Despite coming up just short as a team in last weekend’s Central Coast Section championships, four girls from the Scotts Valley High School varsity girls’ wrestling squad had strong showings and advanced to the statewide championship meet.
According to Coach Mike Parrish, Scotts Valley sent 11 wrestlers to compete in the two-day CCS championships.
“We had the second biggest team at CCS with 11,” he said.
The Falcon squad started the meet strong before falling behind the eventual winners Terra Nova High School from Pacifica — the only school to send more wrestlers than Scotts Valley had.
“We were neck-and-neck until the middle of the second day,” he said. “There’s not a lot of room for error.”
Four Falcon wrestlers placed in the top three of their respective weight classes at CCS, qualifying them to compete in the state championships, set for Feb. 27 and 28 in Visalia.
“We’re sending four (wrestlers) to state — which is what we had four years ago,” Parrish said.
It should hardly come as a shock that his daughter, senior Domino Parrish — who won last year’s national tournaments in both folkstyle and freestyle — was undefeated in the 116-pound weight class, with her victories coming via four pins and one by mercy rule.
Joining Parrish at the state championships will be three teammates — all first-timers.
Junior Madi Volk will be making her first trip to the state finals, after she went 4-0 with four pins in the 150-pound weight class at CCS for a first-place finish. She missed last year’s CCS championships due to an injury.
Senior Katherine Rossiter placed second in the 160-pound class, going 3-1 at CCS with three pins. Her single loss came in sudden-death overtime against a wrestler from Palo Alto.
Freshman Gabby Sandoval placed third in the 111-pound class with a record of 4-1, two by pin. Her single loss was against the eventual champion.
Parrish said the he is excited to see the young wrestlers thrive — even as the sport gains popularity and the competition gets ever tougher.
“Three years ago, there were no teams I could think of that had (a full team),” he said.
The competition for the four Falcon girls is not yet clear, Parrish said, as the wrestlers from Southern California have not yet finished with their regional championships.
With that said, however, he expressed confidence in the girls, citing their hard work and training all season — and added that each has a chance to advance to the national championships.
“These aren’t girls that are going to 0-2 in state,” Parrish said. “These are seasoned wrestlers.”
