Crystal Lake South sophomore Annalee Aarseth all smiles after taking 2nd at state

BLOOMINGTON – The radiant smile of Annalee Aarseth was not dulled by the bittersweet closing action.

The Crystal Lake South sophomore had too much to celebrate.

The journey was greater than the final movement.

“I knew this was a possibility,” she said. “I wasn’t feeling sure that I would make it here, but I was really fortunate.

“I stayed in the right mindset before every match, and never worried about my opponent. I just remembered the basics.”

Aarseth saw her dream of a state title end – at least for now – with a loss by technical fall to Kaneland’s Angelina Gochis in the 110-pound state championship match Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.

The moment was too big to lament the end.

Aarseth registered a technical fall, a decision and a fall in the semifinal to become the first Gators’ female state championship qualifier.

She is the lone female wrestler in the school’s two programs.

Aarseth (17-3) toggled between wrestling at 113 pounds for the boys team, and then switched permanently to the girls program.

She also significantly surpassed her state achievement of a year ago when she went 2-2 and failed to medal.

“Last year I tended to be really defensive, and this year I started to get a lot more offensive,” she said.

“The next step is tying the two together, and really trying to get higher on the podium.”

“Making it to the final match was just amazing. It’s something I’ve been dreaming of ever since I started wrestling.”

—  Annalee Aarseth, Crystal Lake South

She is an elite and multi-purpose athlete.

Aarseth plays outside hitter on the volleyball team and is a middle distance runner in track.

The frightening part is she just learning how to wrestle, developing out of her work with the jiu jitsu training she began at the age of 5.

“Wrestling against boys really helped me a lot,” she said. “It’s important for girls who don’t have girls on the team to have that option.

“I was the only girl this year at a lot of tournaments, and that was really helpful.”

The nascent program at Hampshire was the other dominant story with three medal honors that produced a second-place finish in the team standings.

In just the second year the IHSA maintained team scores, the Whip-Purs had 51 points.

At 115 pounds, Amelia Nidelea-Polanin (37-3) finished third with a technical fall victory over Bolingbrook’s Alejandra Flores.

Samantha Diehl (31-6) defeated Streamwood’s Jasmine Rene for third-place at 190 pounds.

Anneliese Tavira (36-7) was sixth at 170 pounds.

“This is a little surreal,” coach Matthew Todd said. “Starting out last year we had two girls, and now this.

”They’re going to be taking home a trophy, a great moment for our school, program and district. This is going to put our name on the map.”

Huntley‘s Aubrie Rohrbacher captured her second consecutive state medal with a sixth-place finish at 130 pounds.

Aarseth has a magnetic personality that touches on all sides.

As an example of her improvement, she upset Litchfield’s Rilynn Younker in the quarterfinal.

Younker ended her season last year, and deprived her of a chance at a state medal.

“She is extremely coachable,” boys coach Trevor Jauch said. “She is one of the hardest working individuals in the room.

“She never shies away from a challenge. She has that confidence, and we’ve seen a huge growth from last year.”

Amy Saldivar, South’s girls coach, said Aarseth’s manner and perspective is complex and open.

“She is very competitive, but also upbeat and happy all of the time,” Salvidar said.

“I’m hoping this is a gateway into potentially getting other girls into the program. She loves to talk to people. We have a lot of hope.”

She has more than 50 wins in her career.

The number is likely to grow.

“Making it to the final match was just amazing,” Aarseth said. “It’s something I’ve been dreaming of ever since I started wrestling.

“Now I’m just focused on this next step and placing first.”