With women’s wrestling about to earn official NCAA championship status, WPIAL alumni compete on national stage

By: Brennan Valladares
Sunday, March 16, 2025 | 3:28 PM

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For the first time, former WPIAL girls wrestlers competed at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships in Iowa. For the last time, they did so outside of the sport being an NCAA-sanctioned championship.

The four wrestlers — Ana Malovich (Butler), Leyna Rumpler (North Allegheny), Abbie Miles (Laurel) and Grace O’Korn (Peters Township) — all hit the mats March 8 for a chance to compete for national titles.

Malovich, wrestling for Grand Valley State University’s first-year program, finished her high school career as the No. 11 recruit at 120 pounds after being a state runner-up at 118 in 2024.

In her freshman year, she posted a 16-7 record despite suffering multiple injuries, including a car accident. After missing significant time with a concussion, Malovich reached the national championships with a third-place finish at regionals.

Malovich won her opening championship match by a 6-4 decision. In Round 2, she faced Northern Michigan’s Yu Sakamoto, who had eliminated her in the regionals just a week prior. Malovich competed hard but eventually fell by a 5-0 decision.

Malovich said she adjusted significantly after regionals.

“I closed the gap on (Sakamoto),” she said. “I mean, she attacked me in the first period, and then I went both periods with her, and she scored five points like that.”

Malovich spent the rest of the first day working her way through the consolation bracket. She advanced to the second day after winning her first two consolation bouts (an 11-0 tech fall and 8-1 decision). On Day 2, she matched up with Lindenwood’s Caitlyn Jackson.

“I was feeling confident but not confident enough in myself to go out there and just let it fly,” Malovich said.

Jackson, a graduate student, won by tech fall 10-0.

“I’m disappointed I didn’t All-American like I wanted to, but I’m also proud of how I wrestled,” Malovich said. “I felt sharp, I looked sharp, but obviously, there’s always room for improvement.”

Miles, one of two freshmen for Albion College to qualify, missed her first year of collegiate wrestling after redshirting the 2023-24 season.

“Redshirting gave me time to grow as an athlete, but it also made me even hungrier to compete,” Miles said. “To finally step onto the mat at nationals and prove that I belong was a huge moment. It was a mix of excitement, relief and motivation to keep pushing forward.”

Miles punched her ticket to the national championships by placing third at 207 pounds at regionals. She won her first championship-round match 15-12 but lost the next two, including one to runner-up Jaycee Foeller of Iowa.

“Jaycee is a tough opponent,” Miles said, “and I knew it would be a battle. Unfortunately, she capitalized on small mistakes, and at this level, that’s all it takes.”

Though it was an accomplishment to just reach nationals, Miles wants to do more than just make an appearance.

“Just getting to nationals and competing at this level was a big step, but I am not satisfied,” she said. “I know I have more to give. There were moments where I executed well and others where I could have been more aggressive or made smarter decisions. Overall, it was a solid performance, but I’m hungry for more.”

The other two former WPIAL wrestlers in the field, Rumpler (Baldwin Wallace) and O’Korn (West Liberty), both lost their two bouts.

Rumpler, who was one of Baldwin Wallace’s first national qualifiers after getting second at regionals, was pinned in her first match and lost by tech fall in the consolation rounds.

O’Korn, like Rumpler, was a part of her school’s inaugural women’s class of national qualifiers. She secured her spot after earning fourth place at regionals. She lost a 10-1 decision in the first round and fell 7-6 in the consolation bracket.

After the NCAA approved women’s wrestling as its 91st championship, there is added motivation for the next generation.

“As a little girl in this sport, a male-dominated sport … you dream of wrestling for an NCAA title,” Malovich said.

“I’ll be able to say one day ‘I’m a national champion’ — like an NCAA official national champion. And so, I just feel like that’s going to be something super exciting for next year, and (I) just can’t wait for it.”

Tags: Butler, Laurel, North Allegheny, Peters Township