YOUTH WRESTLING: SIX LITTLE 'CATS WRESTLE AT PJW STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS — BARRETT PLACES FOURTH (2023-04-02)

Valley Sports Report
PITTSBURGH — Athens youth wrestler Sophia Barrett capped off an outstanding individual and team season with a fourth-place finish in the girls 10U 70-pound weight class here recently at the PJW State Championships.

Barrett lead the way for a Little ‘Cats program that had six wrestlers qualify and compete at the state tournament.

Barrett started day one on fire winning round-of-32 and round-of-16 match-ups via first-period fall.

In the quarterfinals, it was more of the same as Barrett got off to a quick start and rolled to a technical fall 18-1 win to secure her spot in the day two’s semifinals, which also guaranteed her a state medal and a top-six finish.

“Sophia came out of the gate ready to wrestle and she was relentless in attacking and scoring points in bunches,” said coach Travis Bennett. “She had a gameplan and she executed. Sophia was using her leg attacks and taking her opponents from their feet to their back all day. “

In the Sunday’s semifinals, Barrett was paired against Council Rock’s Abby Guzzo, who the week prior was crowned the girls 10U Keystone State Champion at 68 pounds. In a match that had a lot of high-pressure scrambles throughout, Guzzo ultimately came out on top advancing to the finals and finishing second.

Barrett bounced back quickly after the loss and won her tightly-contested consolation semifinal match with a takedown in the third period and a 2-0 decision over the Keystone State fifth-place finisher from the week before. In the third-place match, Barrett lost a 6-0 decision to State College’s Sterling Cunningham.  

“Sophia is an extremely special athlete and an even better teammate,” said Bennett. “She shows up every day with an amazing attitude and work ethic.

“As the year went along, we knew Sophia had a real good chance to medal at the state tournament,” he noted. “She really started working hard on her feet and listening to her coaches, you could see it all coming together.

“We are very proud of Sophia and can’t wait to see what next year brings, being her first time under the bright lights she performed outstanding,” Bennett added.

Barrett’s teammates Silas Bennett, Kruze Payne, Beau Hall, Liam Warner and Chace VanDyke also competed over the two days of state championships.

Bennett wrestled in the boys 10U 70-pound weight class and went 3-2 over the two days falling one win shy of the medal round, losing 6-5 in the tournaments “blood-round.”

Payne advanced to day two of competition before being eliminated from the 10U 85-pound bracket. Warner competing at 12U 65 pounds, went 2-2 with “a great debut” at States.

“Overall, it was a great weekend of wrestling, camaraderie, and hopefully, some lasting memories for these outstanding athletes and their families,” said Bennett.

“All six families stayed together at the same hotel, we ate together, carpooled to the arena together and cheered each other on,” he noted. “We had 25 to 30 people in Pittsburgh supporting our young athletes and that was amazing.

“All but one of these wrestlers will be competing in the same age division next year, and we expect more big things for the program next season,” added Bennett.

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IN PHOTO: Athens’ Sophia Barrett.