District Girls Wrestling: Elyria wins team title, sends five to state

MENTOR — Elyria flexed the depth that's made it so strong all season.The Pioneers finished with five state qualifiers, three district finalists and nine of 10 Elyria wrestlers earned victories as Elyria easily won the district championship by 30 points over runner-up Austintown Fitch. Columbia finished fifth with 68.5 points and Keystone tied for 19th with 36.5."The girls wrested good today," Elyria coach Paul Felton said. "Our five (state) qualifiers were our five seniors, so that's pretty cool. Those girls get to extend their season one more week, so that's exciting for them. It was a pretty successful day."Lorain County began the day with 22 competing and nine ultimately qualified for the state tournament, which begins Friday and concludes Sunday at Ohio State.Five girls, all seniors, wrestled for a district title. Elyria sent three girls to the district final — Jaelyn Green (145 pounds), Kira Maassen (190) and Khloee Washington (235) — while Youstina Hanna (140) and Cailyn Demagall (155) represented Columbia. Hanna was the only one to win a district championship."It feels great," Green said. "I knew what I had to do all week and I knew if I wrestled like me, I was going to go to state. Coming into that match, I just knew what I had to do. I felt my offense, went out there and got the win."Green, Massen and Washington each had business-like semifinals. Green earned an 8-5 decision over New Middleton Springfield sophomore Abigale Miller to advance after trailing 1-4 early in the second period, rallying for a takedown and a nearfall. The pair wrestled to a stalemate in the third period. Green finished runner-up at 145 after losing to Tuscarawas Valley's Tori Wilson in the final.Massen dominated her semifinal with an 18-2 technical fall over Garrett Morgan senior Johanna Bogan, while Washington pinned Maysville junior Sophie Dennis in the second period. Both finished runners-up in their respective weight classes.Elyria also had two wrestle back through the consolation bracket as Emilie Conley (120) and Seraiah Jackson (170) both finished third."It feels really amazing," Massen said. "I knew if I went out there, wrestled my match and established my offense, I was going to get through. I definitely think I'm going out there a lot more confident in what I know that I can do and I'm definitely showing it."Hanna and Demagall also had straightforward semifinal wins. Hanna secured a 9-1 major decision over Brookfield sophomore Isabella Williams, then defeated Emma Shephard of Massillon Perry 8-5 in the final. Demagall built a 9-0 lead over Mogadore senior Mackenzie Shellenberger in her semifinal before securing a pin at 3:04. She ultimately finished as runner-up, losing a 20-2 technical fall to Brush's Brooklyn Baskin in the final."It feels great," said Demagall, who was a two-time state placer before falling short of advancing to the state tournament last season. "I've been working so hard to get to where I am right now. I definitely feel like I'm peaking at the perfect time. My coaches have prepared me to study my opponents closely and find out their weaknesses before I wrestle. That's exactly what we did and I used that against them."Keystone had two girls wrestle back through the consolation bracket, though Sage O'Brien (145) needed to win three matches after losing her quarterfinal. She secured three straight decisions to earn her second straight trip to Columbus and third overall, before finishing in fourth place.Freshman Kyriana Grahn (130) was eight seconds away from winning her semifinal, but Springfield's Leannah Swiger scored a takedown and a nearfall before the buzzer for an 8-5 decision. Grahn shook that off in her consolation semifinal by pinning Claymont junior Kyndall Boitnott and ultimately finished fourth.But the day belonged to the Pioneers, whose five state qualifiers is the second-best showing for a girls wrestling program behind Vermilion's six in 2024.Felton said Sunday was filled with highs and lows."The district weekend and even the week leading up to it is a rollercoaster ride of emotions," he said. "You have girls' seasons ending on one mat and then you go right onto another (mat) and a girl is qualifying for state. So you feel bad for the ones that don't make it, but then you get super excited for the ones that do. So, the emotions are crazy this week ... but that's what makes it fun. It's what we work for."Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Elyria 132.5; 2. Austintown Fitch 102.5; 3. Mass. Perry 83.5; 4. Maysville 81.5; 5. Columbia 68.5; 6. Tuscar. Valley 57; 7. Berea-Midpark 56.5; Perry 56.5; 9. Steubenville 56; 10. Brush 54; 11. Walsh Jesuit 49.5; 12. Claymont 46.5; 13. Cle. Heights 43; 14. Cloverleaf 42.5; 15. East Liverpool 41.5; 16. John Hay 41; 17. West Branch 38; 18. United 37.5; 19. Carrollton 36.5; Keystone 36.5; 21. Paine. Riverside 35.5; 22. Chippewa 30; Tri-Valley 30; 24. Minerva 28.5; Shaw 28.5; 26. Lake Cath. 28; Mogadore 28; New Philadelphia 28; 29. Barnesville 25; 30. Mapleton 24; Roosevelt 24; 32. Poland Seminary 23; 33. Alliance 22; Garrett Morgan 22; N. Mid. Springfield 22; Southeast 22; Springfield 22; 38. Harvey 21; Mentor 21; Rich. Edison 21; 41. Brookfield 20; Shenandoah 20; 43. Aurora 19; 44. Canton McKinley 17; Hubbard 17; 46. Rootstown 16; Shaker Hts. 16; 48. River 15; 49. Lakeside 12; Trinity 12; 51. Canton South 11; Orange 11; 53. W.S. Northwestern 10; 54. Beachwood 9; 55. GlenOak 7; Kirtland 7; 57. Coshocton 6; Crestwood 6; 59. Field 5; 60. B.C. Western Reserve 4; Crooksville 4; East Palestine 4; 63. Barberton 3; CF Northwest 3; Eastlake North 3; Ellet 3; Fairless 3; Green 3; Uniont. Lake 3; Wadsworth 3; Waterloo 3; 72. Marlington 2.5; 73. Solon 2; 74. Cle. JFK 1; Girard 1; Warren Champion 1.FIRST: 100 — FIRST: Aniya Polk (Shaw) maj. dec. Ella Thomas (Poland Seminary), 24-12. THIRD: Giulia Zayas (Aurora) maj. dec. Jahmiah Bey (Steubenville), 11-0; FIFTH: Madison Galchick (Austintown Fitch) pinned Oliva Whitlach (Tuscar. Valley), 2:14.105 — FIRST: Isabella Thiel (Walsh Jesuit) dec. Mia Forberg (Mass. Perry), 4-1. THIRD: Layken Lively (Shenandoah) pinned Laiken Warner (Claymont), 4:48; FIFTH: Sara Whitlach (Tuscar. Valley) dec. Lizette Rodriguez (Paine. Riverside), 9-3.110 — FIRST: Presley Sandobal (Maysville) maj. dec. Abby Cornwell (Perry), 13-1. THIRD: Penny Edwards (Roosevelt) def. Ashlynn Pennington (Alliance) by default; FIFTH: Bailey Hilliard (Minerva) maj. dec. Ellie DiFiori (Canton South), 11-2.115 — FIRST: Ladyn Hines (Barnesville) dec. Kandice Spry (Tri-Valley), 4-3. THIRD: GG Dominish (Perry) pinned Ta'Mya Bouie (Cle. Heights), 1:32; FIFTH: Mary Averell (Austintown Fitch) dec. Myla French (United), 4-2.120 — FIRST: Audrey Crooks (Maysville) pinned London Davis (Paine. Riverside), 2:28. THIRD: Emilie Conley (Elyria) pinned Laila Gridiron (Lake Cath.), :19; FIFTH: Zenfira Spencer (Rich. Edison) dec. zyon smith (John Hay), 7-0.125 — FIRST: Kayla Moroschan (Chippewa) pinned Ava Sommers (Walsh Jesuit), 1:43. THIRD: Paige Cowan (East Liverpool) def. Yelieishka Perez- Navedo (Austintown Fitch) by default; FIFTH: Berkeley Craddock (Cloverleaf) tech. fall Claire Ondrejko (Columbia), 15-0.130 — FIRST: Carolyn Geckler (Mass. Perry) pinned Leannah Swiger (Springfield), :26. THIRD: Riley Diehl (Southeast) pinned Kyriana Grahn (Keystone), 2:05; FIFTH: Kyndall Boitnott (Claymont) pinned Rachel Weaver (Minerva), 4:51.135 — FIRST: Talea Guntrum (Steubenville) pinned Auston Brown (United), :51. THIRD: Skylar Hopstetter (Mapleton) pinned Micah Finley (Berea-Midpark), 3:55; FIFTH: Abigail Janosik (West Branch) pinned Haylee Bour (Canton McKinley), 3:28.140 — FIRST: Youstina Hanna (Columbia) dec. Emma Shephard (Mass. Perry), 8-5. THIRD: Isabella Williams (Brookfield) pinned Mya Quarles (Austintown Fitch), 2:24; FIFTH: Aubrey Willig (Cloverleaf) maj. dec. Natalie Martincic (Orange), 13-2.145 — FIRST: Tori Wilson (Tuscar. Valley) pinned Jaelyn Green (Elyria), 1:02. THIRD: Abigale Miller (N. Mid. Springfield) pinned Sage O'Brien (Keystone), 1:22; FIFTH: Koko Bryant (Trinity) dec. Kai Gaetjens (Mogadore), 5-3.155 — FIRST: Brooklyn Baskin (Brush) tech. fall Cailyn Demagall (Columbia), 20-2. THIRD: Grace Bates (West Branch) pinned Mackenzie Shellenbarger (Mogadore), 2:46; FIFTH: Isabella Hanna (Lakeside) dec. Morgan Giebel (Rootstown), 4-0.170 — FIRST: Reghan Koch (Austintown Fitch) pinned Chelsea Gipson (Cle. Heights), 1:16. THIRD: Seraiah Jackson (Elyria) dec. Alanna McGonigal (East Liverpool), 3-1; FIFTH: Adora Hale (Hubbard) def. Amariya Johnson (Brush) by forfeit.190 — FIRST: Riley Alborn (Carrollton) pinned Kira Maassen (Elyria), 2:20. THIRD: Johanna Bogan (Garrett Morgan) pinned Isabelle Ramirez (New Philadelphia), 4:24; FIFTH: Zoie Durham (Shaker Hts.) pinned Giselle Moreno (Harvey), 4:53.235 — FIRST: Deionna Borders (Berea-Midpark) pinned Khloee Washington (Elyria), 3:08. THIRD: Taijaiha Jones (John Hay) dec. Sophie Dennis (Maysville), 8-3; FIFTH: Sydney Gust (River) pinned Eva Kutscher (Perry), 4:33.