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

February 24, 2023 - Bloomington, Illinois - 
Edwardsville's Holly Zugmaier wrestles Camp Point Central's Amber Louderback (right) during their 125-pound match at the 2023 IHSA Girls Individual Wrestling State Finals on Friday. Louderback advanced to the quarterfinals after a 7-5 decision. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Central's Amber Louderback, right, finished fourth in the 125-pound division at the Illinois girls state wrestling tournament in Bloomington, Ill. | Photo courtesy Clark Brooks, PhotoNews Media

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.

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