Wrestling

Local athletes make history as first girls wrestling champions

For the first time ever, the N.C. High School Athletic Association hosted the NCHSAA Girls Wrestling Invitational at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds.

Posted 2019-02-03T06:07:20+00:00 - Updated 2019-02-03T06:07:20+00:00

History was made in Winston-Salem on Saturday.

For the first time ever, the N.C. High School Athletic Association hosted the NCHSAA Girls Wrestling Invitational at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds. The field, which was made up entirely of female wrestlers, consisted of 87 participants in 11 weight classes.

The first-ever girls wrestling champion came from Parkwood when Amber Parker defeated Butler's Elisa Cox in a 9-4 decision to win the 138-pound weight class. Parker won a 7-4 decision over Asheboro's Lindey Otero in the quarterfinals and pinned Rosman's Willow Chance in the semifinals.

A number of local girls won championships at the invitational too.

In the 113-pound classification, Havelock's Brooke Hermel won a 10-3 decision over Mallory McDonald of Jacksonville. Hermel defeated South Granville's Katerina Pendergrass in the semifinals in a 3-1 decision, while McDonald beat Clayton's Sophia Forquer with a pin.

McDonald's teammate, Jacksonville's Teah Chunn, managed to claim a championship in the 120-pound class. Chunn pinned Broughton's Aaliyah Schell in the championship after beating Corinth Holders' Savanah Goad-Cortes in the semifinals in a 7-5 decision.

Jack Britt's Madajah Trapier won the 152-pound weight class in a four-person round robin. Trapier pinned Hoke County's Melanie Jones, Overhills' Jasmine Davis, and Hoke County's Madeline Ramella. Davis finished second, Ramella finished third, and Jones placed fourth.

The NCHSAA combined the 160-pound and 170-pound weight classes at the competition. LaSean Boyd of Overhills pinned Anamaria Bailey of Pine Forest in the championship match. Boyd had beaten Broughton's Elisa Holly with a pin in the semifinals while Bailey pinned Ashley Boggess of Pisgah.

Other champions included: Providence's Nikoly Dos Santos won a 16-0 technical fall over Cleveland's Madeline Smith in the 106-pound championship; South Caldwell's Jade Hutto pinned Knightdale's Morgan Pressley in the 126-pound championship; Florance Zaitawi of West Forsyth pinned Southern Durham's Danasia Williams in the 145-pound championship.

There were just four wrestlers in the 132-pound weight class. En route to a first place finish, West Henderson's Destiney Cairnes pinned all three opponents – Lillian Sealey of High Point Central, Emma Zhang of N.C. Science & Math, and Autumn Motes of North Henderson. Sealey finished second, followed by Zhang and Motes respectively.

Officials combined the 182-pound and 195-pound weight classes into a three-wrestler round robin. The same was done with the 220-pound and 285-pound classes.

In the 182 & 195 division, North Iredell's Myranda Johnson placed first with pins against Julissa Jaramillo of Rosewood and Saige Cook of Burns. Jaramillo placed second and Cook finished third.

The last class, the combined 220 & 285 division, Burns' Ella Beam claimed first place after pinning West Mecklenburg's Rebecca Saunders and Bartlett Yancey's Sonya Johnson. Sanders finished second, followed by Johnson.

The NCHSAA Board of Directors approved the girls wrestling invitational with a unanimous vote at its December meeting. The event was held in conjunction with the North Carolina chapter of USA Wrestling. It was held as a one-year trial basis. Whether or not it returns in 2020 will be up for discussion, possibly at the next board meeting in May.

“We are thrilled with the opportunity to showcase what these young women in our state can do in the sport of wrestling. We are grateful to have a partner in the North Carolina chapter of USA Wrestling for such a wonderful event," said NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker. "We salute each of our participants for helping to blaze the trail for other female wrestlers in this state to follow and for their hard work this season.”

Below is a list of champions in each division. To see the full round-by-round results, click here.