Teays Valley qualified a pair of wrestlers on Sunday to the first girls state tournament that is being sponsored by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
Four regionals were held across the state to qualify wrestlers for the state tournament, with the Vikings participating at Olentangy Orange High School.
Freshman Madi Hamilton (17-14) won by pin over Westerville North’s Ava Heckman in 3:24 and 57 seconds against Western’s Callie Farmer before losing by 13-2 major decision against Canal Winchester’s Razilee Wissen in the 140-pound championship match.
After losing her quarterfinal match by pin in 5:58 against Worthington Kilbourne’s Lillian Leis, junior Ava Miller (37-2) bounced back to pin Hilliard Bradley’s Maddie Smith in 1:42, recorded a 13-6 decision over West Holmes’ Cylie Couch and then pinned Watkins Memorial’s Megan Justice in 2:40 in the third-place final at 105 pounds.
“Madi did great. She did everything we asked her to do,” Teays Valley coach Todd Nace said. “Ava slipped up in her first match, but she recovered and came back to qualify, and we are very proud of her.”
The Vikings finished tied for 11th out of 67 teams in attendance at Olentangy Orange with 44 points.
The first OHSAA girls state tournament will be wrestled alongside the boys from Friday through Sunday inside Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center.
“Ava and Madi both worked hard all year and we’re super excited for them,” Nace said.
(740) 477-1661
