Lady Buffs win WAC; Alonso named Wrestler of Year
First, it was winning the Western Athletic Conference.
Second, it was winning the Class 6A regional team championship.
Third, and most important, it was claiming the 2025 Class 6A state tournament team trophy for the very first time.
Indeed, the 2024-2025 season for the Garden City Lady Buffaloes’ wrestlers was a year not soon forgotten.
Likely the toughest conference in Kansas high school, the Lady Buffs posted a 4-0 dual match record, including a scant 41-39 win over rival Dodge City to end the Red Demons’ dominance of the last few seasons.
Then, they followed it with a solid triumph over Dodge City in the regional tournament before waiting two more weeks to claim the state championship while Dodge City took second and Liberal seventh.
On the Class 5A side of things, Hays took sixth and Great Bend ninth to illustrate the depth of the WAC teams when competing at the state level.
In all, the three Class 6A teams in the WAC produced 25 overal medalists (top 6), including five firsts, five seconds, five thirds and four fourths. The two Class 5A schools garnered eight medals but no individual titles.
Dodge City senior Ashley Alonso won her second consecutive 6A 110-pound state crown and finished the season 35-2 and was voted WAC Wrestler of the Year by the coaches.
Garden City first-year head coach Paul Lappin was voted Coach of the Year by his peers.
“I think the success of the girls’ team goes all the way back to last summer and the commitment that was made,” Lappin said. “Everybody committed to be the best they could every single day and not worry about results, but work hard on the process to get there.”
The WAC schedule includes duals with each of the remaining four schools in the conference. The Lady Buffs won easily over Hays (52-27), Great Bend (64-18) and Liberal (63-12), but the battle with Dodge City was as close as a razor’s thin edge.
With the Lady Buffs building up an early lead, they had to hold off the Red Demons’ higher weight advantage and eked out a 41-39 victory that clinched their first WAC team title.
“I think where we started to believe that the team could be really good was when we won the Kansas City Stampede (just before Christmas),” Lappin said. “We had been trying to figure out which weights were best for the girls and the team, so we chose to move some up one weight. It worked out well for us.”
Fully aware of how tough Dodge City has been, Lappin said that while the WAC isn’t the ultimate prize, it provides an avenue to the goals at the end of the season.
“When we wrestle Dodge and other very good individuals from other schools, you know it is preparing you for what you’ll see at the state tournament,” Lappin said.
To illustrate just how tough the WAC is, Dodge City had the most first-team all-conference selections with six and Garden City was right behind with five. Liberal had two and Hays one.
Another example of the difficulty in the WAC is the conference produced five state champions. Elizabeth Ramirez (Dodge City, Jr., 38-2) won at 105 pounds and Garden City’s Kaira Acosta was third.
Alonso captured her second straight gold medal at 110 pounds and Garden City’s Emjay Marez was her victim in the championship match by an 8-4 decision. Crystal Loera of Garden City captured the 125-pound division and teammate Maya Tarbet won at 130 to complete a three-peat as a state champ after winning at 125 pounds as a sophomore and junior.
Liberal’s Hayleen Martinez went a perfect 35-0 to capture the 190-pound division. At 135-pounds, Hailey Ramos of Dodge City went 40-2 and placed second at state to occupy that all-WAC slot while the Red Demons’ Yareli Garcia and Liliana Arroyo switched weight divisions from a year ago and took the 155 and 145-pound spots on the WAC list. They were third and fourth at the state tournament.
Repeat all-WAC selections included Ramirez, Alonso, Crystal Loera, Tarbet, Ramos, Garcia, Arroyo and Martinez.
ASHLEY ALONSO, Dodge City, Sr./110-Pounds
2025 WAC Wrestler of the Year
Despite having won her second consecutive Class 6A State wrestling championship in the 110-pound weight division, there was still room for surprises for the Dodge City Lady Red Demon senior.
Just two days after claiming her final gold medal, Alonso was voted 2025 WAC Girls Wrestler of the Year by the conference’s coaches.
“I didn’t expect it because the WAC is just so competitive,” said Alonso, whose senior year was capped off with a 35-2 record. “I missed the Garden City and Liberal dual because of an injury, so I had to give it some rest.”
The shoulder injury occurred during the Rocky Welton Invitational in Garden City at the end of January.
“I sprained a joint and I had to give it time to heal,” Alonso said. “It still wasn’t fully recovered for regional and state, but I just had to wrestle through it.”
In her final high school competition, Alonso pinned her first two opponents before outscoring Calla Hardison of Shawnee Mission-Northwest, 13-10, in a semi-final decision.
Her championship match came against a familiar opponent in Garden City’s Emjay Marez, whom she had beaten in the regional two weeks earlier. Having pinned Marez at regional, the state final was much more difficult, eventually leading to an 8-4 decision over her Garden City rival.
“I think most of my success comes from my teammates’ energy,” Alonso said. “There are sometimes difficult atmospheres in which we wrestle and I get so much support and encouragement from my team.”
In her freshman and sophomore seasons, Alonso’s records were a modest 32-11 and 29-11 but placed third at the Class 6-5A state tourney. During her final two campaigns, however, Alonso blossomed, putting together marks of 36-1 and 35-2 while nailing down consecutive state titles.
“I think I was a little late starting in wrestling,” Alonso said. “I’m more of a feel wrestler when I am against an opponent. Before I do anything, I have to figure out how to adjust my pace to theirs. I’ve still got a lot of work to do to improve because I don’t like to set on the bottom. I’m much better on the top because I can get an opponent locked up with the Wing (move).”
At the state tournament, Alonso faced Calla Hardison of Shawnee Mission Northwest in the semifinals. It was her first time to see this opponent.
“She’s pretty strong and early in the match it just got into my head that I couldn’t control her so I knew I was going to have to win by points,” Alonso said of what eventually became a 13-10 decision.
In her rematch with Garden’s Marez in the finals, Alonso was taken down in the first period to fall behind and knew things had to change.
“I had a (quick) talk with my coach and he told me not to have any regrets, so I got a little more aggressive,” Alonso said.
The response proved beneficial as she got an escape, trailing 3-1 after one period. In the second, from the bottom position, she got another escape and then a takedown to go up 5-3. From the top position starting the third period, Alonso gave up an escape to Marez to slice the margin
to 5-4. With just three seconds remaining, the Lady Red Demon secured the win with another takedown for a final 8-4 decision.
“I felt so much relief,” Alonso said. “All the time in the practice room, all the hard work, had finally paid off.”
Alonso plans to wrestle in college, but is undecided as to where. She has had talks with a number of Collegiate coaches, and hopes to make that decision in the spring. She hopes to major in radiology.
“I’ll look all around at all the colleges and then decide,” Alonso said. “I started wrestling late, so I want to see how I do at the next level.”
Western Athletic Conference
Girls Wrestling
All-Conference First Team
| CLASS | NAME | SCHOOL | YEAR | RECORD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | Nicole Abrego | Garden City | SO | 33-16 |
| 105 | Elizabeth Ramirez | Dodge City | JR | 38-2 |
| 110 | Ashley Alonso | Dodge City | SR | 35-2 |
| 115 | Marina Loera | Garden City | SO | 43-4 |
| 120 | Julissa Rodriguez | Garden City | JR | 36-9 |
| 125 | Crystal Loera | Garden City | SO | 45-5 |
| 130 | Maya Tarbet | Garden City | SR | 40-6 |
| 135 | Hailey Ramos | Dodge City | SR | 40-2 |
| 140 | Ava Ruiz | Hays | SR | 26-9 |
| 145 | Liliana Arroyo | Dodge City | JR | 29-8 |
| 155 | Yareli Garcia | Dodge City | JR | 38-2 |
| 170 | Naomi Orozco | Dodge City | JR | 36-6 |
| 190 | Hayleen Martinez | Liberal | SR | 35-0 |
| 235 | Aileen Figueroa | Liberal | SO | 28-8 |
Coach of the Year—Paul Lappin, Garden City
All-Conference Second Team
| CLASS | NAME | SCHOOL | YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | Keirsie Carlile | Liberal | SR |
| 105 | Kaira Acosta | Garden City | JR |
| 110 | Emjay Marez | Garden City | JR |
| 115 | Miranda Alvaraez | Dodge City | SO |
| 120 | Yessenia Castro | Dodge City | JR |
| 125 | Micah Ellegood | Great Bend | FR |
| 130 | Alexa Valenzuela | Liberal | SR |
| 135 | Tionna Napue | Hays | SR |
| 140 | Margarita Guzman | Garden City | JR |
| 145 | Timber Lovewell | Hays | SO |
| 155 | Lexi Barnett | Hays | JR |
| 170 | Kirra Stevens | Great Bend | SR |
| 190 | Maribel Castro | Dodge City | JR |
| 235 | Maribel Hernandez | Garden City | SO |
