SerpApi.Org
Emma Rogers already has joined rare company in Edwardsville girls wrestling history, and she still has two seasons left to add to it.
When it comes to the rising junior, Rogers is far from complacent.
“She always has a desire to get better,” Edwardsville girls wrestling coach Jon Wagner said.
Rogers, the Intelligencer’s MVP for Edwardsville girls wrestling, finished sixth at 105 pounds at the IHSA girls wrestling state tournament in February after placing sixth at 100 pounds as a freshman.
With two state medals, Rogers joins Mackenzie Pratt and Holly Zugmaier as the program’s only multi-state medalists.
“She puts a lot of time and effort into it. She wrestles a lot in the offseason. Like I mentioned before, she's really strong for her weight class, and she's a true competitor,” Wagner said.
Rogers entered the state tournament with momentum after earning her second regional and sectional championships at Granite City and North Mac, respectively.
After opening the tournament with a 14-0 major decision over Tinley Park Andrew’s Tatum De La Vega, Rogers was pinned in 5:43 by Hampshire’s Annabelle Mueller in the quarterfinals.
Rogers rebounded with two straight wins, including an 18-0 tech fall in 3:17 over Pekin’s Tessa Donaldson in the consolation semifinals to guarantee a top-six finish.
She closed the tournament with two losses, including her second loss to Mueller, who won the fifth-place match by a 15-0 tech fall.
Despite the tough finish, Rogers left Bloomington with no regrets, according to Wagner.
“At the moment, no. None of the girls are really happy after a loss,” Wagner said. “But I think after she sat back and reflected, she knows you can only give it your best, and she's got no demons. She gave it everything she had, and it got her sixth place.”
Rogers closed the season with a 34-9 record and will take 76 career wins into her junior season. She is on pace to surpass Zugmaier for the program’s most career wins, which is currently 111.
Wagner said Rogers took a step forward this season by becoming more aggressive with her attacks.
“It seems like her attacks got a lot better. Her ability to attack her opponents improved,” Wagner said. “Maybe as a freshman she relied a little more on just being stronger than everybody, but she moved up a weight class and her offense seemed to be a lot better.”
Rogers led Edwardsville with 50 near falls — no other Tiger had more than 19 — along with 11 tech falls and 198 team points. She tied Maddy Allen for the team lead with eight reversals and Victoria White for wins with 34.
“She's still really good at pinning people and defending without giving up easy points. That's kind of her mainstay. You can have Emma's leg, you can have her neck, but she just keeps fighting out of those positions,” Wagner said. “She kind of refuses to give up in a lot of situations, and that's what makes her so strong.”
As a team, Edwardsville finished 19-1, placed third at the Dual Team State Tournament and captured both the Granite City Regional and North Mac Sectional championships.
It was a challenging schedule, according to Wagner, that had every EHS wrestler, including Rogers, facing some of the area’s and state’s best.
“Every weight class kind of takes its turn,” Wagner said. “She was wrestling state placers from Missouri and some really good kids. Up and down the lineup, everybody had a good schedule, but Emma got tested quite a bit during the year, and she rose to the occasion.”
With two seasons left, the ceiling remains high for Rogers. Wagner said the next step is continuing to expand her offense and build on the work that already has made her one of the program’s best wrestlers.
“She has to continue to train, continue to get better, develop some more attacks,” Wagner said. “There are other really good girls in the state, there's no question about that. She's got to keep trying to climb that ladder.”
