The holiday season is a time for family, perhaps a visit from the bearded man from up North, some good home cooking, and a week off school.
Not so for many of the girls wrestlers in the Lancaster-Lebanon League, now in their first year as a PIAA sanctioned sport.
Instead of a week off, Santa’s gift to these warriors was watching weight, working out and some intense tournament competition throughout the week.
One of those, Thursday’s Governor Mifflin Tournament, with the caliber of competition it provided, offered a glimpse of what these athletes can expect come the postseason.
There was no team champion — the event was a round-robin format — with the top two in each bracket earning medals. Three individuals from the L-L went to the top of the podium, with McCaskey’s Journie Rodriguez (124 pounds) and Penn Manor’s Daniela Contin (130) and Brooklynn Ayala (235) each winning their respective brackets.
Rodriguez (13-0, No. 1 in the PIAA at 118 pounds) continued her torrid pace, capturing four more falls wrestling up a weight at 124. Her first was in 1:34 over Pottstown’s Savannah Richards. She took longer to down Brandywine Heights’ Ashley Nace (2:26) and Governor Mifflin’s Emily Yerger (2:47) in her next two.
But in her finale, the junior earned gold by taking down Dallastown’s Kenna Hoffman in just 56 seconds. All but one of the defending state champion’s 13 matches this season have been won via fall.
Contin recorded three falls and a forfeit on the way to her championship match, where she pinned Taylor Bast of Pine Grove in 1:58. Her teammate Ayala had three matches, two of them hard-fought falls near the end of both bouts, and a 12-1 major decision over McCaskey’s Lauren Labrew that made her golden.
McCaskey, which hasn’t lost a match this year as a team, saw Malanie Santana (100), Janyce Santiago (118), Labrew (235), Liana Samuel (136), and Jurelys Peguero Del Rosario (190) also earn medals, and Jazelyn Mendez (130) and Ytzel Figueroa-Rivera (170) take third.
“The way this tournament is structured is a little unusual, with the Madison Brackets, as we call them,” McCaskey coach Kevin Franklin said. “It’s a little more by ability, but this gives you a chance to have all your wrestlers compete, which is tough by today’s PIAA standards.
“You do have a lot of top-tier teams here, a lot of state-level girls, and although it is early, it gives them a good litmus test where they stack up against the best,” Franklin added. “And for our new kids, it gives them a chance to get out on the mats the first time, and it is a learning experience.”
In addition to its two champs, Penn Manor saw three other girls go to the podium, as Anisa Orr (148), Madi Stringer (136) and Trinity Mowery (155) each scored silver medals.
“What we really like about this tournament is we have been coming to it every year since girls wrestling was formed in Pennsylvania,” Penn Manor coach Scott Shenk said. “We love the competition. Getting to see Gettysburg, Dallastown, McCaskey and Parkland, allows us to make adjustments and get ready for the post-season.”
Elizabethtown’s Gracie Woodring entered the tourney at 118 with one blemish to her record, six falls, and a state ranking. She got caught in a tough first match by Gisele Ramirez — also state-ranked — out of Souderton, being pinned in 46 seconds.
Woodring bounced back with a vengeance, though, pinning Big Spring’s Erica Diep in 2:54. She earned a silver spot on the podium by pinning Gettysburg’s Macee Bennage in just 26 seconds.
“I was really nervous and not paying attention. It was really early in the morning,” a humble Woodring said of her loss to Ramirez. “This opens other opportunities and it showed me what refs like and don’t like. My goal now is to get to states.”
For Annville-Cleona, Governor Mifflin was the first chance for its girls to hit the mats. The Dutchmen’s Abigail Gehards (124) placed third and had a fall in her first match of the day over Palmerton’s Cassidy Merkel (1:29).
Ella Teufert was impressive for Octorara, winning the junior high girls 124-130 event with two falls.
Up next
While many of the L-L girls squads will continue to participate in dual meets as the New Year progresses, on Saturday, Penn Manor will host the second and final tournament this year in Lancaster County.
Fifteen teams will head to Millersville — including ranked William Tennent, Souderton, Pocono Mountain West and Gettysburg — currently the second-best team in the PIAA.
“We are looking for the best competition in the state,” Shenk said. “We want to see where we measure up and want to keep getting better. That is what we aim for. Ultimately, we want them to be competitive with the top level.”
Prior to that, the Comets have one of the more intriguing matches of the week when they travel to Manheim Township on Wednesday.
