The second annual Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association (OHSWCA) state girls wrestling tournament kicks off Saturday and runs through Sunday at Hilliard Davidson High School in Columbus.
Greater Cincinnati will be well-represented among the top-tier talent in the state, with 42 local girls set to hit the mat with at least two in all 14 weight classes. Here's what to watch for in the hunt for state championships.
Harrison has the most state qualifiers (8) of the Greater Cincinnati programs at state. The Wildcats start with freshman Chloe Dearwester, who is nationally-ranked in the 106-pound weight class. She's 22-1 overall and 16-1 vs. girls with her only loss against the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the country. Dearwester is coming off a district championship last Sunday and will face Watkins Memorial's Meagan Justice in the first round.
More:'The sky's the limit': Harrison's Chloe Dearwester goes to mat for girls wrestling growth
The Wildcats have two wrestlers in the 235 group who could face each other down the road in Jessica Edwards and Rylee Kirkwood. Edwards, a district runner-up, is 15-5 overall and Kirkwood is 7-6.
Gabrielle Chandler (189), Molly Hudler (160), Aaliyah Lee (131), Lilly Kinsel (126) each enter the tournament with winning records this season. Chandler, 11-10, was a district runner-up. At 137, Madison Greene is 7-13 overall and finished fourth at districts.
Mason is highlighted by a pair of district runner-ups in Haley Williams (101) and Julie Sung (121). Williams, a freshman, is 9-3 overall and Sung, a sophomore, is 8-2. Mason juniors Paige Foster (126), Emma Schatzel (137) and Amara Hedges (170) qualified with strong district finishes. Foster is 10-4 this year. Freshman Madeline Duval (235) and Quetzally Estrada (189) were alternates at districts. Estrada carries a 7-4 record into state.
Lakota West will send a pair of wrestlers with postseason success to state. Kendra Hiett (126) is 11-5 this season with seven pins. The junior is a two-time state qualifier, a state runner-up in 2020, and was runner-up at districts. Grace Hicks (121) is 14-2 overall and is coming off a district title. She is also a two-time state qualifier.
Hiett could see Springboro's Rylee Gust down the road. Gust defeated Hiett for the district championship and is 12-2 overall.
Clermont Northeastern joins Harrison and Mason as the only schools sending five-plus wrestlers to state. Kylie Prather (160), Jesse Foebar (150), Lilly Braden (143) and Abbey Puckett (116) each finished third at districts. Ivy Stephan (131) came in fourth.
Western Brown will send four 20-win wrestlers to Hilliard Davidson; each of them had good showings at district. Sophomore Abi Miller (170) is 23-6 overall and captured a district crown. Junior Lacie Reese (137) is 21-13, senior Elisa Reese (131) is 20-11 and Dakota Propeck (116) is 23-12 — each was district runner-ups.
Lacie Reese is 19-3 vs. girls this season with all three losses to undefeated Taylor freshman Meghan Werbrich (20-0), who has 18 pins this year. Werbrich and teammate Cerenity Bergeron (116), who is 15-5 overall with 13 pins, each won district titles. Sophomore Isabella Savage (101) round out the Taylor state trio. She is 16-6 this year and was third at districts.
Bethel-Tate is one of five area programs sending at least four girls to state in Alexa Donahue (111), Sallie Wesselman (150), Jade Hartness (160) and Chloe Vining (189). Donahue had the best district showing, placing third.
Fairfield is headlined by a pair of district champions in junior Rachel Elizondo (111) and senior Marissa Meyer (143). Elizondo is 11-2 and Meyer is 11-4.
Walnut Hills' Erin Martin (150) also won a district title and Norwood's Lizbeth Banderas (143) was district runner-up.
Coming out of the Southern Buckeye Conference, New Richmond junior Kaitlyn Fischer (106) has 15 victories this season and was third at districts. At 116, Colerain's Bailey Brewer is the program's only female wrestler and is 3-3 vs. girls this season.
In the Greater Catholic League-Coed, Badin's Rachel Nusky (121) was third at districts. She is 9-9 overall and 5-2 against girls. Fenwick sophomore Emily Von Dohre (160) is 3-4 against girls this season after going winless last year. She was fifth at districts.
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