District 3 girls' wrestling: Who will punch their ticket to the first PIAA tournament?
We're one week from the first PIAA girls' wrestling championships.
Instead of competing at an independent event at a central Pennsylvania high school, girls' wrestlers will compete at Hershey's Giant Center alongside their boys' counterparts from March 7 to 9. First, they need to qualify for states at this Saturday's regional events.
YAIAA wrestlers will compete at the District 3 Southcentral Regional Championships at Penn Manor Saturday. The top six finishers from Feb. 17's sectional tournaments will compete with the top four finishers at each weight Saturday moving on to states. There is a single classification for girls' wrestling during this inaugural season.
Here's a look at the YAIAA wrestlers competing this weekend.
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Natalie Handy, South Western, 106 pounds
The senior is perhaps the most accomplished YAIAA wrestler in the tournament — finishing first and second at the independent state event the last two seasons. Handy is 23-0 this season and won a sectional title. She's ranked second in the state by pawrestling.com. She has a bye into the quarterfinals and could be on a collision course with Hamburg's undefeated Isabelle Wilkes in the finals. The two were in separate sectional tournaments and haven't faced each other this season.
Alysiana Price-Ierley, York Suburban, 106 pounds
The freshman is ranked third in the state with a 25-2 record. She reached a sectional final but was pinned by Wilkes. If she wins her quarterfinals matchup she will likely face Handy in the semifinals.
Hazelin Price-Ierley, York Suburban, 112 pounds
The junior is 19-7 this season and took fourth at her sectional tournament. She'll face Shippensburg's Kara Fogelsanger in the first round for a chance to face Manheim Township's top-five ranked Isabella Baccio in the quarterfinals.
Ava Dietrick, Spring Grove, 124 pounds
The freshman took fifth at her sectional tournament and is 26-10 this season. If she can beat Carlisle's Sophia Adams in the round of 16, she'll face Camp Hill's Emmalee Sabo in the quarterfinals.
Tatum Duckworth, South Western, 124 pounds
The junior is 25-2 this season and won an independent regional title last season. She's ranked third in the state. However, Duckworth was pinned by Cumberland Valley's Eliana White-Vega in the sectional final. The two could easily face each other in the finals again Saturday.
Felicity Davis, Spring Grove, 130 pounds
The junior is 20-15 and took fourth at the sectional tournament. She faces Boiling Springs' Isabelle Allen in the first round for the chance to face Hamburg's Shannon Govern, who is ranked second in the state, in the quarterfinals.
Aleena Scott, Biglerville, 130 pounds
The sophomore made her season debut at sectionals and went 3-3 for a sixth-place finish. She faces South Western's Adrianna Gonzalez in the first round Saturday.
Adrianna Gonzalez, South Western, 130 pounds
The junior is 19-8 this season and took third at the sectional tournament. She took sixth at the regional tournament last year. If she can beat Scott she'll face Gettysburg's Zalika Roberts in the quarterfinals.
Kenna Hoffman, Dallastown, 130 pounds
The freshman might be peaking at the right time. Hoffman is 22-9 this season but won a sectional title by pinning Manheim Township's Ainsley Bounds. She has a bye into the quarterfinals and could get Gettysburg's Roberts in the semifinals.
Angel Upright, South Western, 136 pounds
The junior is 21-8 this season and took fifth at the sectional tournament. She'll face J.P. McCaskey's Kaleia Timko in the quarterfinals. Timko (25-2) was undefeated until the sectional tournament.
Jada Stoneberg, Susquehannock, 142 pounds
The senior didn't wrestle her first match until late January but went 4-1 last weekend to take third. She faces Hempfield's Kylie Mays (9-15) in the first round for a shot at Wyomissing's Olivia Tillman (10-5) in the quarterfinals.
Jahzari Abney, Dover, 142 pounds
Abney went 4-0 with three pins last weekend on her way to a sectional title. She took fifth at the independent regional event last season. She'll face the winner of Boiling Springs' Ahnika Hoover and Wilson's Tammy Nguyen in the quarterfinals.
Avery Baldwin, Dallastown, 155
The freshman is 22-7 and took fifth at her first sectional tournament. She'll face Red Land's Livia Donley in the first round Saturday. The winner will face West Perry's state-ranked Marty Morrison in the quarterfinals.
Miriam Westfort, South Western, 155 pounds
The senior is 21-7 this year and reached the sectional final where she was pinned by Marty Morrison. Will she get the West Perry wrestler in the finals again? She'll likely have to get past Gettysburg's Kylie Monroe, who is third in the state, in the semifinals.
Angela Imorhoa, York Suburban, 170 pounds
The junior is 22-10 and took third place at sectionals. She'll face Central Dauphin's Maya Landefeld in the first round Saturday.
Shelby Gipson-McDonald, Dallastown, 170 pounds
The sophomore is shooting for her second regional title after winning an independent gold medal last season. She's 18-8 and won a sectional title. She's listed as an honorable mention in the state rankings along with Cumberland Valley's Veronica Guise — and the two could face off in the semifinals.
Tessa Henise, Dallastown, 190 pounds
The junior is 17-7 and took fourth at the sectional tournament. She'll face Carlisle's Rachel Plant in the first round for a chance to wrestle J.P. McCaskey's state-ranked Jurelys Peguero in the quarterfinals.
Davina Crump, South Western, 190 pounds
The senior won a third-place state medal last year and is looking for another strong run. She is 15-4 and took third at the sectional tournament last week. She pinned Henise at sectionals. She'll face Northern York's Morgan Sober in the first round Saturday.
Jasmine Negron, York Suburban, 235 pounds
The senior is 11-12 this season and took sixth at the sectional tournament. She'll face Big Spring's Esther Reed in the first round Saturday.
Kayla Henderson, South Western, 235 pounds
The senior took second in the state last season and has plenty of motivation after missing out on a sectional title. Henderson is 18-3 this season but lost to Cumberland Valley's Aja'nai Jumper, 2-0, in the sectional final. Henderson faces J.P. McCaskey's Lauren Labrew in the quarterfinals and could get Jumper again if she reaches the championship bout.
Matt Allibone is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com or on Twitter at @bad2theallibone.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: District 3 wrestling: Which YAIAA girls have a shot at states?
