North Allegheny girls wrestling program takes solid steps forward

By: Brennan Valladares
Saturday, February 22, 2025 | 11:01 AM

In the second year of PIAA-sanctioned girls wrestling, North Allegheny found itself in a similar position as the first.

In 2024, Dan Heckert was named the inaugural WPIAL girls wrestling coach of the year. In the same season, senior Leyna Rumpler was crowned the 155-pound champion.

Fast forward to 2025, in a sort of déjà vu moment, Heckert was on his way to defending his coach of the year title and the Tigers had another wrestler, Sophia Folks, competing for the 155-pound title.

Leading up to the championship bout, Folks (22-3) had won all her previous matches by fall. Her final opponent, though, was Norwin’s Karsyn Champion (30-5), a state qualifier in 2024.

Folks jumped out to an early lead in the opening period on a takedown, but a strong second period by Champion had both competitors tied heading into the final period. Forty seconds into the closing frame, Champion was awarded two points for a near fall, but Folks scored a reversal to force overtime.

In the extra period, Champion earned the sudden victory in 13 seconds.

“It was exciting to see Sophia competing for the title,” Heckert said. “Sophia is one of our captains and is a great leader. She wrestled really well the entire tournament and earned her spot in the finals. She wrestled a great championship match against one of the best girls in the state. We are excited to see a possible rematch at regionals.”

Luckily, she won’t have to travel too far, or alone, for the chance of a rematch.

With her runner-up finish, Folks qualified for the PIAA West Regional Tournament at North Allegheny’s UPMC Court. Folks’ teammate, Carly O’Connell (20-15), will be accompanying her as both wrestlers make their first appearance in the competition.

O’Connell’s path to the West Regionals was not as direct as her teammate’s. After pinning her first two opponents, the first-year wrestler was knocked out in the semifinals. She then fell in the consolation semifinals before taking home fifth place with a win over Southmoreland’s Taylor Chambers.

“Carly did amazing,” Heckert said. “She is a first year that has just embraced the sport and has been a sponge on and off the mat. It’s exciting and encouraging to see one of our new girls rise up and get to wrestle on the same stage as a veteran like Folks.”

While only two of North Allegheny’s wrestlers were locks for regionals (two wild card spots could be taken by Lorelei Bungard and Maya Scott), Heckert believes his team is on the right track.

“As a team, we finished about where we expected,” he said. “There are a couple matches we wish we could flip, but otherwise right on par for such an inexperienced group.”

That inexperience showed up at the start of the season, as the Tigers dropped their first three matches. After that, though, they lost only three times in 11 outings.

“I am very happy with our growth this year,” Heckert said. “Over half our lineup this year were first-year girls. The goal was to get better each day, and these girls are without a doubt better now than they were in November. (In) the second half of our season, our only losses were Sharpsville and Saegertown, both extremely competitive matches.”

The PIAA West Regionals are scheduled for March 1.

Tags: North Allegheny