It was a thrill, a disappointment and an improvement all rolled into one.
Kelsey Hanson was 11th out of 20 girls at 105 pounds at last year's United States Girls' Wrestling Association tournament at Lake Orion High School.
Two weekends ago, the Grosse Ile senior returned to the event in Lake Orion as the No. 2 seed at 105, and finished in third place out of 23 girls.
"I was pretty happy to finish third, but I could have done better," Hanson said.
She drew a first-round bye. She pinned Nikki Pender of Iowa in 1 minute, 47 seconds in the second round and scored a 17-8 major decision over Angel Diaz of Texas in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, she lost 6-4 to eventual runner-up Katherine Fulp Allen of El Granada, Calif. Hanson got an escape with 20 seconds left to tying it at 4 and tried for a takedown. But Fulp Allen got the takedown with five seconds left clinching the win.
Hanson dropped into the consolation bracket, where she beat Ashley Hudson of Missouri 4-3 to advance to the third-place match, in which she beat top-seeded Susie Levitt of Danbury, Conn., on a 15-0 technical fall. The match was stopped 4:55 in.
"She was a very defensive wrestler," Hanson said. "She's shorter and stronger. I decided I was going to try to get the first takedown and hold her there."
Hanson twice had Levitt on her back to record near-fall points.
The national tournament came on the heels of a whirlwind prep season for Hanson. While wrestling against boys at 103, she was 32-12 with 18 pins. She was second at both the Huron League meet and at the D3 individual district.
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