Fern Creek's Gabby Wilson caps wrestling career with first KHSAA title but fourth in row
LEXINGTON — Fern Creek’s Gabby Wilson capped her high school wrestling career with her fourth consecutive state championship, but she and others made history Saturday.
Wilson, who defeated Taylor County’s Alayna Venegas at 285 pounds, earned a first-place medal at the first KHSAA Girls Wrestling State Championships.
“I'm still pretty shocked,” Wilson said. “All day, I've been like thinking about it and thinking about it, and I finally did it. And, honestly, it's just really rewarding because it's been a hard four years. So I’m really happy.”
Wilson said she will not wrestle in college and is ready to close this chapter of her life.
She talked briefly about the struggles she faced mentally and the effort to succeed throughout her prep career.
“I am a very in-my-head wrestler; I get in my way a lot of times. … For it to be full circle is just because if you told me my freshman year that I would be a four-times champion, I would laugh at you. So it's really I'm really happy that I proved to myself that I can go above and beyond,” Wilson said.
With this being the first girls wrestling state championship sanctioned by the KHSAA, Wilson said she wants to see the sport continue to grow and for the girls to get more acknowledgment.
“Girls wrestling is so much fun to watch. Girls wrestling is so inspiring, and we're inspiring little girls to do things that is mainly for boys,” Wilson said.
“Having this sanction and finally having that recognition that we deserve is just amazing.”
Wilson shared a message to younger girls thinking about joining wrestling.
“I know it seems like it's hard. I know it seems like it's scary, but just do it. Just try, and you will fail. That's a part of the sport, but you have to be willing to go back.”
Besides Wilson, Oldham County’s Tatum Millet (120) and Central’s Faith Allen (235) finished first in their respective weight classes.
Pleasure Ridge Park’s Payton Pomeroy lost, 9-2, to Walton-Verona’s Emma Moore in the 100-pound championship.
At 114, Boyle County’s Lyla Smith defeated Ballard’s Juliette Ruiz, 13-2.
Harrison County’s Josh Ashbrook was named the Kentucky Wrestling Coaches Association Girls Coach of the Year.
Woodford County’s Lauren Walton was selected as the KHSAA Girls Outstanding Wrestler.
KHSAA Girls Wrestling State Championships
Team scores (top 10 and Louisville-area schools): 1. Taylor County 123.5; 2. Harrison County 100; 3. (tie) Fort Campbell, Union County 98.5; 5. Henderson County 61; 6. Woodford County 59.5; 7. Boyle County 58.5; 8. Lafayette 58; 9. Walton-Verona 54; 10. Central 53; 21. Valley 31; 22. Fern Creek 30; 24. Oldham County 29; 28. (tie) Ballard, Butler, Eastern, Southern 24; 36. Pleasure Ridge Park 21; 37. (tie) Bullitt Central, Moore, South Oldham 20; 41. Male 16; 51. Western 7; 54. (tie) Bullitt East, Doss, Manual, Waggener 3; 64. North Bullitt, North Oldham 0
100 pounds: 1st -Emma Moore (Walton-Verona) def. Payton Pomeroy (Pleasure Ridge Park), 9-2; 3rd - Naiya Marie Delos Santos (John Hardin) def. Sophie Parrish (Caldwell County), 2:28
107: 1st - Tanya Bacon (Union County) def. Catherine Head (Bardstown), 3:38; 3rd - Madyson Votaw (Nelson County) def. Brooklynn Sammons (McCreary Central), 10-2
114: 1st- Lyla Smith (Boyle County) def. Juliette Ruiz (Ballard), 13-2; 3rd -Talynn Clark (Ohio County) def. Shelby Clayton (Taylor County), 1:44
120: 1st - Tatum Millet (Oldham County) def. Sutton Fuller (Union County), 3:33; 3rd - Lillianah DeWitt (Fort Campbell) def. Ava Sweet (Taylor County), 0:01
126: 1st - Lacey Gilbert (Woodford County) def. Thea Bober-McDonald (Fort Campbell), 1:10; 3rd - Brailey Jackson (Union County) def. Sera Gutterman (Eastern), 13-4
132: 1st - Lauren Walton (Woodford County) def. Drew Sprague (Union County), 0:51; 3rd - Raileigh Stewart (Valley) def. Sophia Walls (Bullitt Central), 6-3
138: 1st - Sophie Anderson (Walton-Verona) def. Jeila Ramos-Sanchez (Southern), 9-2; 3rd - Aanyah Betancur (George Rogers Clark) def. Mayte Lopez (Apollo), 4-2
145: 1st - Gabriella Ocasio (Simon Kenton) def. Jenny Ridley (Harrison County), 10-3; 3rd - Kali Nichols (Daviess County) def. Ava Crouse (Great Crossing), 2:39
152: 1st - Naomi Santiago (Henderson County) def. Sierra Young (Madison Southern), medical forfeit; 3rd - Bralyn Maynard (Pike County Central) def. Gabriela Palomo (North Hardin), 2:58
165: 1st - Brooke Arbic (Fort Campbell) def. Anna Ruiz (Great Crossing), 5-2; 3rd - MaKenna Hendricks (Trigg County) def. Eryah Reese (Madison Central), 2:04
185: 1st - Viktorya Emelianova (Ryle) def. Kaylyn Lawson (Taylor County), 5-4; 3rd - Hailey Jo Butts (Madison Central) def. Alyssa Pinkston (Boyle County), 3:47
235: 1st - Faith Allen (Central) def. Elene Niyogushima (Lafayette), 3:28; 3rd - Hayley Young (Madison Southern) def. Destiny Jackson (Boyd County), 4:17
285: 1st - Gabby Wilson (Fern Creek) def. Alayna Venegas (Taylor County), 0:38; 3rd - Avery Lytle (Montgomery County) def. Evelyn Estes (Henderson County), 15-0
KHSAA Girls Outstanding Wrestler: Lauren Walton (Woodford County)
Reach sports reporter Prince James Story at pstory@gannett.com and follow him on X at @PrinceJStory.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA wrestling: Fern Creek's Gabby Wilson wins state title at 285
