Excelsior Springs finished January on a winning note of sorts in varsity girls wrestling.

The Tigers closed the month by going 3-2 in five duals over two days. On Jan. 28, they defeated Grandview and lost to Smithville in a Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference-Blue Division home triangular. They then went 2-1 at a Jan. 29 quadrangular at Marshall.

Excelsior Springs took a seemingly commanding lead but then had to withstand a Grandview surge to down the Bulldogs 48-30.

Sophomore Analese Happy got the Tigers’ first on-the-mat win against the Bulldogs, pinning Ayzia Elkins in the first period at 110. Lillah Shue, a junior, won by a buzzer-beating fall at 115.

Lilly Goetz and Pyper Layton also got wins by pin. Goetz, a first-year high schooler, won at 120 with 20 seconds left in the first period. Layton, a sophomore, won by a second-period pin at 135.

Smithville used six on-the-mat victories and three wins by forfeit to down Excelsior Springs 54-24.

The Tigers got four on-the-mat wins in thei…