Millermon rises above adversity to wrestle in third straight state tourney

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MADISON – It has been a difficult senior season for Glenwood City wrestler Savanna Millermon.

A very difficult one!

The season had barely gotten underway when her father, Shawn Millermon, the man who had introduced her to the sport of wrestling and installed a love for it, passed away December 7 following complications from heart surgery.

Then, just a few weeks ago, Savanna was involved in a car accident, but thankfully was not seriously injured.

Through all this adversity, Savanna Millermon’s determination and dedication and heart, especially for wrestling, never waned as she was able to qualify for her third straight trip to state when she captured a sectional championship in Edgar a couple of Saturdays ago.

That allowed Millermon, who finished third in the first girls state championships held in La Crosse two year ago which was followed by a fourth-place finish at 107 pounds in last year’s state championships, to chase her dream of a coveted third consecutive state medal and girls’ high school wrestling crown when she participated in the 2024 WIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships that were held last Thursday through Saturday, February 22-24 at the Kohl Center in Madison.

And although Millermon’s final trip to the Mecca of Wisconsin prep wrestling did not end with a medal and podium pose after she finished 2-2 in this year’s 107-pound weight class, it certainly will not define her or her competitive spirit. She will alway be the first Hilltopper girl to be a two-time state wrestling medalist and three-time state participant.

“He got her into wrestling when she was young,”said Glenwood City head coach Shane Strong of Savanna’s father Shawn. “Losing a parent is not easy especially as a teenager. She has overcome a lot. She had a car accident a few weeks ago, overcame that. She has had quite a bit of adversity and for her to get down here and win two matches despite that adversity is pretty awesome!”

In Thursday afternoon’s opening round of 16, Millermon picked right up where she had left off at the previous week’s sectional meet, scoring a first-period pin. Matched up against junior Emelly Ibarra (6-9), ranked 14th in the girls’ 107-pound weight bracket, Millermon, who garnered the third seed thanks to a 17-3 record entering the state tournament, wasted little time in taking control of the match. She used a head throw to put Ibarra straight to her back scoring the takedown and eventually three near fall points before the bout was even 30 seconds old. Millermon extended her advantage to 8-0 with a second, three-point near fall before getting the pin call with 26 ticks left in the opening period.

What a difference a few hours can make.

Millermon quickly found herself on the defensive versus fellow senior Brooklyn Lull of Fennimore (27-6) in their quarterfinal’s match Thursday evening on mat #4 in the Kohl Center. Despite coming into the tournament with the #11 seed, Lull had knocked off #6 Adalyn Raue (25-6), a sophomore from Hustisford, via a second-period pin in the opening round. She took a quick and early advantage over the higher seeded Millermon. Lull scored a takedown and two back points just 20 second into the match, and extended the lead to 11-2 by the end of the first period on a three-point near fall and another takedown as all Millermon could muster was a pair of escapes. Starting the middle period in neutral position, Millermon went on the attack and scored a takedown down 23 ticks into the frame. But, it would be Millermon’s only offensive points in the match. She was hit with a locked hands penalty and then surrendered a reversal to Lull to fall behind 14-4 by the period’s end. Millermon began the third period in the down position and worked her third escape of the bout only to have Lull take her down to the mat moments later and eventually score the pin fall at 4:43.

Returning to the Kohl Center Friday morning, Millermon was on a mission when she grappled Hustisford’s Adalyn Raue in the consolation round. The first period, just one minute in the consolation round, went by without either wrestler scoring. Millermon chose to go down to start the middle period and worked a reversal 43 seconds later to go in front 2-0. Raue was awarded a point when Millermon was hit with an illegal hold infraction. Undaunted, the Topper wrestler rolled Raue to her back for a pair of near fall points and a 4-1 lead before the period came to a close. Raue decided to go to the mat to begin the final period and Millermon made her pay with another two-point near fall to up her advantage to 6-1. That is how it would end as Millermon stayed in control until the final whistle.

With a third consecutive medals round on the horizon, Millermon battled freshman Kaytlynn Lambries (33-7) of Holmes a few hours later in the consolation semifinals. The Topper senior nearly scored a takedown near the end of the abbreviated first period but was called out of bounds leaving the score deadlocked at zero. But, the complexion of the match changed in the second when Lambries, using her height advantage and leverage, was able to pin Millermon at 1:48 thus ending the Topper senior’s dream of a third state medal.

The final loss of Millermon’s prep wrestling career left her in tears.

“She came into this tournament with two state medals, so she had high aspirations,” said Strong sympathizing with the emotions Millermon was dealing with in her final high school match.

“I do believe that this was the most difficult bracket that she has had (in her three state trips). She does not have anything to feel bad about. She put in the time and effort,” continued Strong. 

“The message we sent to her was, ‘if it didn’t hurt you would know you didn’t put in much, but we know how much you put in so it hurts for a reason’. She didn’t get what she wanted but we are pretty proud of her, “concluded Strong.

This is not the end of Millermon’s wrestling journey. She will be competing in the sport that she and her father loved when she attends the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point later this year.