6A Girls State Tournament: Day One Recap

Of all of the semifinalists in the girls 6A bracket, perhaps the most improbable is Kathryn Kaminski.

The Conroe Caney Creek junior punched her ticket to the 132-pound semifinals with a pair of wins on Friday on day one of the UIL State Wrestling Championships.

She entered state-ranked No. 15 in the state and opened up with a daunting foe — top-seeded Daniela Hernandez of El Paso Eastwood.

She passed that challenge.

Then, Kaminski won a showdown against a familiar foe. 

Now, she’s a win away from a state title berth — a year after quitting the sport.

“It is astonishing, I didn’t think I would make it this far,” said Kaminski, now 38-14 on the year. “It is a big step for me. I started as a sophomore and I quit as a sophomore. Now, I’m really into it this year and I’m honestly surprised and how far I have come.”

Kaminski got a reversal early in the third period for the only points she needed to upset Hernandez, who was 32-4. 

In the next match, she beat Houston Langham Creek’s Ufuoma Abel-Obovwemu by a 5-3 win. All five of her points came in the second with a takedown and near fall in the final 18 seconds.

She held off a rally by Abel-Obovwemu in the third to pick up the win. The two meet on Jan. 13 and Kaminski lost by a pin.

“It definitely gave me a lot of confidence,” she said of avenging the loss. 

After taking third in both districts and regionals….