BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
Despite some setbacks before the season began Towanda girls wrestling continued to excel in year two of the program, coming up just one point short of getting their first state medalist.
“A great year overall,” said coach Brock Nichols. “Going into that second year as a program you really want to see the growth from the first year, and the girls bought into what we’re doing, and that showed. The girls put in a ton of work during the off season, and as a coach you just hope that translates onto the mat, and it did. That’s always the goal, is to just see that improvement.”
The Knights went 3-1 during the dual meet season, beating Wellsboro (54-18) in their first ever home dual, then followed that up with wins over Central Columbia (42-36) and Jersey Shore (48-12). Athens (60-16) was the only team to beat them.
Individually, freshman Kaylen Sluyter led the way, going 36-9 as she was third at districts, fourth at regionals, and came up one point short in the blood round of states of getting a medal.
Kenzie Brown (21-14), Kendal Cook (23-17), and Adalee Wecker (15-15) all qualified for regionals, while Elizabeth Naughton (22-13), Hailey Harbst (17-15), Lia Fischer (16-15), and Ily Benjamin (19-14) all finished with strong seasons.
And good news for the Knights, all those girls come back, as they also hope JC Allis and Lylah Bride can return to the mat in 2026.
