December closed out with the Powerade Wrestling Tournament in Pennsylvania, Florida's Knockout Christmas Classic, and the Wonder Women Tournament in Missouri. Outside of competitions, two of Arizona's best girls won an appeal to compete against boys in postseason competitions and California and Pennsylvania are dominating the Girls High School Big Board for classes 2024 and 2025.

Canon-McMillan wins the Powerade Wrestling Tournament.

Two days after Christmas, athletes from the Pittsburgh area and beyond took to the mat for Pennsylvania's Powerade Wrestling Tournament.

Canon-McMillan took home the team title out of the 41 teams represented, scoring 154.5 points. Connellsville came in second with 83 points and Hickory took third with 75 points. The host school wrestled in four final matches with Natalie Rush claiming the title at 190. The runners-up for Canon-McMillan include Audrey Calgaro (170), Bailey Emery (124), and Paige Ward (148). 

Jaclyn Bouzakis continues to dominate wherever she competes. After her Beast of the East championship, the freshman star claimed that she competes at these high-level tournaments for the mat time, but she isn’t racking up very much. Bouzakis ran through the 100-pound bracket with falls of 13, 40 and 68 seconds in her last three bouts. 

Top-seeded Jordyn Fouse of Bishop McCort showed her domination with a handful of tech falls to win the title at 136. Fouse defeated Ava Golding, 21-3 in the finals. The same match happened four days earlier in the Bishop McCort Girls Open finals with Fouse winning 22-6. 

Chestnut Ridge’s Violette Lasure (#1 in PA) pinned Grace O'Korn (#5 at 148 in PA) from Peters Township in the 142-pound finals. Lasure pancaked O’Korn to her back in the match’s first exchange, but the whistle saved her at the end of the period. Not long into the second period, the freshman sunk the half to secure the win over the senior. 

Sarissa Tucker pinned her way through her bracket including the first seed Leeana Mercado (#20 at 105) in the 106 finals. Tucker was ranked #22 in the October rankings but dropped from the list in November.

Full results of the women’s high school division at the Powerade Wrestling Tournament.

2023 Girls Powerade Champions

100: Jaclyn Bouzakis (Wyoming Seminary) — #1 at 95

106: Sarissa Tucker (Mountainview-VA)

112: Talea Guntrum (Steubenville-OH)

118: Justice Anthony (Parkersburg South-WV)

124: Alexia Beadle (Spire Academy)

130: Joelle Scott (Spire Academy) — #29 at 130

136: Jordyn Fouse (Bishop McCort) — #6 at 140

142: Violette Lasure (Chestnut Ridge) — #2 at 140

148: May Cuyler (Brentsville-VA) — #9 at 145

155: Avry Ryhal (Hickory) — #27 at 155

170: Jael Miller (Punxsutawney) — #10 at 170

190: Natalie Rush (Canon-McMillan)

235: Mylah Steinbuch (Bedford)

Three Repeat at Prestigious Girls Knockout Christmas Classic

Some of the nation’s top-ranked wrestlers won their brackets at Florida’s Girls Knockout Christmas Classic, where wrestlers from several states came together for the most esteemed regular season event in the Southeast.

Three repeated as champions including #3 Gabriele Tedesco (105), #7 Sofia Delgado (140), and #3 Mya Bethel (155). 

Tedesco, a Fargo champion, made her way to the finals with three pins before winning her third Knockout finals with an 11-2 major decision. Delgado won her bracket with three pins and two decisions including a 4-0 win over Georgia’s state champion, Elle Kaufmann. Bethel won her bracket with four falls en route to the finals, defeating Wartburg College commit and U17 World Team member May Prado, in a 12-1 major decision. 

Other notable ranked wrestlers that won are Zao Estrada, Girls Showcase Champion, who went 5-0 at 125 winning all her matches by fall and #2 P4P Piper Fowler who went 4-0 at 170 also pinning her way to the championship. 

Cleveland won the tournament with 153 team points followed by Freedom Orlando, who scored 106 points, and Hernando High School who earned 91 points. 

2023 Girls Knockout Christmas Classic Champions

100: Camdyn Elliott (Well Trained) — #22 at 100

105: Gabriele Tedesco (Lake Gibson) — #3 at 105

110: Mariah Mills (Matanzas)

115: Iyonna Church-Ross (Charlotte) 

120: Sydney Bridenstine (Hernando)

125: Zao Estrada (Daughters of Zion) — #4 at 125

130: Marigona Lau (Glynn Coastal Wrestling)

135: Bryanne Kaminsky (University HS Orange City)

140: Sofia Delgado (Miami Coral Park) — #7 at 145

145: Katherine Stewart (Bartram Trail) — #17 at 145

155: Mya Bethel (North Miami Sr High) — #3 at 145

170: Piper Fowler (Clevand) — #1 at 170

190: Emari Brown (Harmony)

235: Rotchiva Clermont (Freedom Orlando)

Full results of the women’s high school division at the Girls Knockout Christmas Classic.

The Wonder Women

Battle High School in Missouri hosted The Wonder Woman tournament, which featured five nationally-ranked teams and a handful of nationally-ranked athletes hailing from seven different states. 

Nixa High School from the host state won the tournament with 209.5 points and was led by two champions Kelsey Watts (105) and Brenya Crahan. The 24th-ranked team defeated #12 Lebanon (Mo.), which came in second with 166.5 points and #11 Tulsa Union (Okla.), which finished third with 155 points. 

Repeat champions included Lebanon’s Jessa Joiner (115) and Nixa’s Brenya Crahan (145). Joiner picked up five pins and a tech fall during her rampage. The Lebanon wrestler ended her tournament with a pin over Missouri state champion Delanie Smith. Crahan ended all of her matches via pin. Crahan also pinned a state champ in the finals: Florida’s Kendall Bibla

Zoey Haney took her runner-up finish from last year and improved a champion finish by defeating Missouri state champion Lilly Breeden in the finals, 2-1. Belton’s Louise Juitt (140) and Millie Azlin (170) were also returning runners-up that became champions. 

2023 Wonder Woman champions

100: Zoey Haney (Troy Buchanan) — #18 at 100

105: Kelsey Watts (Nixa)

110: Aroma Marrufo (Fort Osage) — #18 at 105

115: Jessa Joiner (Lebanon) — #10 at 110

120: Kailey Benson (Francis Howell Central) — #12 at 120

125: Angelina Vargas (Park Hill) — #5 at 120

130: Taylor Dawson (Collinsville) — #21 at 130

135: Lillie Banks (Menasah) — #19 at 135

140: Louise Juitt (Belton)

145: Brenya Crahan (Nixa) — #14 at 145

155: Jayci Shelton (Centralia) — #7 at 155

170: Millie Azlin (Bixby) — #16 at 170

190: Mariyah Brumley (Lebanon) — #12 at 190

235: Azreal Smith (Tulsa Union)

Full results of The Wonder Woman Tournament.

Jimenez and Leydecker Versus The Boys

Senior Audrey Jimenez, a four-time World medalist, and sophomore Everest Leydecker, two-time Who’s Number One winner, won their appeal with the Arizona Interscholastic Association in December to compete against the boys this season including any post-season competitions. 

Arizona held its first sanctioned season for girls' wrestling in 2019. The numbers and talent of girls’ wrestling have grown since then. However, in separate interviews, Jimenez and Leydecker said that they could be challenged more against the boys. 

Which States Are Dominating the Girls High School Big Board?

Kyle Klingman compiled a list of 100 of the nation’s top female wrestlers separated by each graduating class. So far, the classes 2024 and 2025 are featured on the Girls High School Big Board. 

2024

California is dominating this year’s graduating class. Out of 34 states on the 2024 Big Board, California has 11 wrestlers on the list. The highest-listed California athlete is Fargo champion Eduarda “Duda” Rodrigues who sits at #4 on the Big Board and recently won the Reno Tournament of Champions. 

In second place is Pennsylvania with eight athletes, including Wyoming Seminary’s Rianne Murphy, who has been making a name for herself amongst the college competition after winning the East Stroudsburg College Open in November and taking third at Midlands just last week. 

Top 5 States of the Class of 2024

1. California — 11

2. Pennsylvania — 8

3. Texas, Washington — 6

5. Michigan, Ohio — 5

Click here for the 2024 Big Board

2025

Thirty-two different states represent the junior class. Pennsylvania has the most athletes with a count of 13. Powerade champion Jordyn Fouse from Bishop McCort is Pennsylvania’s top-listed athlete holding the #2 Big Board spot. Pennsylvania has two more athletes in the top ten including a pair of Fargo champions Aubre Krazer at #6 and Fouse’s archrival Isis France at #5.

California follows Pennsylvania with nine athletes on the Big Board, but only one made it into the top 10. Isabella Marie Gonzales, a WNO winner, is #3 on the Big Board. The Clovis East wrestler just won California’s Queen of the Hill Invitational.  

Top 5 States of the Class of 2025

1. Pennsylvania — 13

2. California — 9

3. Illinois — 8

4. Missouri — 7

5. Florida — 6

Click here for the 2025 Big Board.

Bonus ICYMI: Two High School Freshmen Win Midlands Championships