It was a big day for girls wrestling in Ohio as Bellefontaine hosted the inaugural Lady Chieftain Invitational on Saturday.
Over 40 teams and 143 competitors took part in the state’s largest regular season girls meet to date.
It turned into a preview of the first ever girls state tournament to be wrestled in late February. There were eight top-ranked girls in the state wrestling along with over 50 other state-ranked girls.
Olentangy Orange won the tournament with 249.5 points, Marysville was runner-up with 206.5 points and Miami East came in third with 179 points. Bellefontaine finished 12th with 62 points. The Chieftains were highlighted by Chelsea Horsley, who won the 106-pound weight class. Horsley, who is the state’s top-ranked wrestler at 106,went 4-0 on the day with three pins. She edged Marysville’s Emma Swart 9-8 in the championship match. Swart is ranked fourth at 111 pounds, but wrestled down a weight class.
Bellefontaine’s Makayla Young took runner-up at 101 pounds. She went 3-1 with three pins and fell to Marysville’s Madison Sharp 6-2 in the finals. Young is the second-ranked wrestler in Ohio at 101 pounds and Sharp is ranked third. The Chiefs’ Maryssa Hurley also competed for BHS, but was unable to win a match.
Bellefontaine also honored its first two female wrestlers during a special ceremony before the finals. Shasta Styers and Darby Nicely were presented with Chieftain apparel and took a picture with the entire tournament field of girls.