This was the first Girls’ Wrestling State meet sponsored by the IHSAA. Keewa Yu (11) is excited about going to the state and about the number of girl wrestlers at the state meet.

“My favorite part was seeing all the girl wrestlers come together on the mats after the Parade of Champions. There were so many girls that it took up almost all four mats. It felt uniting, and I was truly grateful that I got to be part of history,” Yu said. 

Ava Strayer (9) was the overall state champion. Strayer expresses what was going through her head while in the competition and how she felt about being at state for the first time.

“I felt like it was a lot of pressure because I feel like people were expecting me to do good, but I was mostly excited,” Strayer said.

Kylie Benoit (11) placed 3rd place overall at state. During the competition, Benoit had to focus on the current match and not worry about the further matches to come. 

“I was focusing on the more important matches, but I was trying to focus on going one match at a time and not going too far ahead and just staying focused on the matches I had to do first,” Benoit said.

Helene Papadakis (9) was a finalist at the state competition. This was Papadakis’s first time competing at state, and she competed against various age levels.

“My biggest challenge in the state was having to go up against juniors and seniors that have more experience,” Papadakis said. 

Jaila Powers (9) also ended up a finalist.

“[My favorite part about states was] going there and letting it be my first experience as a freshman which was fun,” Powers said.

Throughout the state experience, the girl wrestlers made history all while being able to learn how to improve and grow for their season.