Bloomington South senior Jaclyn Hillenburg was taken down midway through the second period and quickly gave up seven nearfall points to trail 13-0.
She was lucky to just get this far, right? Dealing with a serious injury right before last week’s sectional, she had to wrestle just once to get to the title match, winning on one leg and crying from the pain, her father and head coach Donnie Hillenburg said.
She didn’t practice all week, going through a few drills and some rehab. But the injury flared back up once she put stress on it when the whistle blew. So she came into Saturday’s South girls wrestling regional in the 235-pound bracket with the goal of getting off the mat as fast as possible while getting the two wins she needed to make it to state for the first time.
Her first match was over in 26 seconds, then that goal of hers took on a whole new meaning.
Her Round 2 match, against sectional champ Addy Preston of Switzerland County, sure it looked like it was over as the second period ticked away, along with her state dreams. Somehow, Hillenburg got off the mat, turning certain defeat, in near Hollywood fashion, into a pin at 3:50 to keep her season alive.
“I’ve got to give all glory to God,” Hillenburg said. “I was getting beat in that match. And I don’t know how I did it, but I found a way and I just grit my teeth and pushed off my legs and made it happen.
“I’ve been wrestling on these purple mats for nine years now and it’s just surreal, this being my last time and me punching my ticket to state here.”
Hillenburg was able to medically forfeit her last two matches with her spot secure. It means she’ll face a regional champ in the first round at the IHSAA State Finals on Friday, Jan. 16 inside Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis, but that’s a detail the Manchester College signee can live with.
“It was actually so unreal, because I’ve been waiting my entire career for this moment,” Hillenburg said. “I got watch my brother (Harley) punch his ticket and I’m just so happy because I finally got there, too.”
In all, South has five headed to state, just one of them who has been there before.
And really each of them, in their own way, will be just happy to be there, considering the adversity and obstacles that were in their way and all the work they put in to overcome them.
Senior Mariah Pope is the only one going back again, having copied her runner-up finish from last year at 100 pounds. First-timers include junior Joslyn Hererra, who didn’t even make it to regional last year, taking third at 105; senior Lila Pierce, ran into the state’s top-ranked wrestler in the 120 final; freshman Samiya Love, nearly 20 pounds lighter than her opponent at 190s, still took third.
“If you just get up and wrestle, anything can happen,” South coach Donnie Hillenburg said. “All the work they put in, it pays off.
“I also brought in three new coaches this year, all state placers who go to IU. Kids from Indiana, New Palestine and Columbus East. It gave us a whole new look at training the girls a little differently. The change helped. The kids love it.”
Four more on the floor at state
Hererra (28-8) was bumped to fifth at last year’s sectional, and it showed her how much she would need to improve to break though the first level. She was third this time and the top two from the Indian Creek Sectional will joined her at state.
“I feel really great,” Hererra said. “I just put in a lot of work over the summer, so I feel like I deserve this because I’ve put in a lot of work. We have one of the hardest sectionals I feel like, last year it was really hard.
“So this year, I’ve just been wrestling to my full potential, listening to coaches, giving everything I can to get here. Now we’re actually here, it’s like a dream come true.”
Pierce (26-12) rolled into her semifinal where Columbus East’s Gloria Cloud awaited. Cloud had pinned Pierce in the second period last week. This time, Pierce prevailed in 5:03.
“I had to survive the first round and then pick top (to start the second), because that’s my strong point,” Pierce said. “And then try to flip her over.”
She then ran into a buzzsaw in No. 1 Mikayla Perkins of Whiteland (36-1) in the title match (pin of 1:45), but the trip to state overweighed any disappointment.
“I’m so hyped and so excited,” Pierce said. “It’s my senior year, so I wanted to go out with a bang.”
Pierce put in the work, in and out of practice, to make it happen, building on the basics, asking questions. She also appreciated the extra hands coach Hillenburg brought it.,
“I’ve always wanted to make it to state since I started,” Pierce said. “And I placed better than I thought.”
Love has been battling at 190 while weighing around 20 pounds less but finished off her day with a resounding win, pinning her foe for third in 2:03.
“It’s really exciting, honestly,” Love said. “This is my second year wrestling, I never thought I would make it this far, but with my teammates help and coaches, I’ve really come a long way. It’s exciting.
“When I first started wrestling 190 I thought it was going to be really tough. Especially when I’m wrestling 20-30 pounds heavier. But now that I’m focused on wrestling and working my stuff, you can beat anybody. You just have to believe in yourself and that’s what I’ve done.”
Two weeks into the season, Pope (16-8) dislocated her arm, taking her out of action for a bit. But she was able to come back from that and post runner-up finishes two weeks in a row.
Three pins in a row earned a rematch with undefeated No. 1 Kaitlynn Fouty of Whiteland, who won a 19-2 tech fall, but Pope lasted longer than she did the week before and expects more at state this time.
“Last year, being my first year of wrestling, I was not as experienced,” Pope said. “The first round, I have should have moved more. I understood a few things, but I wasn’t really good at moving or thinking about chain wrestling as much.
“This year, I’m feeling pretty good about it.”
Seasons end for North, Edgewood, OV
No luck was to be had in the ticket round outside the home team.
Owen Valley’s three wrestlers each picked up first-round wins but fell in the second.
At 115, No. 14 Alyssa Livingston had a pin of 3:13 but then suffered a pin at the hands of fourth-ranked Moriah Porphet of Whiteland in 3:34. At 135, Aaliyah White pinned North’s Alexzander Burns in 5:07, then took a loss in 4:28 to No. 4 Cadence Williams of Mooresville. At 235, Grace Mascoe started off with a quick pin of 26 seconds but No. 2 Dhamara Aguilar Tiencle knocked her out with a pin of 47 seconds.
North also saw Penelope Warren pinned in 51 seconds at 125 and Sarah Vorice pinned in 1:16 at 155.
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH REGIONAL
Top 10 team scores: Whiteland 203, Franklin 116, Mooresville 103, Bloomington South 100½, Columbus East 86, Seymour 69, North Posey 66½, Southridge 65, Indian Creek 63, Madison 49. 28. Owen Valley 12, T30. Bloomington North 4; Edgewood NS.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: ‘Don’t know how I did it’ South wrestler Jaclyn Hillenburg makes state
