Pennsylvania Girls Dominate Oklahoma in Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic as Showcase Upset Adds Intrigue

The girls’ card at the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic that kicked off an afternoon of wrestling at Peter’s Township High School in McMurray, Pennsylvania on Saturday showed one “National” match and a dual with the home state’s best available taking on a squad comprised of top ladies from Oklahoma.

Pennsylvania Rolls to Commanding Team Victory

Pennsylvania torched Oklahoma, 51-3, with the visitors’ only win coming when Kristen DeLaRosa (Broken Arrow) pulled off an 11-4 upset of No. 38 Daylee Watson (Conneaut Area) at 112 pounds. Otherwise, the Keystone Girls shined the brightest in winning 11 of 12 bouts.

Showcase Match Delivers Upset Moment

The Main Event was Ohio’s No. 6 Elizabeth Madison (Loveland) squaring off with No. 11 Bryce Snyder of Palisades in the “Women’s Showcase Match”. Snyder would post the upset after gaining three near-fall points on an awkward ending of a scramble and go on to win, 4-0.

Ranked Matchups Highlight Pennsylvania’s Depth

There were three nationally ranked showdowns over the last four bouts on the OK vs PA slate. The first coming at 148 pounds with No. 21 Paige Jox (Mount Lebanon) overwhelming No. 33 Makenna Howell (Ada) for a 20-4 technical fall in 3:31.

The 190-pound slots were filled by Pennsylvania’s No. 23 Caroline Hattala (Quakertown) and No. 22 Brook West (Comanche). The two were neck-to-neck until a second period cradle from Hattala with 18 seconds remaining got her the stick in 3:42 for a mild upset of West.

Panther Valley’s No. 5 Brenda Banks used takedowns in the first and second periods, plus an escape to build her 7-0 advantage over No. 21 Brielle Williams (Lawton) at 235 pounds. The first takedown came on a shrug, the second on a spin behind.

Pins and Tech Falls Power the Rout

At 142 pounds, No. 28 Ava Golding of Kiski Area turned the lights out on Lawton’s Nevaeh Reyes quickly with a Fireman’s Carry and then ran an arm bar to deck her adversary in 59 seconds. Montgomery’s No. 28 Zoe Furman spent slightly more than a minute on the mat at 136 pounds before she stuck Bridge Creek’s Hannah Miller in 1:13 with a near-side cradle.

Strong Performances Set the Tone Early

Other bonus point wins put up by Pennsylvania came from No. 3 Julia Horger (Conwell-Egan), No. 19 Julissa Ortiz (Mariana Bracetti), No. 21 Mai Graham (Southern Lehigh), and Olivya Kroope (Emmaus).

Horger and Douglass’ Vanity Brown gave the scorekeeper’s finger a workout as they threw up 36 points in Horger’s 25-11 win at 106 pounds. Ortiz’s major decision was easier to track as her encounter with Lawton’s Teyanna Fields ended in a more reasonable 13-5 count at 130.

Graham coasted at 124 pounds as she worked to an easy 16-1 tech of Aubrey Brown (Putnam City North) that was over nine seconds into the second period, 2:09. Kroope put a third period pin in the book of Oologah’s Piper Morton at 155 pounds in 5:29.

At 100 pounds, No. 9 Ashley Stank (Quakertown) endured a closer than expected opening match with Douglass’ unranked Feliciti Doolittle with a 4-0 decision. Williamsport’s Lillian Rumsey (118 pounds) was challenged as well in her time on the mat with Barnsdall’s Kelcie Avallone, winning 9-6.

Pennsylvania 51, Oklahoma 3

(match started at 100)

100-Ashley Stank (PA) dec Feliciti Doolittle, 4-0

106-Julia Horger (PA) maj dec Vanity Brown, 25-11

112-Kristen DeLaRosa (OK) dec Daylee Watson, 11-4

118-Lillian Rumsey (PA) dec Kelcie Avallone, 9-6

124-Mai Graham (PA) tech fall Aubrey Brown, 16-1 (2:09)

130-Julissa Ortiz (PA) maj dec Teyanna Fields, 13-5

136-Zoe Furman (PA) pinned Hannah Miller, 1:13

142-Ava Golding (PA) pinned Nevaeh Reyes, :59

148-Paige Jox (PA) tech fall Makenna Howell, 20-4 (3:31)

155-Olivya Kroope (PA) pinned Piper Morton, 5:29

190-Caroline Hattala (PA) pinned Brook West, 3:42

235-Brenda Banks (PA) dec Brielle Williams, 7-0