Addie Sullivan became the first girls Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling state champion in Little Eagles history and Autumn Waite became a five-time PJW state medalist for the Little Knights.

Sullivan started off her tournament with a bang. She tossed Armstrong’s Rylee Stewart to her back and picked up the pin in just 18 seconds. In the semifinals, Sullivan squared off with Hickory’s Reah Gill. Sullivan again made quick work of her opponent, winning by fall in 29 seconds to reach the finals.

In the Girls 8U 96-pound finals, Sullivan faced Kali Brown of Edinboro. Sullivan came into the match looking for a measure of revenge as Brown had beaten her in the Area VIII finals. Sullivan started out the match with a takedown late into the first period to lead 3-0. Brown matched it with a takedown of her own in the second period then chose the bottom position to begin the third period. With Brown nearing an escape, Sullivan and Brown were scrambling for position. When the dust settled, Sullivan was holding Brown on her back, watching the seconds tick away, winning her state title in dramatic fashion 7-3.

Sullivan’s PJW state title puts her in very exclusive company as she joins Paul Baker (1970), Andy Horn (1976 and 1980) and Jordan Cooke (2002) as the only PJW state champions in Little Eagles history.

Addie Sullivan poses with her dad/coach Dan Sullivan, her brother Johnathan Sullivan and her coach Jimmy Mosher. Submitted photo

As the Girls 12U 92-pound Area VIII champion, Waite earned a bye in the Round of 32. She made quick work of Norwin’s Vincenza Schuchert in the Round of 16, pinning her in 34 seconds. In the quarterfinals, Waite made a first-period takedown hold up as she edged Nazareth’s Lilliana Flegler 3-2 to secure a spot on the podium and in the semifinals. Waite lost by fall to eventual champion Piper Full of Clark’s Summit in the semifinals and dropped to the consolation semifinals to face familiar foe Maeson Olver of Honesdale. Olver got the better of Waite as she won by pin to send Waite to the fifth- and sixth-place match.

In the fifth- and sixth-place match, Waite faced off with Souderton’s Ivy McKinney. McKinney and Waite were deadlocked at 0-0 through two full periods of action. McKinney chose the bottom position and scored a reversal 14 seconds into the period to go up 2-0. McKinney added four nearfall points to extend her lead to 6-0 and Waite picked up an escape with 25 seconds to go. But Waite’s escape proved to be the final scoring of the match as she lost by a score of 6-1.

Though not placing, four other Little Knights and Little Eagles wrestlers made some noise in their matches.

Kinsley Dean had two wins, both coming by way of a pin. Dean began her tournament with a pin in 2:12 over Upper Moreland’s Lillian Yacovetti. She then followed it up with a pin in 2:21 over Stroudsburg’s Elizabeth Beveridge to reach the quarterfinals. Dean would unfortunately go on to bow out with losses to eventual champion Julia Fleming of Delaware Valley in the quarterfinals and Paige Wright of Cumberland Valley in the blood round.

Grayson Kitchel also earned two wins, one by pin and one by technical fall. Kitchel began his tournament with a bye then earned a pin in 2:22 over Punxsutawney’s Rylan Mertz. Kitchel rebounded from a loss in his Round of 16 match by posting a 16-1 technical fall over Northwestern’s Brentley Webber. Kitchel would see his tournament end with a loss to Kiski’s Cub Cantolina.

Autumn Waite poses with her dad/coach Paul Waite after taking sixth place in the Girls 12U 92-pound bracket. Submitted photo

Wade Fithian scored a dominant 20-2 technical fall over Bradford’s Carter Schwab in his opening match. Fithian dropped his following match 12-1 to Washington’s Jerow Hines. Fithian then concluded his tournament with a very tight 6-4 loss to Duryea’s Phillip Dunn.

Sam Hagg started out with a tough 4-1 loss to West Jefferson Hills Maverick Wolf in the Round of 32. However, Hagg bounced back with a pin in 1:37 over Conemaugh Township’s Jaxson Keller in his first consolation match. In his second consolation match, Hagg bowed out with a 5-3 loss to Parker Drake, a Youngsville student who competes for Corry.

Also competing for the Little Knights and Little Eagles were Kendall Mosher, Kole Renwick, Silas Howell, Westin Cope, Bryer King, Blake Genung and Clayton Dyke.