Valley Sports ReportHERSHEY — Senior Hannah Rathbun locked up the first medal in Athens girls wrestling program history Friday afternoon, and senior Leah Nason bounced back from a crushing defeat in the quarterfinals to become the program's second medal-winner an hour later here at the PIAA Girls Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center.
"It awesome," said Athens coach Donnie Barrett. "Hannah and Leah are the first two girls in Athens girls wrestling program history to medal at States, and it couldn't happen to two better girls.
"I'm emotional myself, it's a big deal," added Barrett. "I'm super-proud of them."
This is the fourth trip to Hershey for both Rathbun and Nason.
"It feels absolutely amazing," said Rathbun. "I had been here three years in a row, this year making it four ... this is all I've been working for my whole life, this is absolutely amazing.
"I've been in the room working hard. I'm there in the summers ... I've had the most amazing coaches with me all the time," added Rathbun. "The coaches always have time to work with me, and I always have somewhere to work if I want to."
"It feels really good," said Nason. "I'm super-proud and super-excited. I can't believe it's real."
Rathbun secured her state medal with a 4-3 win over Gettysburg's Myah Coleman in the blood round of the 130-pound bracket.
"I just tried to keep my head clear," said Rathbun. "I knew this was my last chance, and that really lit a fire in me. I really wanted this.
"My coaches told me to go out there with a clear head and have fun, and that's what I did," she added.
After a scoreless first period, Rathbun scored a takedown with 1:23 remaining in the second period, and rode top the final 83 seconds to take a 3-0 lead into the final two minutes.
Rathbun's successful takedown came after Coleman fended off several attempts in the first period and early in the second.
"She was really strong when she sprawled, but I felt pretty confident that if I kept working at it, she was going to get tired, and I could get one," said Rathbun.
Coleman scored a takedown 30 seconds into the third period to tie the bout at 3-3, but Rathbun escaped in a matter of seconds to take a 4-3 lead.
With 40 seconds remaining, Coleman got in on Rathbun's legs and lifted her off the mat, but she fended it off.
"I knew I had to get my feet back," she laughed. "Get my laces to the mat and really come down hard on her."
Barrett said Rathbun showed her character in the win.
"She went up early 3-0, then had to battle the rest of the match," he said. "She fought off a couple great double-leg attacks ... she wrestled a great match.
"The way that match played out just goes to show Hanna's grit and character," added Barrett.
On Friday, Rathbun was knocked into the wrestlebacks via a 15-0 technical fall to Souderton's Emily Sarr, who hit two seven-point moves in the win.
She bounced back with a 15-0 technical fall win over Northeastern's Chloe Meador in the first round of the consolation bracket.
"I was still felt good (after the opening-round loss)," said Rathbun. "I struggle in tournaments to be confident ... this year I knew I belonged here and I was gonna place."
The first thing Rathbun did after securing her state medal was look for two familiar faces in the crowd.
"My parents have been with me through this whole thing supporting me. They took me everywhere, so I was looking for my parents in the stands," she said. "I wanted them to know I did this."
Nason advanced to the quarterfinals Thursday with 6-1 win over Jenna Chapman of Albert Gallatin.
In the quarters, Nason scored a takedown with 1:37 remaining in the third period to take a 4-3 lead on Dallastown's Noelani Knott, and rode her for more than a minute, but Knott sat out of Nason's control, and hooked her leg in a Peterson for a reversal with 18 seconds remaining, then leaned back into her for a fall at 5:48.
"I was pretty defeated after that first match today, but I realized I had to suck it up, and get over it because that match was done, and I couldn't go back and change it," said Nason.
"I took a minute to get collected, and ready to go again," she added.
Barrett said the loss was eerily familiar for Nason.
"The quarter-final match was major heartbreak," he said. "Chapman pinned Leah in the blood round last year here when Leah was winning ... the same exact scenario plays out today. Leah is dominating the match, and gets pinned — a real heart-breaker."
In the blood round, Nason notched a second-period pin of South Western's Taneeka Previl to secure her state medal.
Previl dominated the first period with a takedown 20 seconds in, and a physical ride on top for the final 40 seconds to take a 3-0 lead into the second period.
Nason won the coin flip, and chose top to start the second period. She broke Previl down flat to the mat, locked in a power-half, and turned her for the fall at 2:03.
Nason said the coin flip was key.
"I wasn't too nervous being down 3-0, there were two periods left," she said. "The coin toss went in my favor, and I knew I could take top and get it done.
"Top is my favorite position to go off the coin flip. I think that's my best position to be in," noted Nason. "I knew if I could get the coin flip and get on top, I could get it down if I just focused."
Barrett agreed with Nason that the coin flip was key.
"We were in the same spot as when we went into the match, we need one win to medal," he said. "She re-grouped, but had a rough first period, and got taken down by a big and aggressive girl.
"The coin flip went our way ... she took top, and Leah is awesome on top," noted Barrett. "She broke her down, power-half, and that was it.
"It's a great way to bounce back, and I couldn't be more happy for her," Barrett added.
Nason was especially happy for Rathbun.
"Hanna has wrestled a lot longer than me, so I knows it's really special for her," she said. "I'm super-proud of her and her hard work.
"We've done a lot of long days, long practices, long tournament, and this is what we've worked for.
"I'm so proud of her and of myself," she added.
The third round of wrestlebacks begin at 9 p.m. Friday night.
Nason (28-5) will square off with Hazleton Area's Evelyn Sheer (31-3), who owns three wins by fall over Nason this season, while Rathbun (37-6) will take on Plum's Saphia Davis (30-8),
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IN PHOTO 1: Athens senior Hanna Rathbun celebrates her blood-round win with her parents. IN TOP PHOTO: Athens senior Leah Nason. ... PHOTOS BY LANCE LARCOM and CHRIS MANNING.
