Caldwell County’s girls’ wrestling program has its first state medalist.
Eighth grader Sophie Parrish went from being a surprise regional champion two weeks ago to finishing fourth on Saturday at the inaugural KHSAA Girls’ State Championship at Alltech Arena in Lexington.
Parrish went 4-2 in the 100-pound weight class at state, falling in the third-place match to Naiya Marie Delos Santos of John Hardin by pin at 2:28.
Parrish began her day by pinning her first opponent, Anijah McGinnis of Louisville Central, in 1:17. But she then suffered an 8-4 loss to Sophie Moore of Harrison County in the quarterfinal round.
Parrish bounced back in the consolation round to win three straight matches and battle her way back to the third-place match.
Parrish pinned Savannah Martin of Bullitt East in 2:16, then pinned Keira Good of Bell County in just 31 seconds.
In the consolation semifinals, Parrish pinned Rialee Boyd of Taylor County in 3:59 to reach the third-place match.
Senior T.J. Goodwin went 1-2 at 114 pounds. She was pinned by Shelby Clayton of Taylor County in 2:26 in the opening round.
Goodwin decisioned Kelia Sullivan of Anderson County 7-0 in the wrestlebacks, but was then pinned by South Oldham’s Chloe Gallahue in 1:46 in the next round.
Eighth grader Virginia Stewart was 1-2 at 235. She won her first match, pinning Taya Allen of Whitley County in 3:57. But Stewart fell in the quarterfinals to Layla Davis of Harrison County by pin at 1:41.
Stewart then lost of Sarah Hellmann of Louisville Male in the consolation bracket by pin by 1:16.
Stewart was a regional runner-up while Goodwin advanced to state after finishing third in the regional Feb. 3 at Caldwell County.
Caldwell totaled 25 team points at state, good enough for a tie for 26th in the team standings.
This was the first season for a girls’ wrestling team at CCHS.
