Aided by five trips to the medal podium, the Fort Campbell Lady Falcon wrestling team finished in a tie for third place at the first Kentucky High School Athletic Association Girls’ State Championship Saturday in Lexington.
Sophomore Brooke Arbic captured the state champion in the 165-pound class. She defeated previously unbeaten and top-ranked Anna Ruiz of Great Crossing in the championship match in a 5-2 decision.
Arbic, who came into the weekend as the No. 2 wrestler in the 165-pound class, advanced to the championship match with three consecutive pins.
Senior Thea Bober-McDonald entered the weekend ranked eighth statewide in the 126-pound class, but advanced to the championship where she lost to top-ranked Lacey Gilbert of Woodford County. Bober-McDonald also had three consecutive pins to advance to the championship.
Junior Lillianah DeWitt finished in third place in the 120-pound class. DeWitt was the eighth-ranked wrestler in the weight class coming into the tournament and defeated Taylor County’s Ava Sweet, the number three-ranked wrestler, by a quick pin to claim third place.
Freshman Kayla Maslonka finished in seventh place in the 114-pound class. She ran into the state’s number one wrestler Juliette Ruiz of Ballard in the quarterfinals which dropped her to the consolation bracket.
Elizabeth Allen finished in eighth place in the 152-pound class and concluded her season with a record of 25-13.
Fort Campbell scored 98.5 points to finish in a third-place tie with Union County. Both teams shared the small school state championship trophy awarded by the Kentucky Wrestling Coaches Association. Taylor County won the state title with 123.5 points with Harrison County second with 100 points.
This marked the first year that girls’ wrestling was sanctioned by the KHSAA at the state level. The sport has seen its statewide numbers nearly triple in the last five years.
