Menu
Sikeston's Kate Grubbs becomes a history-maker with a fourth-place finish at state
SIKESTON — No matter what happened in the state meet, once Sikeston junior Kate Grubbs stepped onto the mat for her first match of the day, she knew nothing was stopping her from making history.
That is what she wanted to accomplish when she walked into Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence.
But, she knew she still had to compete and prove that she belonged.
Heading into her quarterfinal matchup with Rock Bridge’s Anna Stephens, Grubbs proved that and then some.
She defeated Stephens in 31 seconds, in what she said was the fastest match she wrestled — at that stage of the season — of the two previous trips she made.
"I knew it was going to be a tough match,” Grubbs said. “I think I got in my head a little bit with who I was wrestling. I already saw her earlier in the season, and I only lost to her by a point, so I think that I might have interfered with how I wrestled and my performance.”
Grubbs’ victory moved her just two wins away from a coveted state championship — the next step on her checklist.
However, she met her match in the semifinals, losing to Buffalo’s Skyler Maverick, by fall, at 1:50 to push her to the third-place bout.
One match remained in her junior year, but it didn’t go as she wanted it to go.
Grubbs fell to Park Hill’s Taryn Johnson, by fall, in 2:42, to end her season with a fourth-place finish. She wrapped up her season with a 34-9 record overall.
"First and foremost, they told me they were proud of me for what I accomplished,” said Grubbs on what her coaches told her after her day was over. “Then, they made a promise to me that they would do as much as they could with getting me more time on the mat and getting me more practice time.”
Even though her season is over, the work is still far from complete.
Grubbs still has first-place on her mind and said that her goal over the summer is to get on the mat as much as possible in preparation for a senior year that she hopes she will never forget.
"I've already started to lift as much as I can, every day after school,” Grubbs said. “I'll be doing freestyle practices three times a week and compete at freestyle tournaments over the weekends. Hopefully, I'll make it to Fargo. So, I'll be wrestling year-round.”