Bellefontaine’s girls wrestling team delivered another memorable performance Saturday at the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association girls state tournament with two placers in the top three at Hilliard Davidson High School.
Junior Chelsea Horsley was state runner-up at 106 pounds, while fellow junior Makayla Young placed third at 101 pounds. Horsley was state champion last year at the same weight, while Young placed third for the second year in a row. Both are now two-time state placers, which is a first in Bellefontaine wrestling history.
“It says a lot when we have two girls we celebrated coming back into town for finishing second and third in the state and their hearts are broken,” said BHS head coach Brady Hiatt. “It shows what they desire and it also shows what is capable when you put in effort. It should mean something for every athlete in town that if you dedicate yourself to something, it can be accomplished.
“These girls put themselves in rarefied air. No other wrestler in Bellefontaine history has been a two-time state placer. They’re also juniors and are coming back. They want to be the best. That should be inspiring for other athletes and other little girls who are wrestling for us in the near future. They can accomplish these lofty goals too and want to be better than Mak and Chels.”
The is the second year for the OHSWCA girls state tournament. This year there was a district tournament where the top four in each weight class qualified to state. Last year was open registration.
Because of coronavirus recommendations, weight classes 101-131 were completed on Saturday, while weight classes 137-235 were wrestled Sunday.
Bellefontaine wrestling has had five state placers in its history, all boys, and seven total after last year’s girls state tournament. Horsley and Young are now the only wrestlers in program history to place twice at the state meet.
“Being a two time state placer is a big accomplishment for myself,” said Horsley. “It’s definitely not what I wanted to finish, but I have another year to make it happen again. This is my motivation that I’m using all the way until state next year. I never want all the work to come up short, so next year I’ll be ready.”
“It is very cool to me, especially because Chelsea and I are the first in school history to do so,” said Young. “It would be amazing to be a two-time state champion, or even finalist, but the odds have not been in my favor the past two seasons.”
As the defending state champion, Horsley looked to be in fine position on her way to the finals. She dominated her first three opponents with three pins in under four minutes each.
In the opening round she recorded a fall over Hillsdale’s Lauryn Davis in 55 seconds and then pinned Olentangy Orange’s Lucy Scheibeck in 3:26. Horsley then dropped Hubbard’s Kylee Bentley in the semifinals with a fall in 46 seconds.
Horsley then faced Harrison freshman standout Chloe Dearwester in the state finals. She was unable to repeat last year’s finish as Dearwester recorded a pin in 1:21 to win the state title.
“Chelsea wrestled really well in first three matches,” said Hiatt. “In the finals, a lot of people are saying Harrison might be the second best female in the state behind Olivia (Shore). Olivia is ranked first in the nation at 106 pounds and Harrison lost to her 6-5 earlier in the year.
“We knew it would be a tough match going in. I have all the confidence in the world with Chels and what she is able to do. In this match she got a little overwhelmed. A lot of heartbreak goes into it when you know the feeling of winning and want that feeling again and it doesn’t happen.”
“I think I did good,” said Horsley. “I just need to keep working on my technique and make sure I’m ready to wrestle no matter who it’s against.”
Young, who weighs in around 90 pounds, was was still in a good position to make the finals despite being undersized for the 101-pound weight class.
She opened the state tournament with a 22-6 technical fall over Gahanna Lincoln’s Emily Leeseburg and then pinned Marlington’s Maddalyn Bean in 2:25. In the semifinals, Young fell to the defending state champion from Warren, Hayley Snyder, by a 7-0 score.
“She wrestled really tough,” said Hiatt. “The girls she lost to in the semis is the defending state champ. It was a 2-0 match going into the last period. The girl is tough and Mak wrestled her as tough as any girl has all year. If we can have a couple things go our way it may be a different outcome.”
Young then dropped down to the third-place match where she bounced back and handled Big Walnut’s Cali Lang with an 18-6 major decision.
“I am happy with how I finished,” said Young. “I understand that being undersized might have played a big role in the match I lost, but Snyder definitely earned it. I wrestled well and to the best of my ability yesterday, and I’m fine with third place, even though I was working towards a state championship.”
“She is heartbroken she didn’t accomplish her goal,” said Hiatt. “She came back after a loss like that in just an hour and a half and wrestled another hard five-minute match to take third. I told her that was what I was most proud of her for. That says huge volumes about her continued maturity and love for the sport.”
An added element to this season for the girls and boys was the uncertainty of coronavirus. Teams or individuals could have had their season end abruptly. Getting to the finish line and placing made stepping on the podium this year mean a little extra.
“This year was very weird,” said Young. “I didn’t get so socialize with as many people as usual, got way less matches and the days were much shorter. I missed going to tournaments that lasted all day and I’m hoping that next year will be normal.
“The chance of being quarantined at any time made me nervous and afraid that my season would end because of contact tracing. Thankfully, Chelsea and I were able to make it through state without any covid issues.”
Hiatt was not surprised that his two female standouts were able to accomplish what they did because of their character and dedication.
“When you really love something you’re going to do it and find a way to be better, regardless of the circumstances around you,” said Hiatt. “When we couldn’t get together over the spring and summer I know Mak was getting work outs in her house. College wrestlers are drilling in their living room or basement. The best people find ways to work out and get better. It shows in how these two girls performed. You find ways to do what you love and these girls did that.”