Enthusiasm sky high for Pine-Richland girls wrestling team

By: Jerin Steele
Sunday, December 17, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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For Tommy Campanella and Ellisyn Mularski, watching the Pine-Richland girls wrestling team make their debut at the Butler tournament Dec. 9 invoked some emotion and pride.

The duo has teamed up to coach the Rams in their inaugural season and have seen an impressive turnout.

So much so, they have enough for a full varsity team and a junior varsity team.

A lot of time and effort has been put in from the moment the PIAA officially voted to sanction girls wrestling in May, so it was nice to see the matches get underway.

“It was an amazing experience,” Mularski said. “Moments like those with so many schools coming together making history and seeing all the girls come together was really exciting. There were a lot of cheers and some tears, but that is all part of the process. It’s really exciting to be a part of it and the girls to be a part of this big movement.”

Pine-Richland started its girls wrestling program at both the junior high and varsity levels last year. There were two wrestlers who signed up for last winter, but a huge boost in numbers came for this winter.

All the girls on the varsity team are underclassmen.

The juniors are Megan Berger, Tiffany Gathers, Gianna Horner and Brianna Jaksec.

Brynn Bosack, Jarah Casciani, Emily Domitrovic, Mackenzie Dry-Henich and Roarie Hertzig are sophomores.

Giada Campanella, Marie Doucet, Ella Fineburg, Carmen Mascarenas, Gilanny Matos Nunez, Molly McGovern, Caitlin Verba, Madaline Walczak and Autumn Wiley make up a large freshman class.

Campanella, who is coach Campenella’s daughter, placed third at the Butler Tournament at 144 pounds. She was the highest place-winner for the Rams, and she’s the only girl that had any prior experience wrestling.

“The other girls on our team were wrestling their first ever match,” Coach Campanella said. “For them to learn and compete the way they did was amazing to watch. They soaked up the moment and enjoyed it. That was truly special.”

Dry-Henich and Casciani picked up two wins each at Butler. Bosack, Domitrovic and Jaksec earned one win.

Following the Butler Tournament, Pine-Richland won its first dual meet, 42-20, over Fox Chapel on Wednesday. Verba, Casciani and Campenella won by fall in the victory over the Foxes.

Campanella wrestled in high school in Northeast Ohio and coached his son. He helped out with the Pine-Richland boys wrestling team varsity and middle school programs before his daughter got into the sport a couple years ago.

In building out the team with Mularski, he said several girls came out for the team from other sports and some are focusing on wrestling solely.

They did not anticipate such a large turnout but are pleased to see it.

Most of the wrestlers are raw in their skills, but the coaches have been pleased with how well they are responding to training.

“What’s cool is that girls seem to pick it up quicker than boys do,” Campanella said. “They have a different center of gravity and different body movements that lend themselves to understanding the techniques of wrestling quicker.”

Mularski doesn’t have a wrestling background, but does have plenty of experience in female athletics. She played football for the Pittsburgh Passion and is a health and physical education teacher at Pine-Richland. She’s excited to help the girls breakthrough in wrestling and write their own history along the way.

“When Tommy came to me and told me about the girls wrestling team, I thought it was amazing,” Mularski said. “It’s about promoting female athletes in general, but also in a sport that most people associate as being predominantly male. These are girls getting an opportunity that’s never been provided, just like I had with women’s football. It’s super exciting for me to get to be a part of it.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Pine-Richland