As a team, Emmaus had its highest finish ever as the Hornets finished in third place amongst 17 squads competing at the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Girls Wrestling Championships held on Saturday at Easton Middle School.
After finishing sixth a year ago, Emmaus moved up three spots while also advancing three of its wrestlers to the championship round.
Senior Olivya Kroope (155) won her second consecutive individual title in dominating fashion pinning all three of her opponents, including Parkland’s Natalie Deutsch in the finals in just :37 seconds. Kroope, one of the top ranked wrestlers in the state, leads the team with a 25-1 record.
Junior Ariana Koberlein, who entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed, made a bit of a surprise run as she claimed her first gold medal at 148 after defeating Pleasant Valley’s Josie Fetterman 7-2 in the championship bout.
At 142, sophomore Haily Laible also had an outstanding tournament advancing to the finals before settling for a runner-up finish, falling in the finals to Parkland freshman Laura Volpe. A year ago, Liable placed fourth.
Freshman Lillian Erbrick went 2-2 in the tournament and took fourth place at 106
Other Hornets that saw action but did not place included: freshman Nitzana Jamaica (100), junior Danielle Rivera (112), freshman Calia Shotwell (124), sophomore Sarah Lysinger (130), junior Brynn Koberlein (136), senior Jocelyn Vargas (170), junior Petra Perez (190) and sophomore Katherine Brion (235).
Parkland crowned four champions and won the team race with 225 points followed by Nazareth (136), Emmaus (119), Liberty (115) and East Stroudsburg South (110.5).
The Hornets will return to action on Wednesday, January 28 as they travel to Pocono Mountain East at 7 p.m.
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