Cody Thorn
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….
