FOR THE ANTIGO TIMES

Antigo Wrestling Club standout Alexandra Hofrichter added to her growing trophy case, securing the top of the podium at the WWF Women’s High School Folkstyle State Tournament. Only a sophomore, Hofrichter is already gaining attention around the state, and now has back-to-back state championships.

Hofrichter’s day started with a match against Jade Herzer of Wisconsin Dells. Herzer won the 138-pound bracket last year, was a champion at 132 pounds in 2019, and in 2018 she placed first at 138 pounds. Hofrichter knew she had a very formidable foe in the first round, but refused to allow Herzer to win her fourth state championship.

The match started with Herzer gaining control with a collar tie with her right hand, and a sweep single on Hofrichter’s right leg to gain a takedown and a 2-point advantage 14 seconds into the first round. Hofrichter was able to mount a multitude of near scoring opportunities from the bottom, eventually using wrist control to secure a single leg and scored a reversal with only 4 seconds remaining to tie the match at 2 heading into the second period.

After Herzer deferred, Hofrichter chose to start the match on bottom. From here, Hofrichter was able to execute a couple of stand-up attempts, but Herzer was able to maintain control and return her to the mat. Herzer was able to use a strong right-handed chop to break Hofrichter down and rider her out for the remainder of the period.

With the score tied at 2, Herzer decided to start the third period in the neutral position. Here Hofrichter was able to use her conditioning advantage and used a Russian tie to remove Herzer’s right-handed collar tie. From there, Hofrichter transitioned from the Russian tie to a left-handed overhook, and launched her opponent straight to her back, leading to the pinfall victory 21 seconds into the third period. A very ecstatic Hofrichter took a quick moment to celebrate her victory, but then started to focus on her next opponent.

That next opponent was Lillian Riggle of Burlington.  Due to a lack of female events this year, wiwrestling.com, the site most often looked to for rankings, has not released updated rankings for this year. Going off of last year’s rankings, Riggle is the top ranked individual at 152/160 pounds, so Hofrichter knew another tough match was in front of her.

Riggle had a visible height and reach advantage, and used that to secure a takedown on a go behind off of her shot attempt 64 seconds into the first round. Hofrichter then used her scrambling ability on the bottom to secure a navy ride and scored a reversal with 28 seconds to go in the round. Hofrichter was able to control the top position the rest of the period.

Entering the second period deadlocked at 2, Hofrichter decided to start on the bottom. Once again, Hofrichter was able to show off her mat awareness on the bottom, and secured a wrist and an inside single leg to reverse her opponent 32 seconds into the period. From here, Hofrichter nearly scored with a half nelson, but was only able to briefly maintain the position. Hofrichter then secured a near side armbar with far side wrist, and was able to bump Riggle’s hips to put Riggle in danger. This led to 3 nearfall points being awarded to Hofrichter. Hofrichter was then able to ride out the remainder of the period, and took a 7-2 lead into the third period.

Wanting nothing of Hofrichter on top or bottom, Riggle chose to start the third period in neutral. Hofrichter refused to sit on her sizable lead, and instead continued to push the pace, and eventually was able to snap down her much taller opponent, secure a front headlock, and then the near leg to secure a takedown with 42 seconds to go in the round. More tough riding on top followed for Hofrichter. Hofrichter was able to hit a step through on the near side foot, and used that to set up a half nelson, pinning Riggle at 5:58. Had she not secured the pinfall, Hofrichter would have won 12-2, in a very dominant match.

The finals saw a match up between Hofrichter and Elicia Leonard of Wisconsin Dells, who placed 2^nd last year at 152 pounds. Leonard had advanced to the finals with a quick 24 second pin off of a head throw in the semi-finals.

The first period started with gaining control with a left-handed underhook and good head position. Leonard went for the same head throw that got her to the finals, and Hofrichter was able to sink her hips and pop her head out, gaining a takedown in the process. Once Hofrichter was on top, she started to assert her dominance. Hofrichter continually kept her opponent broken down, and then secured a nearside armbar and far side wrist, leading to a pinfall victory 1:42 into the first round.

The future is bright for the young Antigo wrestler. The state championship automatically qualifies Hofrichter for a national tournament in Iowa, where she plans on testing her skills against the best in the nation.

WWF Women’s High School Folkstyle State Results for Antigo High School

HS Women’s 152

Alexandra Hofrichter’s place is 1st and has scored 26.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Alexandra Hofrichter (Antigo High School) won by fall over Jade Herzer (Wisconsin Dells) (Fall 4:21)
• Semifinal – Alexandra Hofrichter (Antigo High School) won by fall over Lillian Riggle (Burlington High School) (Fall 5:58)
• 1st Place Match – Alexandra Hofrichter (Antigo High School) won by fall over Elicia Leonard (Wisconsin Dells) (Fall 1:42)