Rising States: A Look At Which HS Girls Programs Have Closed the Gap

Iowa’s Molly Allen won a 16U Fargo title last month. Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo / WrestlersAreWarriors.com

by Derek Levendusky
Twitter: @AWWderek

It’s no secret that high school girls wrestling is growing. In fact, women’s wrestling is the fastest growing sport in the country. But there’s a different kind of growth than numerical growth—the growth of developing girls who are competitive at the national level. Is there a metric to determine which states are rising in high school girls wrestling? There’s no better place to gather data than in Fargo every summer.

So which states are climbing the ladder and closing the gap? Here’s a look at our top 5.

5. Arizona
Arizona is showing their youth movement as they finished in the top 10 in the 16U division this year with an 8th place performance. If we’re using the same standard for teams that we use for individuals—the top eight are All-Americans—then that now makes Arizona an All-American state. What’s really amazing is they did this after landing in 33rd in 16U in 2021. Their Junior team also made a big jump, moving from #31 in 2021 to #22 in 2022. Before that, looking way back at 2019—remember there was no Fargo in 2020—Arizona was #24 in 16U and #28 in the Junior team race. Placing 8th in 16U this year was truly a breakout performance, thanks in big part to a remarkable performance by 122-pound 16U national champion Everest Leydecker, who wasn’t even ranked coming into Fargo.

All-Americans
16U: Everest Leydecker 1st place (122), Karlee Brooks 2nd place (112), Isis France 3rd place (132), Morgan Lucio 4th place (132)

Juniors: Karlee Brooks 3rd place (112)

4. Florida
Amazing 6th place finish in Junior division this year for the Sunshine State after landing 17th in 2021. In 16U, Team Florida finished #11 in both 2021 and 2022—so close to the top 10 in that division two years in a row. In 2019, they finished #21 in 16U and #14 in Juniors. Their top 10 finish in the Junior division this year was powered by two national title performances in 106-pound Clare Booe and 117-pound Juliana Diaz.

All-Americans
16U: Mary Manis 2nd place (100), Cheyenne Cruce 4th place (200), Gabriele Tedesco 5th place (100), Sofia Delgado 5th place (138)

Juniors: Clare Booe 1st place (106), Juliana Diaz 1st place (117), Andrea Smith 6th place (225), Henlee Haynes 7th place (180)

3. Missouri
In 16U, Team Missouri went from #5 in 2021 to #2 this year, including placing higher than juggernaut California, who took 3rd. Some might argue that jumping three spots doesn’t indicate a huge rise, but when you’re talking about the top 5, the rules change. Gaining even one spot is a feat, so going from #5 to national runner-up is quite noteworthy. In Juniors, the Show-Me State girls finished 4th in both 2021 and 2022. Freshman (now sophomore) Ava Ward led the charge for her team, winning a 16U national title and placing 3rd in the Junior division.

All-Americans
16U: Ava Ward 1st place (106), Mariyah Brumley 2nd place (200), Janiah Jones 5th place (132), Isabella Renfro 5th place (180), Cali Dupree 6th place (152), Angelina Vargas 7th place (112), Madeline Haynes 7th place (144), Ellie Poulette 7th place (180), Jessica Joiner 8th place (117)

Juniors: Amitria McNack 2nd place (138), Ava Ward 3rd place (106), Maddie Kubicki 3rd place (144), Isabella Renfro 4th place (180), Mariyah Brumley 5th place (200), Brooke Bennett 6th place (200), Haley Ward 7th place (164)

2. Michigan
Michigan finished #4 in 16U in both 2021 and 2022, but made a huge jump in the Junior division at Fargo this year, going from the #8 spot in 2021 to being the national team runner-up, second only to California. If you consider where they were in 2019—#14 in 16U and #20 in Juniors—their trajectory is stunning. It helps to have 152-pound Mishell Rebisch and 180-pound Sabrina Nauss double up in North Dakota this year, along with Avenger-like Eliana Bommarito going back-to-back.

All-Americans
16U: Mishell Rebisch 1st place (152), Sabrina Nauss 1st place (180), Gigi Bragg 3rd place (100), Cecilia Williams 4th place (112), Isabella Cepak 7th place (117)

Juniors: Mishell Rebisch 1st place (152), Sabrina Nauss 1st place (180), Eliana Bommarito 1st place (225), Clarissa Agostini 2nd place (144), Gigi Bragg 3rd place (100), Cecilia Williams 4th place (112)

1. Iowa
Besides Team California, no team other than a team named Hawaii had ever won the girls 16U division in Fargo since its conception in 2002, and that only happened one time. That changed this year when Iowa shocked the field and won the 16U team title. Their ascent to the top was stunning, going from #20 in 2021 to #1 in 2022. Thanks to a national title performance by Molly Allen (112) and a huge upset to make the finals by Skylar Slade (144), the Hawkeye State can now boast a national team title. They didn’t have quite the same magic in the Junior division, but did show improvement, going from #26 in 2021 to #21 in 2022. In 2019, Team Iowa was #20 in the Junior division and #9 in 16U.

All-Americans
16U: Molly Allen 1st place (112), Skylar Slade 2nd place (144), Emma Peach 4th place (144), Naomi Simon 4th place (164), Reanah Utterbach 5th place (112), Jillian Worthen 7th place (106), Bella Porcelli 7th place (164), Savannah Sistad 8th place (200)

Juniors: Naomi Simon 6th place (164), Jasmine Luedtke 7th place (106), Ella Schmit 7th place (132)