed,” said Minot High girls head coach Mitchell Meyer. “The other half are first time wrestlers who are learning the sport and the moves. The Early Bird was the first time for many of those new wrestlers to attend, let alone compete in an event of this size.”

At the 100-lbs division, Brooklyn Ost placed third for Minot High with a win over Grace Inglish of Carrington. At 112, Khylie Schlotz was second for Minot High as she lost to Regan Stravia of Dickinson. Kerstyn Nevels was third in the same weight division with a win over Elizabeth Orness from Devils Lake.

Martha Ward took first place at 118 for Minot High with a win over Taley Michel of Kenmare-Bowbells in the final match. Madilynn Golphine was third and Fatimazahra Elbouab was fourth for the Majettes as well in the same weight division.

Madisyn Racine bested Khendra Garcia of Carrington for a win at 124 for the Majettes. Aaliyah Laboy came in fifth for Minot High at the same weight.

Tenley Michel of Kenmare-Bowbells bested Maria Riojas from Devils Lake for top spot at 130 while Jazmyn Ybarra of Carrington beat Payton Russell from Minot High for the top spot at 136. Sava Nelson was sixth at the same 136 classification for the Majettes.

Riley Hanson of Minot High beat Anna Karsky from Dickinson at the 142 classification. Kendall Bice was fifth for the Majettes as well. Amaya Baptiste of Kenmare-Bowbells beat Cassidy Azure of Turtle Mountain Community High School (TMCHS) for first place at 148 while Sitota Asmamaw from Minot High was sixth at the same weight.

Minot High grappler Maycee Boyce was bested by Clancy Meyer from Dickinson at 155-lbs.

“We look at Dickinson and the Bismarck schools as our measuring stick,” said Meyer. “Those programs have been producing solid teams and athletes for some time now. We feel great about our progress and look forward to the season.”

At 250, Minot High’s Jade’ence Fletcher lost to Love Hopkins of White Shield in the final.

The Majettes currently practice at Minot North high school and will hold their first dual match there on December 6 against Bismarck Century. Minot High will hold their next two duals at Minot High after that.