Roell finishes 4th at state finals

PHOTO COURTESY OF MILAN ATHLETICS

Milan sophomore Kayla Roell knew that being the first Milan girls wrestler to ever appear in a state finals was already noteworthy but Roell turned the accolade up a couple notches, finishing fourth in her first-ever appearance at the Indiana High School Girls Wrestling State Finals on Friday.

The state finals inside the girls wrestling realm was hosted by Kokomo. While Roell represented Milan, wrestlers from Switzerland County, East Central and Madison were also featured in the event.

Roell’s day inside the 115-pound class started with ease as her opening round opponent was forced to forfeit the matchup and send the Milan sophomore into the quarterfinals. Finally on the mat inside that round, Roell defeated Kaylee Bunton via pinfall at the 4:49 mark to advance to the semifinals against Tola Aluko of Ben Davis.

Unfortunately for Roell, a berth to the state championship match was not to be had as she would fall to Aluko by a 3-0 decision and would be forced into the third place match to round out the day.

Isabel Kaplan of West Lafayette awaited in the consolation matchup and ended Roell’s historic first go-around in the state finals, defeating her by a 10-0 major decision.

There is zero doubt that another deep postseason run and state finals berth is in the cards for Roell as she still has two more chances for further success. The Lady Indian now returns to regular season competition with the Milan boys program where she will be back to aid in the undefeated efforts with the team.

It is also worth noting that Roell missed Saturday’s podium recognition at the state finals. Reason being? A trip to Oklahoma where she would find herself back out on the dirt track as part of her flourishing racing career.