INDEPENDENCE — A year ago, a couple of Suburban American wrestlers met in a fifth-place match.
Penny Edwards and Giulia Zayas were freshmen then, both achingly close to a trip to Columbus as they instead wrestled for fifth place at the Mentor district tournament, with the top four qualifying for state.
A year later, Roosevelt’s Edwards and Aurora’s Zayas again took the same mat in Mentor. This time, they took it several minutes apart, as they now wrestle in different weight classes.
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More importantly, they wrestled in (and won) third-place matches this year, becoming the first female wrestlers in both of their programs’ respective histories to qualify for state.
Edwards’ third-place finish at 110 pounds March 8 was a remarkable way to celebrate her 16th birthday as coach Ryan Fankhauser brought a cake out to her as she was recognized in Mentor’s gymnasium alongside the other placers in her weight class.
Making Edwards’ state berth all the more remarkable was the fact the sophomore trailed 14-0 in her consolation quarterfinal, a mere point from a season-ending tech fall. That said, Fankhauser believed in Edwards’ ability to wrestle from on top, and she rewarded his faith with a vicious arm bar for a season-saving pin.
“Our coaches all year long have told us that it’s never over until the whistle blows,” Edwards said. “I’ve been working on my arm bars all season long, because my first tournament, they were bad, and they’ve helped me so much in the tournament.”
Edwards also trailed by two in the third period of the blood round, but after coming back from being down 14-0, a two-point deficit didn’t seem so daunting.
While Edwards endured a long trek through the consolation bracket after losing in the quarterfinals, Zayas made it to the 100-pound semifinals before falling to Poland Seminary’s Ella Thomas, who finished third in the state last year. Even so, Aurora coach Karli Scaffide and Zayas were both encouraged by the way she wrestled against Thomas.
“She gave her everything,” Scaffide said. “That was the best I’ve ever seen her wrestle, and the score of that match didn’t even really depict how it went. I think she did phenomenal, and it showed [when] she got third.”
The Aurora sophomore’s mental toughness showed when she bounced back from that semifinal loss to win a tough blood round bout with Fitch’s Madison Galchick. After a scoreless first period, Zayas got an early takedown in the second. Leading just 4-2 in the third, Zayas surged late with two takedowns in the final minute for a 10-3 win.
“[It’s] just staying mentally strong and just keep pushing and trying to have more energy and still in it,” Zayas said. “Can’t give up, so I just knew I had to push through, no matter what the outcome was.”
A year ago, 12 Portage County-area schools didn’t send a single girls wrestler to state, but there were so many close calls. Yes, Edwards and Zayas, but also Mogadore’s MJ Shellenbarger, who found herself wrestling in that same painful fifth-place match in Mentor a year ago.
The Mogadore senior ensured there was no repeat in 2026, with a pin midway through the second period of her blood round bout against Lakeside’s Isabella Hanna to clinch her second state berth in three years. Shellenbarger lost in her ensuing third-place match, but Wildcats coach Duane Funk noted it’s a clean slate this weekend in Columbus.
“She had a mission to get back down to the state tournament, and she got there,” Funk said. “Honestly, last time she made it, she was fourth in districts and ended up getting fourth in the state so, yeah, just make it to the dance and anything can happen once you get there.”
Like Shellenbarger, Southeast’s Riley Diehl didn’t waste time in the blood round. Wouldn’t you think a freshman might be nervous in her first district tournament with her season on the line?
A reasonable thought, but nope.
Diehl began her bout against Minerva’s Rachel Weaver with a slick single, grabbing Weaver, kicking her down, flattening her for three points and then turning her en route to a 57-second pin.
“This year, she went to some very difficult tournaments,” Pirates coach Shane Kuberry said. “She wrestled a lot of girls that are ranked real high in the state, all preparation for days like today. She doesn’t act like a freshman, she doesn’t act like a second-year wrestler either, but that’s what she is.”
So in her second year wrestling, what was going through Diehl’s mind with her season on the line?
“Honestly I just told myself, I didn’t work this hard all year, battled through injuries and a bunch of other mental things, just to lose right here, right now,” she said.
Contact Jonah L. Rosenblum at jrosenblum@recordpub.com and follow him on Twitter at @JLRSports.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Portage County sends 4 to OHSAA girls wrestling state tournament
Reporting by Jonah Rosenblum, Ravenna Record-Courier / Record-Courier
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