Madison Sharpe of Marysville prepares to pin her opponent near the end of a period on Saturday. Sharp won her weight class during the Ridgedale Invitational. (Photo submitted)
It appears as though girls wrestling is really starting to catch on at Marysville High School.
The MHS program began the 2019-20 season with seven Lady Monarchs and now the roster has grown.
“We’ve added five additional girls to our program,” said MHS head coach Shawn Andrews.
The new athletes include Rhiannon Gossett, Madison Sunquist, Lauren Sloboda, Mia Oribello and Hannah Longbrake.
Several Monarch girls have competed in a handful of matches so far this season.
Those girls and their records, prior to this past Saturday’s tournament at Ridgedale, are Madison Sharp, 4-1; Emma Swart, 6-1; Laila Oribello, 7-1, Cali Leng, 5-2; Shelby Downey, 1-0; and Destinee Fry, 2-1.
Madison Adelsberger is also one of the original seven lady grapplers.
The girls placed second during the Ridgedale Invitational.
The field included 80 athletes who represented 20 teams.
There were five placers among the seven Lady Monarchs who competed in the tourney.
Sharp and Downey placed first, while Laila Oribello and Fry took runner-up honors.
Swart was third.
Leng and Gossett also competed.
Andrews credits the growth of the girls roster to the athletes who began the season in the program.
“The girls we had at the beginning of the season started talking to some of their friends,” he said. “That’s how we got some more girls out for the team.”
The coach also praised the season performances of the Lady Monarchs.
“These girls have worked hard this season,” he said.
The Monarch boss said the sport of wrestling is one of the fastest growing in the state for high schools, “regardless of the gender.”
That was evident during a recent tournament in which Marysville competed at Olentangy Orange.
“There were 90 girls representing 24 teams at that tournament,” said Andrews. “We saw a smaller field on Saturday at Ridgedale, but this is evident that girls wrestling is growing.”
The girls are guided by a combined effort of the entire MHS coaching staff.
“They are part of our program,” said Andrews.
Monarch Nation fans will have the opportunity to see the girls compete during an upcoming home match.
The Lady Monarchs will host Olentangy Orange on Wednesday, Feb. 12, according to Andrews.
There will also be a separate girls state tournament that will be held Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 23-24, at Hilliard Davidson High School.
“Our girls see an opportunity to be in the mix for the state tournament,” said Andrews.
These girls began the 2019-20 season as members of the Marysville High School wrestling program. They are from left, front row, Destinee Fry, Madison Sharp and Laila Oriblello; second row, Madison Adlesberger, Shelby Downey and Cali Leng. Not pictured, Emma Swart. Several girls have since been added to the program. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)