Central’s Louderback, Macomb’s Ladd capture first girls state wrestling medals

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Amber Louderback and Kelly Ladd made history Saturday, becoming the first-ever girls state wrestling medalists from each of their respective high school programs.

Louderback, a freshman at Central, finished fourth in the 125-pound class during the two-day event at Grossinger Motors Arena, while Ladd, a sophomore from Macomb, finished sixth at 135 pounds.

Louderback opened Saturday by pinning Huntley’s Aubrie Rohrbacher in 3:19 to guarantee herself a spot on the podium. She followed it up by pinning Charleston’s Alaynia Bryant in 1:24 in the consolation semifinals.

In the third-place match, Louderback was pinned in 4:49 by Lake Villa junior Ava Babb, who also beat Louderback in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Louderback finished her season with a 30-26 record.

Ladd started the second day of the tournament by pinning Kankakee’s Makayla Jones in 4:36 to reach the podium. She was pinned by Andrew’s Alyssa Keane in 4:33 in the consolation semifinals and suffered an 8-6 loss to Conant’s Mannie Anderson in the fifth-place match. Both of Ladd’s losses at state were to Anderson.

Ladd, who qualified for state as a freshman, finished her season with a 32-8 record.