Star Shelton came in second in Swain tournament.
By Daniel Sherlin
Guest Writer
The Lady Jacket Wrestling team went to Swain on Saturday, Nov. 18 to compete in the 2023 Lady Devil Invitational tournament. The tournament had 16 different women teams. The Lady Jackets had three ladies in the tournament. Amyna Denton at 120 pounds; Lilli Denton at 132 pounds and newcomer Lakota “Star” Shelton at 145 pounds. Both Denton Ladies secured enough wins to land them fourth place and Shelton debuted for her first time wrestling against El-kourki, from Robbinsville and defeating her by pin. Shelton went on to win a few matches all by pin making her way to the championship Round. Fighting hard she ended up with a silver medal at second place. As a team they ended up sixth out of 16. This was a great victory as we only had three ladies wrestling and some teams had 12.
They traveled to Enka High School on Wednesday, Nov. 22.
This was the first time Katie Miller, 165 pound weight class, had been in a wrestling match and her debut match was against the powerhouse team of Enka. The match went the distance of all three rounds that last 2 minutes each with both girls getting take-downs and escapes each. With the match tied it went into sudden victory with the next lady who scored a take-down win. Miller came out on top. Denton and Shelton went on to defeat every opponent they came across and scored the championship in each respected weight class.
Also at this tournament was the Red Wells wrestling scholarship that grants one senior a $500 to any school they go to for college. With around 20 different schools attending this prestige award was given to Lilliani Denton, of Hayesville. This was also the first time this award was given to a women wrestler. The award is given to a wrestler who demonstrates hard word, commitment, dedication and service to others.