A familiar face stood between Rochelle Lady Hub wrestler Dempsey Atkinson and a historic feat during the IHSA State Championships on Saturday afternoon.
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BLOOMINGTON — A familiar face stood between Rochelle Lady Hub wrestler Dempsey Atkinson and a historic feat during the IHSA State Championships on Saturday afternoon.
Atkinson found herself at the beginning of the consolation side of the bracket after a first-round loss against previously undefeated Goreville standout Alivia Ming on Friday. But the junior was undeterred and recovered with back-to-back victories on the consolation side, securing two consecutive falls over Round Lake’s Raven Burnett and Macomb’s Kelly Ladd later that day.
The victories moved Atkinson into the consolation quarterfinals, where she needed a win over Rock Island’s Sanaa Hampton in order to secure a top-6 podium finish and clinch a state medal for the first time in her career. Atkinson and Hampton have wrestled multiple times over the last two seasons, but their most recent meeting was during the IHSA Geneseo Sectional earlier this month, where Hampton defeated Atkinson by fall in the third-place consolation match.
The Rochelle standout earned her revenge on Saturday, however, overcoming a Hampton takedown in the first period and taking a 5-2 lead into the second period behind a reversal and a three-point near fall. Hampton elected for the neutral position in the second period, but it wasn’t enough to knock down the determined Atkinson, who turned a takedown into a fall with six seconds left in the second period to clinch the first podium finish for a female in RTHS history.
“I knew she was very strong and I knew she was a very good wrestler,” Atkinson said. “I knew she was looking to throw a headlock and I had to work my defense during the match. I needed to have the mindset that I knew I could beat her, even though it wouldn’t be easy. It feels really great and I love to be a great role model for young wrestlers, boys and girls. I want to represent Rochelle well and that’s what I did when I wrestled at the state tournament this weekend.”
The state tournament was a full slate of action for Atkinson (21-7), who wrestled six matches in the 145-pound weight class at Bloomington’s Grossinger Motors Arena between Friday and Saturday. The junior faced off against Canton’s Katelyn Marvel in the consolation semifinals, scoring one takedown and a last-second reversal but falling just short in a 7-5 decision.
“The experience was awesome,” Atkinson said. “I didn’t wrestle as well as I thought I could’ve when I went to state last season, but this season was completely different. I wrestled really hard and I didn’t give up any points that I shouldn’t have. My stamina really helped me because I thought the girls I wrestled got tired quickly and that was my time to attack. I threw a couple of headlocks and I threw a couple of fireman’s carries. Those were my two main attacks.”
Atkinson finished the tournament and concluded her junior season on a high note, however, with the Lady Hub grappler scoring a first-period takedown and fall over Zion-Benton’s Naomi Foote (39-11) in the fifth-place bout Saturday afternoon. Now a two-time state qualifier, Atkinson said her goals for next season are to qualify for the state meet and earn a state medal once again.
“It’s a real confidence booster because I never thought over the last few years that this would be an achievable goal,” Atkinson said. “I achieved my goals this year and next year, I can possibly work my way up and maybe become a state champion, which would be awesome. I want to focus on the bottom and get out of the bottom position faster so I can get more reversals. I think I’ve come a long way in neutral and on top, but I want to keep working on all three positions.”
