Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Wrestler Ella Henning Wins Back-to-Back State Titles; 3 Other Area Wrestlers Crowned

As an eighth grader, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley girls’ wrestler Ella Henning won the 118-pound individual state championship. This past weekend, as a freshman, she made it back-to-back state titles.

The championship bout was tightly contested, but then in the third period the freshman countered as her opponent tried to throw a leg in to get into a better position, resulting in a rarely seen finish: a defensive fall.

“I kind of knew that she was in that position,” explained Henning. “She put her leg in and I set it down. That’s like the defense for it. And then I realized that she was on her back. And then I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, she might be pinned here.’ And then it hit me that I’m like, ‘Oh, I [won the state title] again.'”

“I kind of blanked out,” she said of the moments afterwards. “Honestly, it feels amazing to do it again, and I can’t believe I did it again.”

Henning wasn’t the only area wrestler to walk away with hardware this weekend. In Class A, the medals kept coming for the Staples-Motley boys as Caden Kramer at 114 lbs. and Colbe Tappe at 160 lbs both earned top prize, while Christian Jelle from Grand Rapids was crowned the Class AA champ at 139 lbs.