LeBoeuf and McLane comprise opponents for initial all-county girls wrestling matches
EDINBORO — History was made in the General McLane gym Wednesday night as Erie County’s inaugural PIAA-sanctioned girls wrestling matches were held in front of a packed crowd against Fort LeBoeuf.
Although only two varsity girls matches were scheduled between the Lancers and Bison, they still constituted a dual.
Hayden Ramey was the first Bison female who won such an all-county match. The 100-pounder pinned fellow freshman Ella Clark in 4 minutes, 27 seconds.
Ashley Campbell recorded a similar result for McLane. The junior pinned LeBoeuf’s Abby Falk 2:15 into their 106 meeting.
That score forced officials Dave Kruszewski and Pat Fordyce to consult the PIAA rulebook for the tiebreaker criteria that determined the dual’s victor.
LeBoeuf, because Ramey and Falk recorded the initial points in their matches, was declared that winner by the unusual final of 7-6.
Ramey, who never formally wrestled before the PIAA sanctioned the sport on July 1, said she was conscious about the significance of Wednesday’s matches.
“I’m always in a nervous before a match,” Ramey said, “but once that (opening) whistle blows, the nerves just flow away. Then, you just get straight into it.”
Wednesday was the lone all-county dual listed this season, according to pa-wrestling.com.
The Erie High Royals and Seneca Bobcats, the other county schools who sanctioned girls wrestling, only have postseason tournaments listed on their remaining schedules.
‘Going in the right direction’
No district wrestling figure was more vocal for the PIAA’s inclusion of girls wrestling than Ryan Cook.
Wednesday’s historic matches should have been conducted long before then, according to McLane’s coach.
Now that they have, though, Cook is elated the Lancers and Bison are two of nine northwestern Pennsylvania schools that fielding teams for the state’s inaugural 2023-24 season.
“I think everything is going in the right direction,” Cook said. “The district is slowly getting on board, but the (schools) that have girls teams are pushing hard. I know with us we have great leadership with coach (Lorraine) Zacherl. We have really good numbers at the junior high level and we’re keeping them involved.”
Cook said packed stands, such as those for Wednesday’s action at McLane, will further augment interest in the sport.
Campbell comes through twice
Although it didn’t count as a varsity victory, Campbell’s fall of Falk was her second victory on Wednesday. She pinned LeBoeuf freshman Kiai Miklovic midway through their 100-pound junior varsity match.
Cook and Bison coach Shane McChesney arranged at that level so Miklovic, the last of the four Bison who dressed, could compete.
Campbell’s pin of Falk upped her varsity record to 10-3. Cook said he was confident she’ll participate in March’s inaugural PIAA tournament.
So was Campbell, who qualified in the 106 weight class for the 2023 the MyHouse PA Girls State Championships. That meet was held at Harrisburg’s Central Dauphin High School, which is roughly 15 minutes north of Hershey’s Giant Center.
The latter is where the PIAA will conduct its girls wrestling tournament over the same three days of its 87th annual boys meet.
“When I went to states last year, I was one match away from placing (as a top-eight medalist),” Campbell said. “I’d like to go back and place this time.”
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie County's inaugural PIAA girls wrestling dual held at Edinboro
