‘It means we belong:’ WPIAL girls celebrate inaugural wrestling tournament
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Saturday, February 17, 2024 | 7:20 PM
Canon-McMillan’s Valarie Solorio beats Montour’s Kristen Walzer in the 100-pound bout during the WPIAL girls wrestling championships Saturday.
Canon-McMillan’s Valarie Solorio receives the first girls wrestling gold medal during the first WPIAL girls wrestling championships Saturday.
North Allegheny’s Leyna Rumpler beats Connellsville’s Imani Cameron-Botti in the 155-pound bout during the WPIAL girls wrestling championships Saturday.
Hamptons’ Isabella McNutt beats Cannon-McMillan’s Malia Ramos in the 112-pound bout during the WPIAL girls wrestling championships Saturday.
Moon’s Haley Smarsh beats Woodland Hills’ Asia Fowler in the 130-pound bout during the WPIAL girls wrestling championships Saturday.
Laurel’s Contessa Cotelesse beats Seneca Valley’s Hannah Hornick in the 148-pound bout during the WPIAL girls wrestling championships Saturday.
Butler’s Ana Malovich beats Connellsville’s Trinity Moore in the 118-pound bout during the WPIAL girls wrestling championships Saturday.
It was a day of firsts at the WPIAL girls wrestling championships Saturday at North Allegheny.
Not only was this the inaugural season for girls wrestling across the state, the 13 winners are part of history.
Canon-McMillan senior Valarie Solorio always will be known as the first girls WPIAL champion after she defeated Montour’s Kristen Walzer, 16-1, at 100 pounds.
The Big Macs, the top team in the WPIAL, dominated with three champions and two runners-up. They advanced 11 wrestlers to the West Regional March 2 at Canon-McMillan.
Solorio and North Allegheny senior Leyna Rumpler (155), who won MyHouse Pennsylvania State titles in 2023, are looking forward to competing with the boys at Giant Center.
“It means that we belong,” Rumpler said. “Everyone across the country was excited to learn that the PIAA was finally going to sponsor the sport. Now we get to show what we’re made of.”
The other Big Mac winners were Capri Chambers (106) and Natalie Rush (190). Norwin and Plum each had two champions.
Josephine Dollman (142) was Norwin’s first champion. But the gymnasium erupted when freshman Octavia Walker (170) rallied from a 5-0 deficit to pin and stun Canon-McMillan’s Audrey Calgaro.
Plum’s champions were Saphia Davis (124) and Alaina Claassen (235).
The other first-time champions were Hampton’s Isabella McNutt (112), Butler’s Ana Malovich (118), Moon’s Haley Smarsh (130), Kiski Area’s Ava Golding (136) and Laurel’s Contessa Cotelesse (148).
The top six in most weight classes advance to the West Regional. The top seven move on at 190 and 235, and the top five at 118 advance.
This is because District 10 and 8 had trouble filling out the bracket.
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
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