Danielle Turner is in a very different place than she was last year at this time.

And that’s a good thing.

The Yorkville senior, a wrestling state qualifier as a sophomore, missed the entire regular season of her junior year with a displaced patella in her knee.

Cleared to wrestle at conference, regionals and sectionals, Turner lost in the blood round at the sectional meet, a win away from a return to state.

But she’s healthy now, and has her sights set on going back to Bloomington.

Turner and the Foxes will be wrestling at the Belvidere Regional this weekend.

“I feel really good, a lot stronger and at a lower weight,” said Turner, who now wrestles in the 100-pound class. “I was so excited to be there [at state], loved getting the opportunity to see myself at that level, proud of myself to be able to do that. I would love to go back down there.”

Turner is 23-9 on the season and coming off a championship at the Southwest Prairie Conference meet.

“Conference was really good,” Turner said. “I feel like all of my hard work paid off, especially being injured all of last year.”

“With a shortened season last year she is exceeding expectations,” Yorkville coach Kevin Roth said.

Turner’s competitive background started in third grade when she took up jiu jitsu.

“My dad did judo and I was bullied, he wanted me to learn some self defense,” Turner said.

She stuck with it, competing in several tournaments, until eighth grade, when Turner decided to switch her focus to wrestling.

“I had a lot of fun with it, I loved the combat sports,” Turner said. “When I started I would just throw. I kind of knew the foundation of wrestling. It came as muscle memory.”

Turner has quickly become a student of the sport, according to her coach.

“It’s something she’s been passionate about,” Roth said. “She puts herself in good positions, learned from her past mistakes. She is somebody that is a mat rat and loves the sport. She has put forth the time and effort to do everything she can to make up for lost time, whether it’s the state tournament we’ll see. She is trying to make a name for herself.”

Turner hurt her knee in a match the spring of 2024. She didn’t have surgery but it required a great deal of rehabilitation to strengthen the patella and get it back in line.

“It did affect me a little bit,” she said. “I was nervous about injuring it again, but I was able to overcome my fear of that and I was able to push through. I feel a lot better and good this year.”

Turner is one of eight Yorkville girls who will be competing at regionals. The Foxes are looking to return to the state tournament after being shut out from any state qualifiers for the first time in 2025.

Senior Janiah Murray (24-8 at 190), like Turner, was a match from qualifying for state last year and junior Analiese Garretson (31-7 at 105) is also a returning sectional qualifier.

Sophomore Lauryn Trotter, who was unable to finish last season because of a shoulder injury, is 34-6 at 155.

“She is someone who is not new to the sport,” Roth said. “She qualified for Fargo Nationals as an eighth-grader. You don’t see that often for an incoming freshman. She knew the ins and outs beforehand.”

Trotter, ranked in the top 10 in the state at her weight class, avenged an earlier loss in winning a conference championship last week.

“We knew going in that she would be good, we saw last year, knew she had some talent,” Roth said. “She is making her strides and peaking at the right time. Having the background that she has, I don’t think the big stage of the postseason will be too daunting too her.”

Sandwich, like Yorkville, is at the Belvidere Regional, led by returning sectional qualifiers Jazmin Rios, Lydia Cartwright and and Norah Vick.

Oswego and Oswego East will be two of 30 teams at the East Aurora Regional this weekend.

Oswego’s top contenders include Mak Hill, 28-4 at 155, Joslynn Sheets, 25-14 at 135, Ashlynn Roberts, 17-6 at 170, Nina Witkowski, 23-20 at 125 and Helena Torres, 24-16 at 190.

Oswego East top contenders include Quinn Janssens, 22-3 at 140 pounds, Emily House, 20-17 at 135 and Ella Cooper, 24-7 at 145.