Girls' Wrestling Game Summaries

Junior Leyna Rumpler became the first state champion in North Allegheny girls’ wrestling history and three other Tigers medaled at the Pennsylvania State Championships on Sunday at Central Dauphin High School. Collectively, North Allegheny finished in a tie for fifth place with Gettysburg with 64 team points.

Rumpler went a perfect 4-0 at the state tournament with four consecutive wins by fall, including a fall over Katelyn Coldren of Carlisle in the title bout at 148 pounds.  Its the third consecutive year that Rumpler has competed at the state tournament. After a tie for seventh-place as a freshman, Rumpler became the first finalist in program history last season with a runner-up finish. This season, Rumpler capped a spectacular junior campaign by becoming the first Lady Tiger to claim state gold.

Along with Rumpler, three other NA grapplers garnered medals. At 130 pounds, freshman Sophia Folks took fifth place by going 3-2 in her five bouts. In the fifth-place bout, Folks defeated Keeley Nunn of Camp Hill by fall in 4:23.

In a strong 148-pound bracket, senior Callie Rautenbach took sixth place with a 3-3 showing. At 235 pounds, sophomore Kaylee Dean finished in 8th place with a pair of wins in five bouts.

Also representing North Allegheny at the state tournament were Brenna Collery (136), Audrey Morrison (142), Maya Scott (155) and Amya Sanford (235). All four went 1-2 in the their respective brackets. For a look at the entire field of brackets from the state championships, click here.

With the conclusion of the 2022-23 season, congratulations to coach Dan Heckert and the entire girls’ wrestling team for an outstanding year.

Two Lady Tigers were crowned champions and three more earned top-two finishes at the Pennsylvania Regional Tournament at Kiski Area High School on Sunday. Juniors Audrey Morrison (142) and Leyna Rumpler (148) won tournament gold, while freshman Sophia Folks (130), senior Callie Rautenbach (148) and sophomore Maya Scott (155) all reached the title bout in their respective weight classes and earned silver medals. As a team, North Allegheny placed third with 114 team points, behind Canon-McMillan (168.5) and Saegertown (121).

At 142, top-seeded Morrison cruised to the finals with a pair of wins by fall over McKenzie Spano of Bentworth and Paula Sanchez of Valley. In the championship bout, Morrison defeated Grace O’Korn of Peters Township by a 2-0 decision. In similar fashion, Rumpler picked up a win by fall in the semifinals over Katie Seamens of Warren Area before meeting teammate Rautenbach in the championship bout. Rumpler pinned Rautenbach in 1:33 to earn gold, while Rautenbach earned silver.

Along with Rautenbach, Folks made a run to the title bout at 130 with three consecutive wins by fall before a loss to Joelle Scott of Northwestern in the finals. Scott navigated her way to the finals at 155 pounds with a pin fall over Claire Hightower of Mt. Lebanon in the semifinals before falling to Canon-McMillan’s Paige Ward in the title bout.

Additional standout performances were delivered by sophomore Kaylee Dean (235), sophomore Brenna Collery (136) and freshman Amya Sanford (235). After a first round loss to Chesney Boggess of Redbank Valley, Dean rattled off three straight wins in the consolation bracket to take home tournament bronze. In the third-place bout, Dean atoned for her only loss and defeated Boggess in a rematch by a 3-1 decision. Sanford also competed in the 235-pound bracket and took home a fifth-place medal with a win by fall over Chelsea Wilson of Saegertown in the fifth-place bout.

At 136 pounds, Collery reached the semifinal round with a win by fall over Mariely Bermudez of North Hills. After a loss to top-seed Josephine Dollman of Norwin in the semifinal, Collery bounced back with a pin fall of Emma Cunningham of Beaver Area to reach the third-place bout and ultimately came away with a fourth-place medal.

Freshman Ava Frailey also competed at the event and went 1-2 in her three bouts at 142 pounds. For a full look at tournament brackets, click here.

With eight Tigers claiming medals at the Pennsylvania Regional Tournament, North Allegheny will next turn its attention to the Pennsylvania State Championships on Sunday, March 12 at Central Dauphin High School.

The North Allegheny girls’ wrestling team faced off against Southmoreland in the final dual meet of the regular season and defeated the visiting Scotties, 35-30, at UPMC Court. The victory atoned for an earlier defeat to Southmoreland on Jan. 25.

It was also senior night at NASH and senior grappler Callie Rautenbach was honored prior to the dual meet. Once underway, the Tigers and Scotties battled in a back-and-forth contest throughout the night.

Tied 24-24 with three bouts remaining, North Allegheny seized the lead thanks to a win by fall courtesy of sophomore Brenna Collery over Brenna Ice for a 30-24 lead. The Tigers put the meet away when freshman Sophia Folks earned a convincing victory by tech fall, 28-12, over Rylee Mains to balloon the NA advantage to 35-24.  The win by Folks, her second of the night, clinched the dual meet. Folks’ two victories also earned her Wright Automotive Wrestler of the Night honors.

Along with Folks, junior Leyna Rumpler posted a pair of wins by fall. Junior Audrey Morrison also tallied a win by fall over Lilly Wasmund in 1:06.

North Allegheny leaps to 5-2 on the season with the victory over Southmoreland. The Tigers will prepare next for the Pennsylvania Regional Tournament on Sunday, March 5.

Girls Wrestling Match Summary: NA vs. Southmoreland

The North Allegheny girls’ wrestling team went up against the best in the area and took second place at the Western Pennsylvania Championships on Sunday. The Tigers totaled a team score of 139 and also crowned five individual champions. Freshman Sophia Folks (130), junior Audrey Morrison (142), senior Callie Rautenbach (148), junior Leyna Rumpler (155) and sophomore Kaylee Dean (235) each won Western PA gold.

Folks began her trek to a title with a win by fall over Bella Arnold of Canon-McMillan and followed with another pin fall over Asia Fowler of Woodland Hills. In the championship bout at 130, Folks earned another pin fall against Seneca Valley’s Maddee Fischer in 3:16.

In similar fashion at 148, Rautenbach began with a win by fall over Nyema Calhoun of Highlands in the semifinals and pinned Canon-McMillan’s Evangeline Gray in the championship bout in 1:30.

Morrison, Rumpler and Dean all won titles through a round robin in their respective weight classes. At 142, Morrison defeated teammate Ava Frailey by pin fall and followed with pins against Canon-McMillan’s Grace O’Korn and Trinity’s Kenzie Phasupong to secure the title. Rumpler dominated her opponents at 155, earning quick pins of Mt. Lebanon’s Claire Hightower and Canon-McMillan’s Dynisty Williams. At 235, Dean defeated teammate Amya Sanford with back-to-back pin falls to win gold as well. Sanford earned a silver medal for her performance at 235 amd Frailey took fourth place at 142.

Another impressive effort was delivered by sophomore Brenna Collery at 136 pounds. Despite dropping her first bout of the bracket, Collery was undaunted and rattled off five consecutive wins by fall to capture third place. In the third-place bout, Collery defeated Liliane Wasmund of Southmoreland in 2:32.

Eighty-one athletes competed at this year’s Western PA championships.

In a continually growing sport, there were 81 girls from 26 different schools across the WPIAL and City League that competed at the event. That’s a 138-percent increase in participation from the previous year. For a full look at the brackets and results from the 2023 Western Pennsylvania Championships, click here.

The North Allegheny girls’ wrestling team has one more dual meet before the Pennsylvania Regional Tournament on March 5. Ahead of regionals, the Tigers will host Southmoreland on Senior Night on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

The North Allegheny girls’ wrestling team hosted a quad-meet on Friday night and swept the evening with a trio of wins. The Tigers defeated Connellsville (45-6), Steubenville (42-30) and Saegertown (40-12). In the process, junior Leyna Rumpler notched her 50th career win, becoming for the first Lady Tiger to reach the 50-win plateau. Her pinfall against Samantha Hall of Saegertown accounted for the milestone victory. Rumpler finished with three wins and a pair of falls on the day.

Another dazzling performance was delivered by freshman Sophia Folks, who went 5-0 on the night with four wins by way of pinfall. Junior Aubrey Morrison was 4-0 in her four bouts with three wins by fall. Senior Callie Rautenbach and sophomore Kaylee Dean each went 3-0. Rautenbach earned three wins by fall, while Dean picked up a pair of pinfalls. Sophomore Brenna Collery went 2-1 on the night with two pins.

North Allegheny’s 42-30 win over Steubenville marked another program first. It was the first ever match in school and WPIAL history to wrestle only the 13 girl’s weight classes and utilize forfeits.