Two Merrill girls are headed to State

On Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, the WIAA Girls Wrestling Sectional Tournament was held in Ladysmith. and the Merrill Girls Varsity Wrestling Team was excited to compete. 2025 is a year of many firsts for the newly-formed team, and spirits are soaring.
“The Lady Jays had to leave school early for the trek to Ladysmith for the 2 p.m. weigh-in and the 3:30 p.m. start time,” said Merrill Girls Varsity Wrestling Team Head Coach Scott Arneson. “The girls actually liked the early start time, because it was the same start time as practices.”
“The Merrill Team had 10 Sectional qualifiers but only nine girls were able to compete. Due to illness, 145-pound Regional Champion Caroline Durbin was unable to compete,” he said. “The theme last week for Regionals was CPR—Consistent - Persistent - Resilient—and by the First Place TEAM finish, they evidently had the ‘heart’ for it.”
“During the week of practices for Sectionals, the girls focused on—Energy - Effort - Execution—the controllables. They discussed being extraordinary—EXTRA - ORDINARY—doing what they do best extra well = extraORDINARY!” Arneson said. “The girls did well with great energy, amazing effort, and exceptional execution.”
“What was extraORDINARY is that the girls were one of eight teams in the State to win the Sectional Team Title. There were a total of 28 teams represented at the WIAA Sectional and TEAM Merrill won the TEAM title and was able to send two girls to the WIAA State Tournament,” he said. “126-pound Freshman Kendall Klug qualified by finishing second, and Senior 185-pound Merin Yates qualified by winning the title.” Within each weight class, the top two place finishers at Sectionals qualify for the State Tournament. Kendall Klug and Merin Yates are bound for State.

“The competition in Ladysmith was exciting,” Arneson said. “Merrill showed up to battle and all girls peaked and wrestled their best matches of the season.”
“The girls should be proud of the individual efforts and the TEAM results,” he said. “Even though some of the girls ended up short of their goals, the girls got to end on a high note with a TEAM Title!”
“Kaylynn Allen, Liberty Fuchs, and Marissa Miles lost their wrestleback matches—if they could have won their last matches, they too would have qualified for the State tournament—Merrill High School could have had five State qualifiers,” Arneson said. “The wrestleback matches provided valuable experience for the competitors and should help them set their goals for next year.”

Individual results:
100 - Madlyn Hunter - 1-2 - 4th Place

120 - Lauren Hoffman - 0-1 - DNP
126 - Kendall Klug - 3-1 - 2nd Place (STATE QUALIFIER)
132 - Adi Clark - 1-2 - 4th Place
138 - Kaylynn Allen - 2-2 - 3rd Place
145 - Caroline Durbin - 0-0 - unable to compete
152 - Liberty Fuchs - 2-2 - 3rd Place
165 - Marissa Miles - 2-2 - 3rd Place
185 - Merin Yates - 3-0 - Champion (STATE QUALIFIER)
235 - Shelby Yates - 1-2 - 4th Place

Team results:

1st - Merrill - 110.5 points
2nd - Hudson - 88.5 points
3rd - Saint Croix Falls - 74.5
4th - Ashland - 68 points
5th - McDonnell Cath/Elk Mound - 56.5 points
6th - Cadott - 50 points
7th - Unity - 28.5 points
8th - Barron - 24 points
8th - Medford - 24 points
10th - Ladysmith - 22 points
10th - Saint Croix Central - 22 points

Heading to State

The first-ever Merrill Girls Wrestling Team will have two wrestlers— Kendall Klug and Merin Yates—competing at the first ever Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Individual Girls Wrestling Tournament in Wisconsin history, and at the end of the tournament, one girl in each weight class will become the first Girls State Wrestling Champion ever, making high school sports history. [The 82nd Annual WIAA Individual Wrestling Tournament will incorporate both boys and girls events this year.]
This year’s State Tournament will also produce the first ever Girls Team Champion in state history. “A Girls Team Champion and runner-up will be recognized based on results of individual performances from the schools represented in the tournament,” Todd Clark, Director of Communications for the WIAA, announced in a Feb. 24 press release.
Tickets for the State Tournament are available online on the WIAA website or at the Kohl Center.

“The two girls [Kendall and Merin] will represent Merrill High School and the community down in Madison on Thursday at 2 p.m. in the Kohl Center,” Arneson said. “Each girl will wrestle two rounds Thursday. Depending on how they fare will determine when and if they compete on Friday. If they continue to compete successfully, they will wrestle on Saturday, as well. It is a double-elimination style tournament.”
“Good luck to Kendall, Merin, and Remington Skic (126-pound State qualifier for the Merrill Boys Wrestlling Team)! WAM—‘Do it to them before they do it to you!’ (a quote from Coach Arnie’s Dad).”
Girls Wrestling is making great strides this year and continuing to grow statewide. Girls are also scheduled to compete in their first team-formatted State Tournament in 2026-27, the WIAA release said.