PHOTO OF THE DAY: IN HER MOMENT

Freeman Public eighth grader Maddie Lachman is in her own world in the moments leading up to her first-ever Region 2 wrestling match in Salem Friday afternoon, Feb. 20. It was actually the first-ever region tournament for all female wrestlers in South Dakota in this, the third season of SDHSAA-sanctioned girls wrestling. In previous years, the wrestlers advanced to state based solely on their performance in the regular season, not a bracketed tournament.

Lachman was the only girl from the Marion/Freeman program to compete and was eliminated from competition after two matches. Competing in the 107 lb. division, Lachman (6-15) drew the No. 1 seed and lost to Canton freshman Brooke Warejcka (29-7) by fall late in the first period, and then dropped an elimination match to Harrisburg junior Benazir Wilson (17-23), also by fall, Thursday evening.

Salem will also play host to the Region 2B boys competition on Saturday, where a number of Marion/Freeman wrestlers will look to get through to next week’s state tournament in Rapid City.