Different states have made continuous progress to sanction girls wrestling as a high school sport. As of April of this year, 44 of the 50 states have it sanctioned while Virginia and West Virginia announced it as an emerging sport two years ago.
Nationally, the sport has taken a life of its own on the Olympic stage and other premier tournaments.
Such as the U.S. Marine Corps Junior and 16U Nationals, also known as Fargo Nationals. Participants have increased each year plus the qualification is more structured.
For Centralia’s Ramona and Eva Reinitz plus W.F. West’s Lia Hornby, they waltzed into the FargoDome on the campus of North Dakota State University as rookies.
They left with 10 total wins in freestyle and a hefty amount of top-notch competition as the three Lewis County grapplers represented the state of Washington on a national stage.
“All the hype about it was right,” Eva said. “It was mind-blowing at first. A fun experience.”
Ramona was the closest to becoming an All-American, falling in the bloodround in the 16U 112-pound bracket. It ended up being a wacky tournament to begin with for the Mat Classic XXXV runner-up at 110.
The Tigers sophomore-to-be initially was entered into the 106 bracket, but missed weight. She was able to bump up from qualifying at that weight at the regional tournament in March.
“The 112 girls are almost a little bit stronger,” Ramona admitted. “I just had to match their style and try to slow them down.”
Ramona battled a sprained PCL this summer that forced her to sit for multiple weeks. Still, she started her tournament 2-0 to reach the Round of 16 in 16U. Seeded 14th, she suffered a 9-3 loss to California’s Maggie Cornish.
“She wasn’t better, but I made a couple mistakes. I wasn’t wrestling how I wrestle,” Ramona said. “Took a nap, reset and I was like ‘None of your girls are going to beat me.’”
Ramona secured back-to-back pins to reach the bloodround, but ran into Pennsylvania's Samiyah Rahming, who only needed 66 seconds to record an 11-0 superiority win.
In her first time at Fargo, Ramona nearly secured a podium finish.
“She was definitely my toughest wrestler all week. She was so strong,” Ramona said. “Making it to the second day is definitely really good. Only 10 Washington girls made it and even bumping up a weight class, I’m really proud of that.”
Eva had little personal expectations in the same weight class as her sister. A sophomore-to-be as well, she won her first two bouts before losing her final two that ended her run on the first day.
Her primary goal was to perfect her craft.
“I just wanted to wrestle like I know how to wrestle,” Eva said. “Work harder than I ever have. Just prepare myself mentally and physically to go against the (toughest wrestlers).”
Eva’s loss that eliminated her proved to be crushing. Against Oklahoma’s Brooklynn Church, an opponent Eva beat at national duals, it ended up being an 8-8 win on criteria for Church.
An early four-point move gave Church the overall victory.
“It did sting a little bit,” Eva stated.
Hornby viewed her Fargo debut in a different light. The Bearcats graduate broke two bones in her left hand that hindered her final placement at Mat Classic.
Plus, she had never competed out of state.
“That was when I was getting excited (for) Fargo and I was able to win matches against other really good wrestlers,” Hornby said. “I really missed wrestling when I had to take a few weeks off from surgery. I really wanted to make up for how I did (in) folkstyle, so I worked harder at all the freestyle practices.”
She won the state freestyle title in May, then went to Idaho and placed second at the Western State Championships. That momentum catapulted her to a 3-0 start at Fargo and a match against Alaska’s nationally ranked Amelia Fawcett.
Hornby was 8-1 and had Fawcett in an arm-bar, trying to settle in for the pin. One adjustment Hornby made proved costly and Fawcett ended up securing a fall in the second period.
“If I just held it a little bit longer, I think I would have been able to win that match,” Hornby said. “I got in a hurry and that’s what caused me to mess up.”
A wild pin over Idaho’s Holland Wieber that was a 14-12 score before the fall allowed Hornby to reach the second day. It was short-lived as she lost to Ohio’s Rejan Alhashash 13-3.
Although I didn’t meet my goal, I’m really glad I kept wrestling after I broke my hand,” Hornby said. “I’m really glad I was able to meet the Washington coaches and it was a worthwhile experience.”
The Reinitz sisters will continue training and going to more freestyle tournaments before the winter season starts in November.
“It is a lot of fun getting to go to new places with my brother, my sister and my dad,” Eva said.
Hornby will attend the Washington State Tri-Cities campus in Richland and will wrestle for the WSU club.
She credited her high school coach, Mat Patana, for getting her to continue wrestling.
“I'm super excited. I’ve tried a lot of sports, but wrestling is the only one that I stuck with,” Hornby said. “(My) younger siblings are getting into it. It has become a family endeavor.”
