Morgan’s Lorie Wardell headed to State Girls Wrestling Tournament

By Liisa London Mecham

Senior Lorie Wardell is the only Morgan High Girls’ Wrestling team member this year. As a second-year high school girl wrestler and pioneer in the sport for Morgan’s first year team last year, she placed third at State in 2022 in the 125 weight class. This year she has worked tirelessly with her coach Jason Jacobsen to prepare and compete. As the lone wrestler on the team, she has had to overcome several challenges; the biggest one is finding practice partners. Wardell has persevered and found other schools with girls’ teams that welcomed her to their practices so she could prepare for competition. As she prepares for the state tournament next week, Wardell is excited for the opportunity to go and “give it her best shot.” Still, she notes that she would feel more confident if she had been able to have more consistent practice opportunities.

Wardell started wrestling in middle school after watching her brother Sim Jr. wrestle. “He’d be at tournaments and would need a partner to warm up, so I would warm up with him, and I thought, ‘This is pretty fun,’” Wardell said. “In 7th and 8th grade and part of my freshman year, I wrestled with a club in Layton, Northern Utah Girls Wrestling.”

“After a break, I started wrestling again last year when Morgan started a girls’ team,” she said. “Tenley Jones [2022 MHS graduate and state champion wrestler] was a big influence on me. She’s now wrestling in college and really helped me get better,” Wardell said. During her first year, coach Carlitos Nava led the team. She appreciates all the support Nava gave his wrestlers in their first year and the continued encouragement he has provided. This year, Jacobsen took over head coaching duties and has worked with Wardell and her family to coordinate matches, practices and tournaments.

As the only member of the team, she has courageously stepped on the mat to represent Morgan in a sport that is only in its third sanctioned year. Last year Morgan had three wrestlers qualify for State, but two of them graduated. This year three girls started out the year, but only Wardell