Kelly Ladd ready for her turn in spotlight

MACOMB — After a week of waiting in the wings, it is now Macomb wrestler Kelly Ladd’s turn in the spotlight.

Last week, it was the boys’ opportunity at state, this week, the spotlight belongs to the girls as the Illinois High School Association hosts its first-ever girls wrestling state meet at Grossing Motors Arena in Bloomington.

Girls wrestling starts at 8:30 a.m. Friday morning with the boys dual tournament to follow.

First round, quarterfinals, round one wrestlebacks and round two of wrestlebacks will be Friday with semifinals, round three wrestlebacks, consolation semifinals, placement matches, the grand march and championship matches scheduled for Friday.

“For Kelly, it will be a new experience for all of us so my job is to keep her calm and let her go,” he coach, and father, Luke Ladd said last week.

Nearly two weeks after her last match, Kelly Ladd is anxious to return but also thinks the time off helped.

“It’s a plus, I think. I have more time to study my last match, see what I did wrong and hopefully get her next time,” she said last week. “I think everything will be the coolest experience ever and I’m very excited about it.”

Ladd enters the tournament with an 18-12 overall record.

She wrestles in the 135-pound division and opens her tournament against Alejandra Cornejo of Kankakee (9-11).

If Ladd wins, she’ll take on the victor of Al Ghala Al Radi (14-11) of Niles West or Elizabeth Ruter (7-3) of Oregon.

With it being the first girls’ state meet in IHSA history, there is a big deal of mystery and how things will work, making these last two weeks of preparation even more important.

“As far as Kelly goes, we have no idea what we’re looking for in two weeks,” Luke Ladd said. “Last weekend (at sectionals) was tough, we bumped her up a weight class, entered her at 135 and afterwards she said, ‘I wish I would have tried a little harder, I was content just going to state,’ so we have two weeks to fix that, but I am very proud of both of them.”

For Kelly Ladd, she’s not content with just making it to state, but has a goal of representing Macomb and her gender.

“I think it’s about time girls are being recognized for being as tough, even tougher than guys,” she said.

This article originally appeared on The McDonough County Voice: GIRLS WRESTLING IHSA MACOMB BOMBERS KELLY LADD