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Girls wrestling sanctioned by PIAA

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Canon- McMillan’s Chloe Ault comes up strong after her victory over North Allegheny’s Leyna Rumpler in a match in the 2021-22 season.

Mark Marietta/For the O-R

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Canon- McMillan’s Leilani Ramos look for an opening against her opponent in a girls wrestling match against North Allegheny in the 2021-22 season.

Mark Marietta/For the O-R

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Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter

Rylie Stewart leads the Canon-McMillan girls wrestling team through warmups before they take to the mat against North Allegheny in the 2021-22 season.

This one’s for the girls.

Just three years and two months from the day J.P. McCaskey introduced an official girls wrestling team, the PIAA announced girls wrestling would be sanctioned on May 17 and state champions will be crowned next March at the Giant Center in Hershey while the boys tournament is being contested.

When J.P. McCaskey started its team, the PIAA said it would consider sanctioning girls wrestling if 100 schools fielded a team and the current number of girls programs in the state sits at 111, but is likely to grow.

The girls division will not be divided into classifications, and qualification for the state tournament and other details are in the works, but there will be 13 champions standing on the podium with their male counterparts next March.

Canon-McMillan and wrestling go hand-in-hand, and the Big Macs have a strong team returning after competing as a club sport this past season.

“Just like the boys wrestling program did back in the 1930s, we want to set a precedent on the girls side,” Canon-McMillan coach Brian Krenzelak said. “Girls wrestling has really taken off at our school. We had one girl two years ago, and now we have a full room.”

The Big Macs won an unofficial state championship the day after the boys state tournament. The girls event was contested at Central Dauphin High School.

Canon-McMillan earned the team title with 137 points and Valarie Solorio pinned all four of her opponents in winning the championship at 100 pounds. Krenzelak hopes history repeats itself next March.

“We are looking for Valarie to be the first girls state champion,” Krenzelak said. “I have been working with Valarie since she was seven. We also have two girls who have committed to wrestling in college.”

Elizabeth Elliott (University of the Cumberlands) and Madison Mansmann (East Stroudsburg) will wrestle at the next level. Elliott placed second in states at 112 and Mansmann fifth at 106.

“Women wrestle freestyle in college, and we really focus on that at our program, which is very important when we speak with these college coaches about potential recruits,” Krenzelak said. “We practice freestyle with our girls.”

The weight classes for the PIAA will follow the National Federation of State High School Associations model. The 13 weights are: 100, 106, 112, 118, 124, 130, 136, 142, 148, 155, 170, 190, 235.

Krenzelak will serve as the head coach for the girls program while also guiding the C-M boys team, but he will have three assistants to work with.

“We have a great support system from the school district and community here at Canon-McMillan,” Krenzelak said. “We also have a great AD (athletic director) in Frank Vulcano Jr., who is a great AD in general, but he really knows what I need as a wrestling coach.”

Burgettstown, Fort Cherry, Peters Township and Trinity are the other local schools with girls programs.

“Grant Lowther is doing great things at Trinity for their girls program,” Krenzelak said. “I believe wrestling in our area will be strong for girls because they will have the same commitment that they do with the boys. When it comes down to it, wrestling is wrestling, and that is how we look at it.”

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