NHSCA Girls Wrestling Nationals Deliver Breakouts, Upsets and Dominance as Champions Crowned in Virginia Beach

The NHSCA Wrestling Championships were held over the weekend in Virginia Beach, Virginia with the finals being held on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. When the event was originally conceived it was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was just an event for graduating seniors.

Sun Shines over the Carolinas

Over the years, it has grown to include a tournament for all high school grades, middle school, and girls. The High School Girls had their single division alongside the boys on Sunday. This tournament is all about individual glory and the Carolinas had their moment in the sun with three champions, including two from North Carolina, one of whom, No. 19 Taylor Williams, repeated as a NHSCA Titlist.

Northerners Win with Pins

Williams lasted into the second period of her 152-pound final with a fellow North Carolina Lady, Kaylah Evans, before a takedown to the back led to a fall in that round, 3:38. Evans was third at 165 pounds at the 1A-4A States, so she and Williams had not met this year prior to these finals.

It seems we have a genuine breakout on our hands with Williams’ state mate, Rylynn Keziah. The sophomore just finished an unblemished 52-0 season, in which she collected her second state championship. We didn’t dig deep, but a quick glance seems to indicate her wins here will land her in the next report.

To reach the 185-pound finals, Keziah got past No. 33 Jade Hahn of New Jersey. The number 14 girl in the nation from California, Estefany Caballero, awaited her in the finals. Keziah dumped Caballero over her shoulder directly to her back in a powerful toss that the Californian would not recover from as Keziah stuck her at the 1:30 mark of the opening round.

State’s Supreme Southern Run

South Carolina’s Serenity State pulled off a bigger upset than Keziah to gain her supremacy at 145 pounds as her final foe was No. 6 Kesi Tsarni of Maryland. It was all swell for Tsarni in the early going as she first slipped some upper body activity for a takedown then added a second when she lifted a single leg off the mat to finish with two takedowns out of the gate and a 6-1 advantage.

Tsarni chose neutral for the second and that was when State began making her case a winning one. Tsarni fired off a really solid shot that took an expertly used neck whip to fend off, and State leveraged that into four additional near-fall points to go up, 8-6.

State escaped to begin the third and Tsarni tied it up at nine with a takedown. State gained another escape and this time slipped a headlock attempt by Tsarni as time was winding down for an easy final takedown and a 13-9 upset. State was a state champion in South Carolina this year, but we didn’t go farther than that into her past (we’ll save that for the rankings update).

Kaplan is the finest of the Lady Hoosiers

Indiana’s Isabel Kaplan won a state championship at 115 pounds and is ranked third there in our final report for the high school season but popped up here at 107 pounds and reached the finals opposite No. 2 Natalie Radecki of Delaware. Kaplan failed to place a year ago while Radecki had already improved upon her bronze and was looking for more.

Their’s was one of the few matches of the final round where no one scored in the first period. Kaplan elected neutral to begin the second and Radecki used a spin behind to put up the first points. Kaplan would escape to leave it at 3-1.

Radecki started down in the third and added an escape point. Kaplan worked a slow burn slide by with an ankle scoop that creeped its way into her favor to the satisfaction of the ref for the three to tie it up and force overtime. In that stretch, Kaplan would execute another spin behind, but in a more rapid and authoritative manner to take the tile 7-4.

Yoffee Yokes Turner with Big Ending

Another meeting of closely ranked ladies occurred at 132 pounds with Nevada’s No. 24 Mika Yoffee and No. 27 Ava Turner out of West Virginia. Their proximity in the rankings was reflected through the early part of the match before some wild exchanges led to Yoffee gaining some breathing room in what was easily one of the best bouts of the girls’ final card.

Turner, who took out No. 5 Willow White from Florida as she advanced, put the first points in the book when she got right in on a single leg. Yoffee broke free then got her back with a double leg to end the first, up by one, 4-3. Turner escaped for the tie only to see Yoffee take her right back to the mat. Turner came back with a reversal and Yoffee answered with her own to leave them at 10-7 as the final frame dawned.

It all fell apart for Turner in the third as she got hit with a locked hands call and allowed a reversal. Things snowballed from there as there were multiple sets of near-falls added, and when the final whistle blew, Yoffee had gained a ten-point edge on her rival for a 19-9 major decision.

Solomon Handles Challenge from the West

Pennsylvania’s No. 2 Marlee Solomon was involved in one of the marquee matches of the gold medal round as she toed the line with No. 14 Winter West from Washington. Solomon was fourth here in 2025 and throttled West to gain the gold this year rolling to a 20-4 technical fall in 4:43.

Sanders Alludes Danger Early to Put Richardson Away

If you didn’t watch the 138-pound final between Iowa’s Chloe Sanders (No. 14 at 135) and Missouri’s Mira Ricahrdson (No. 29 at 145), and just saw that Sanders won by fall, you would have no idea how close it came to Richardson being the one doing the pinning.

Richardson let Sanders know she was for real by taking her rival down first. Sanders escaped and set things right with her own takedown. The Iowan took the defensive position for the second and was close to regretting that choice as Richardson propped her up with a far-side cradle and came oh so close to ending it early.

Sanders got out of that tight spot, earned an escape, then locked her hands up in a cradle to gain a takedown but sensed a positioning change and didn’t try for back points. Sanders detected something in those final moments of the second period and told the ref, without hesitation, she would start on top for the third.

It didn’t take long for Sanders to rekindle an arm bar and a half, which she hinted at as time expired in that middle round, to turn Richardson mid-way through the final frame and plant her in 4:54.

Double Glory for Jersey

New Jersey’s Taina McGowan was a fixture in our rankings but sat out the high school season. Her appearance here will have her added back into our next set. McGowan had an easy time with No. 19 Senna Grassman of Tennessee in the 114-pound final that had a final count of 15-1.

The Garden State gained another gold as No. 9 Saharia Quamina put down a major decision win over California’s Marley Smith in the 185-pound final.

California did claim one crown when Marley Nelson picked up a major decision in the 126-pound finals versus Arkansas’ Raylee Hunter, who defeated New York’s No. 16 Sara Pauls to gain her finals birth.

The Pinners

Pins were used by our final two champs to earn their right to stand atop the podium. Florida’s Paola Perez kicked Calfornia’s Pia Hill off the 100-pound mats with a 1:08 fall. Virginia’s Chloe Williams waited until the third period of the 165-pound final to deck Pennsylvania’s Kate Prior, 5:37.

Results

100-Pounds

1st Paola Perez Miami, FL (FL) F Pia Hill Sacramento, CA (CA), 1:08

3rd Carson Robertson Fort Mill, SC (SC) DEC Rebecca Marin Miami, FL (FL), 9-6

5th Francesca Gusfa Ridgewood, NJ (NJ) DEC Katelynn Dockery Bryan, TX (TX), 7-1

7th Kylie-ann Thach Eastvale, CA (CA) F Alexandra Thomas Pompano Beach, FL (FL), 3:18

107-Pounds

1st Isabel Kaplan West Lafayette, IN (IN) DEC Natalie Radecki Newark, DE (DE), 7-4 SV

3rd Khiry Reese La Grange, NC (NC) F Kirra Mitchell Macon, GA (GA), 2:00

5th Grace Jawulski Lithia, FL (FL) TF Josie Wilson Abilene, KS (KS), 19-2 1:53

7th Sora mae Bukoski Ellsworth, ME (ME) DEC Breanna Higgins Kingsland, GA (GA), 5-2

114-Pounds

1st Taina Mcgowan New Brunswick, NJ (NJ) MD Senna Grassman Calhoun, TN (TN), 15-1

3rd Kylie Gudewitz Howell, NJ (NJ) DEC Presley Sandobal Roseville, OH (OH), 7-0

5th Adalyne Montiel Toppenish, WA (WA) F Addysin Mollendor Ocean Springs, MS (MS), 1:07

7th Emma Sheppard Conway, SC (SC) DEC Allison Patten Warwick, RI (RI), 10-7

120-Pounds

1st Marlee Solomon Mc Donald, PA (PA) TF Winter West Bonney Lake, WA (WA), 19-4 4:43

3rd Kandice Spry Dresden, OH (OH) F Kaila Keesecker Blairsville, PA (PA), 1:53

5th Temperance Lowe Kansas City, MO (MO) MD Rileigh Romberger Smithsburg, MD (MD), 12-3

7th Annika Scott Folsom, CA (CA) F Tiana Crawford Rockwall, TX (TX), 2:50

126-Pounds

1st Marley Nelson Santa Ana, CA (CA) MD Raylee Hunter Hot Springs, AR (AR), 11-2

3rd Sara Pauls Middletown, NY (NY) F Avery Fitzgerald Nevada, TX (TX), 5:20

5th Sophia Rimbert Albuquerque, NM (NM) F Bailey Nimer Concord, NC (NC), 4:57

7th Isabella Sermana Cerritos, CA (CA) TF Tiffany Nguyen Santa Ana, CA (CA), 20-4 6:00

132-Pounds

1st Mika Yoffee Pahrump, NV (NV) MD Ava Turner Kingwood, WV (WV), 19-9

3rd Willow White Miami, FL (FL) M FOR Kimber Alford Daphne, AL (AL), 0-0 0:00

5th Sophia Slaughter RHOADESVILLE, VA (VA) DEC Angelina Spachman Whitehall, PA (PA), 9-2

7th Ella Hughes Jefferson, GA (GA) F Adriana Degroat Framingham, MA (MA), 3:26

138-Pounds

1st Chloe Sanders Vinton, IA (IA) F Mira Richardson Eureka, MO (MO), 4:54

3rd Mariana Puzycki Bayonne, NJ (NJ) F Rachel Jensen Mapleton, UT (UT), 3:52

5th Laura Almanza Deming, NM (NM) DEC Kaylie Julander Kemmerer, WY (WY), 8-5

7th Jada Lebron Raeford, NC (NC) F Mia Spadavecchia Washington township, NJ (NJ), 1:57

145-Pounds

1st Serenity State Gaffney, SC (SC) DEC Kesi Tsarni Montgomery Village, MD (MD), 13-9

3rd Ana carolina Lockard Ny, NY (NY) DEC Sophie Grunhuvd Waterboro, ME (ME), 7-0

5th Jameson Strickland BROOKHAVEN, PA (PA) DEC Lyla Kasztner Boca Raton, FL (FL), 5-4

7th Riley Johnson Waxhaw, NC (NC) MD Avery Winterton Salem, UT (UT), 13-4

152-Pounds

1st Taylor Williams Kernersville, NC (NC) F Kaylah Evans Catawba, NC (NC), 3:38

3rd Alyciah Thomas ROCK HILL, SC (SC) F Kalea Loving Huntsville, AL (AL), 1:09

5th Hayley Rusher Imperial, NE (NE) DEC Charlize Schlam Point Pleasant Boro, NJ (NJ), 7-3

7th Bianca Connell Easley, SC (SC) TF Natalia Zoller Thief River Falls, MN (MN), 19-3 2:51

165-Pounds

1st Chloe Williams Stafford, VA (VA) F Kate Prior Milford, PA (PA), 5:37

3rd Clarion Fager Draper, UT (UT) F Areli Rodriguez Salinas, CA (CA), 0:33

5th Sianni Appolon Lexington, KY (KY) F Jariah Washington Nanjemoy, MD (MD), 0:55

7th Enerlen Davaajav Chantilly, VA (VA) F Katherine Donohue oakton, VA (VA), 4:31

185-Pounds

1st Rylynn Keziah Waxhaw, NC (NC) F Estefany Caballero Orange, CA (CA), 1:30

3rd Jade Hahn Bayville, NJ (NJ) F Kayli Morris Meriden, CT (CT), 1:45

5th Selieni Paseka Garden Grove, CA (CA) F Arheanna Bryan Margate, FL (FL), 2:53

7th Lanesha Gause Wilmington Nc, NC (NC) F Makayla Ocean Plantation, FL (FL), 1:17

235-Pounds

1st Saharia Quamina bloomfield, NJ (NJ) MD Marley Smith Susanville, CA (CA), 15-7

3rd Avyon Bonner Red Bluff, CA (CA) F Zeinab Mourad CORAL SPRINGS, FL (FL), 3:01

5th Niya Turner Arab, AL (AL) M FOR Leslie Barden Castle Hayne, NC (NC)

7th Jeily Euceda Norwalk, CT (CT) F Ella Taylor Cary, NC (NC), 2:53