A female high school wrestler in Maine defeated three boys in one day last weekend to defend her state championship title, ABC News reported.
Last year, Maddie Ripley, a 17-year-old Oceanside High School senior, was the first girl to secure a wrestling title at the high school level against boys in the state, and this year she proved that victory was no accident, according to ABC.
“I didn’t really hear too much that it was a fluke. Now that I’ve won a second, then it just proves that it wasn’t,” Ripley told the outlet. (RELATED: A Brawl Broke Out Between A Bunch Of Women, And It Screams WWE Attitude Era)
Maddie Ripley became the first girl to win a high school wrestling title against boys in Maine last year — and she defended her crown over the weekend when she defeated three boys in one day. https://t.co/VFXclEUbzn
— ABC News (@ABC) February 23, 2024
Ripley’s trailblazing second title came on the heels of her victory in the inaugural girls division state wrestling title competition, where she took the crown in the 107-pound weight class, ABC News reported.
To compete in the Boys’ 113-pound weight class for the Class B state title last Saturday, Ripley said she lifted weights and gained six pounds over the span of a few days, according to the outlet. Her hard work reportedly paid off as she bested a male opponent from Belfast Area High School to take the title.
“Last year when I won I was like really excited. It was the first time I won. And then this year, I was still super excited,” Ripley reportedly stated, adding that her back-to-back victories show that “girls are working hard.”
“I think girls wrestling is just exploding right now,” Ripley’s coach and stepfather Jason Yates told ABC News. “We’re seeing more and more college teams pick up programs and with that, it brings more girls to sports and the more athletes we get the better they’re going to do. And, quite frankly, there’s just a lot of good girl wrestlers out there right now.”
Ripley said she was inspired by her stepfather and her twin brother, Gavin Ripley, who won his third high school wrestling championship in a row last weekend in the 132-pound weight class, the outlet reported.
“He’s definitely a big influence on me,” Ripley reportedly stated about Gavin. “He’s the guy to beat in the practice room.”
Another female wrestler, senior Audrey Jimenez, was the first girl to secure an AIA Arizona High School State Wrestling Championships title, wrestling in the boys’ 107-pound weight class, according to ABC News.