HERSHEY>>Southeastern PA was well-represented in the medal rounds at the inaugural PIAA Girls Wrestling State Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey, with ten athletes claiming hardware in the morning session, and another four competing for gold in Saturday night’s championship finals.
Bensalem resident Julia Horger, competing at 106 for Conwell-Egan, was the lone SEPA athlete to bring home a state title, pouring it on late to break open what was a close match in the early going. Horger was dominant in all positions while pulling out a 9-3 decision over Greenville’s Madlyn Enterlyne.
The feature match-up of the night came at 136, a match-up of Kennett’s Haylie Jaffe and Bishop McCort’s Jordyn Fouse. Both have unofficial state titles in the past, and come with high national rankings–Jaffe was at No. 1.
The two were wrestling about as tightly contested a match as possible, when the two were in a heated scramble, Fouse managed to come out of it with Jaffe on her back. Fouse got the fall call at 5:27 to win the title, then was also named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.
Three area athletes finished as runners-up. At 100, Neshaminy freshman Grace Nesbitt put together a nice tournament to reach the finals, but became the fourth victim by fall to Canon MacMillan’s Val Solorio, a senior headed to the University of Iowa to wrestle next year.
Downingtown West’s Sienna Landrum (142) stormed into finals on the strength of three pins, and opened up her finals match with Violette Lasure of Chestnut Ridge with a beautiful Fireman’s Carry for a takedown, but Lasure came back to earn the win by fall.
“It’s been a great experience overall,” said Landrum, a junior. “I’m just going to get back to work, trying to keep getting better, and come back next year to win it all.”
As late as November, West didn’t even have a girls team.
“We kind of hastily put the girls team together, with just four girls,” said West coach Brad Breese. “We weren’t sure we were doing the right thing at first, but once we went to a couple tournaments, and saw what the girls could do, and how much they enjoyed being around all the other girls, we knew we made the right decision. We’ve known for a while how good Sienna is. Now everyone will know.”
Souderton freshman MacKenna Atkinson reached the finals at 235, where she ran into a familiar foe in Panther Valley’s Brenda Banks. The two have run into each other multiple times over the past couple months, with Banks coming out on top each time. Saturday night’s finale was no different, with Banks coming away with a 3-0 victory.
“It’s a bittersweet moment,” said Souderton coach and MacKenna’s Dad, Chris Atkinson, who was a pivotal figure in the SanctionPA movement that led to the PIAA sanction girls wrestling. “It’s great to make state finals as a freshman, but a little disappointing to come up empty. We’ve run into Banks like four times in the past month. This was a close one, but we’ll take what we learn from here, and work to improve. The sting of this will only serve to make her hungrier for next year.”
For the elder Atkinson, that sting is at least somewhat tempered by the magnitude of the moment.
“MacKenna has been wrestling practically her whole life,” said Atkinson. “We remember very well all the times she was told she couldn’t wrestle, or that boys would be unwilling to wrestle her. So to be able to watch her wrestle on the Giant Center Mat in Hershey in from of thousands, is really exciting.”
The first medal of the day went to Bensalem’s Peyton Hinkle, who took fifth at 100 pounds, winning by injury default over Montour’s Kristen Walzer.
Garnet Valley had a pair of medallists in freshman Reese Dewar and senior Jessica Avala. Dewar picked up a fall in 1:22 over Northern Bedford’s Kaylee Eberson to claim fifth place at 106.
“Reese wrestled when she was younger, and just came back to it,” said Garnet coach Chris Tate. “I teach in the middle school, so I’m always looking to get kids to come out. Reese did a great job his weekend, and I’m sure she’ll be looking to improve on it next year.”
Avala, who intends to continue her wrestling career in college, but is as yet undecided on where, turned it on late to break open a close match with Greater Johnstown’s Sayonna Harris, notching a 6-1 victory for a third place finish.
“It feels great to come away with the third place medal in my senior year,” said Avala. “It’s jus really great that I got to wrestle in this kind of environment before I graduated. It’s been a long time coming.”
Declo had one other medal winner, with Sun Valley’s Jameson Strickland taking fourth at 148.
Quakertown also had a pair of medallists, with Caroline Hattala (190) and Peyton Fries (235) taking home hardware. Hattala battled through injury to finish sixth, while Fries closed out her high school career with a 6-1 victory over Penn Manor’s Brooklyn Ayala.
“I’m crying, but it’s tears of happiness,” said Fries, who will be wrestling at Alvernia University next season. “I got a chance to be here with the team a couple years ago wrestling on the boys team, but it was pretty amazing to actually be on the mat competing.”
Kaitlynn Arnold (155) brought home Avon Grove’s first medal for girls wrestling, taking home seventh place with second period fall over Marty Morrison of West Perry.
Souderton locked down a pair of medals, with Emily Sarr taking 8th at 106, and Makenna Atkinson going for gold Saturday night.
Upper Dublin had one medallist, with Kylee Netter picking up a 12-0 major decision over Veronic White of East Pennsboro for seventh place at 142.
Pottstown’s Savannah Richards became the Trojans first state medallist since Seth Ecker in the early 2000s, grabbing a seventh place medal at 118.Championship Finals100 Valarie Solorio, Canon-McMillan, pinned Grace Nesbitt, Neshaminy, 3:14106 Julia Horger, Conwell-Egan, dec. Madilyn Enterline, Greenville, 9-3112 Journie Rodriguez, J.P. McCaskey, dec. Lane Fordyce, Bishop McCort, 7-3118 Savannah Witt, Palisades, dec. Ana Malovich, Butler, 13-7124 Eliana White-Vega, Cumberland Valley, dec. Julissa Ortiz, Mariana Bracetti Academy, 10-8130 Aubre Krazer, Easton, pinned Haley Smarsh, Moon, 2:26136 Jordyn Fouse, Bishop McCort, pinned Haylie Jaffe, Kennett, 5:27142 Violette Lasure, Chestnut Ridge, pinned Sienna Landrum, Downingtown West, 3:37148 Zoey Haines, Gettysburg, dec. Charlotte Gilfoil, Central Dauphin, 7-2155 Avry Ryhal, Hickory, dec. Leyna Rumpler, North Allegheny, 1-0170 Jael Miller, Punxsutawney, pinned Maya Krieger, Bensalem, 3:02190 Alyssa Favara, Bishop McCort, pinned Natalie Rush, Canon-McMillan, 1:40235 Brenda Banks, Panther Valley, dec. MacKenna Atkinson, Souderton, 3-0Third Place100 Miranda LaJevic, Knoch, pinned Ella Hesener, Parkland, 3:53106 Isabelle Wilkes, Hamburg, pinned Alysiana Price-Ierley, York Suburban, 1:34112 Lillian Rumsey, Williamsport, dec. Daylee Watson, Conneaut Area, 8-4 SV118 Saige Olver, Honesdale, pinned Anaiah Kolesar, Northeast Bradford, 1:38124 Isabella DuVall, Philipsburg-Osceola, dec. Saphia Davis, Plum, 4-1130 Emily Murphy, Montgomery, pinned Kacie Mook, Saegertown, 4:33136 Ava Golding, Kiski Area, won by tech. fall over Sara Shook, Western Wayne, 19-2 4:31142 Jessica Ayala, Garnet Valley, dec. Sayona Harris, Greater Johnstown, 6-1148 Marissa Rumsey, Williamsport, maj. dec. Jameson Strickland, Sun Valley, 9-1155 Raegan Snider, Northern Bedford, dec. Mylea Lambert, Northampton, 3-2170 Audrey Calgaro, Canon-McMillan, pinned Sierra Ripka, Greater Nanticoke, 1:46190 Esmeralda Tellez, Reading, pinned Bryce Snyder, Palisades, 4:38235 Kayla Henderson, South Western, dec. Aja’nai Jumper, Cumberland Valley, 1-0Fifth Place100 Payton Hinkle, Bensalem, won by inj. default over Kristen Walzer, Montour, 10-5 3:00106 Reese Dewar, Garnet Valley, pinned Kaylee Ebersole, Northern Bedford, 4:22112 Andi Bibeau, East Stroudsburg North, dec. Kylee Trostle, ELCO, 6-4118 Trinity Moore, Connellsville, pinned Yunuen Ayala, Canon-McMillan, 2:52124 Kelley Enterline, Greenville, dec. Abigail Taylor, Parkland, 4-2130 Shannon Govern, Hamburg, maj. dec. Asia Fowler, Woodland Hills, 11-1136 Kayley Weidner, Schuylkill Valley, maj. dec. Abigail Dolanch, Fort Cherry, 11-1142 Josephine Dollman, Norwin, pinned Grace O’Korn, Peters Township, 1:52148 Katie Brensinger, Northwestern Lehigh, pinned Alahna Morris, Lake Lehman, 1:44155 Kylie Monroe, Gettysburg, dec. Dynisty Williams, Canon-McMillan, 5-0170 Aambur Brletich, Northern York, dec. Angela Imorhoa, York Suburban, 7-1190 Jurelys Peguero, J.P. McCaskey, pinned Caroline Hattala, Quakertown, 1:22235 Mylah Steinbuch, Bedford, dec. Alaina Claassen, Plum, 2-0Seventh Place100 Juliette Cuevas, Bellwood Antis, dec. Harriet Mack, Hempfield, 6-1106 Natalie Handy, South Western, pinned Emily Sarr, Souderton, 2:54112 Isabella Baccio, Manheim Township, pinned Sylvyn Parham, Parkland, 4:31118 Savannah Richards, Pottstown, dec. Leah Sample, Saegertown, 2-1 UTB124 Alexis Brua, Laurel, pinned Tatum Duckworth, South Western, 2:37130 Patron Plummer, Chestnut Ridge, pinned Kayla Husti-Luca, Souderton, 4:34136 Janayah Nobles, Connellsville, pinned Alexis Kurzawa, Hughesville, 2:42142 Rylee Netter, Upper Dublin, maj. dec. Veronica White, East Pennsboro, 12-0148 Symarah Drey, Bethlehem Liberty, pinned Eve Kurtz, Pine Grove, 3:48155 Kaitlynn Arnold, Avon Grove, pinned Marty Morrison, West Perry, 2:49170 Gracie Haflich, Bethlehem Liberty, pinned Kendall Wagner, Central Mountain, 4:36190 Aaliyah Armstrong, Central Dauphin, pinned Grace Crestani, Bald Eagle Area, 1:59235 Peyton Fries, Quakertown, dec. Brooklynn Ayala, Penn Manor, 6-1
