Peppler goes 3-1, finishes prep wrestling career 3rd at state

McKee, Enyart lose by fall in first round

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Laine Peppler

Rochester senior Laine Peppler went 3-1 and finished in third place at 170 pounds in the final tournament of her prep wrestling career at the IHSAA girls wrestling state finals at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis Friday.

Peppler started her day with a fall in 3:07 over Southridge’s Jocelyn Dubon in the round of 16.

She followed with a fall in 1:47 over Munster’s Allyson Compton, obtaining an early single-leg takedown and then leveraging her shoulders to the mat from the top position.

Her bid for a state title ended with a 3-1 loss to Columbus East freshman Annabelle Redman in the semifinals. The match was scoreless after one period as each wrestler tried to control the other’s neck. Redman won the coin toss and chose the top position to start the second period, but Peppler got an escape and the first point. Peppler would later try another single-leg takedown, but Redman blocked it, and a struggle for position ensued as Redman tried to free her leg and gain top position while Peppler tried to complete her shot.

The official awarded Redman a takedown with two seconds left in the period. That gave her a 3-1 lead.

Peppler chose the bottom position to start the third period, but Redman rode Peppler from the top position to close the match out.

Peppler then bounced back to beat Tipton’s Emersyn Adkins by fall in 52 seconds in the third-place match. Peppler also pinned Adkins in the regional final at Kokomo Jan. 10.

Redman would later pin Crown Point’s Jayda Miller in 3:24 to win the state title.

Peppler began the state tournament series ranked No. 2, Redman No. 3 and Adkins No. 4, according to IndianaMat.com. Franklin’s Eleanor Robertson, who came in ranked No. 1, finished sixth.

Peppler finished her career as a three-time state placer. She also finished fifth at 145 in 2024 and sixth at 170 last year. She will wrestle collegiately at Manchester University.

The other Rochester state qualifiers were pinned in their round of 16 matches.

Makenna McKee (130) lost in 3:13 to Lapel’s Paige Stires to finish her junior year 23-8. McKee, who also made state at 125 the previous two years, has never finished on a state podium.

Enyart (145) finished her sophomore year 23-12 after a loss by fall in 56 seconds to Silver Creek’s top-ranked Ava Allen in the round of 16. Enyart was wrestling at state for the first time.

Rochester finished with 19 points – all scored by Peppler – and finished in 27th place in the team standings. Whiteland won the team title with 99.5 points.

The IHSAA recognized girls wrestling as a sport in April 2024. This marked the second year that they have run the girls wrestling state finals.

IHSAA GIRLS WRESTLING STATE FINALS RESULTS (TOP 10 TEAMS PLUS AREA TEAMS): 1. Whiteland 99.5, 2. Crown Point 78.5, 3. Hobart 64.5, 4. Columbus East 63, 5. Indian Creek 58, 6. Garrett 57.5, 7. Merrillville 42.5, 8. Plymouth 40, 9. NorthWood 39, 10. Mooresville 37, 27. Rochester 19

ROCHESTER INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

130 – Makenna McKee – DNP, 145 – Elise Enyart – DNP, 170 – Laine Peppler – third

IHSAA INDIVIDUAL STATE CHAMPIONS

100 – Kaitlynn Fouty (Whiteland), 105 – Ella Neibert (Indian Creek), 110 – Elizabeth Dowty (Indian Creek), 115 – Kendall Moe (Indianapolis Cathedral), 120 – Mikayla Perkins (Whiteland), 125 – Corabella Wesley (Hobart), 130 – Ava Strayer (Crown Point), 135 – Naima Ghaffar (NorthWood), 140 – Maddie Marsh (Pendleton Heights), 145 – Charisma Lawrence (Merrillville), 155 – Aleksandra Bastaic (Highland), 170 – Annabelle Redman (Columbus East), 190 – Eric Cauble (Harrison (West Lafayette)), 235 – Aubrey Bartkowiak (Attica)