In a groundbreaking turn of events, two high school senior girls emerged victorious over their male counterparts this week. The two girls secured state wrestling championships in both Maine and Arizona.
In the state of Maine, the spotlight shines on 17-year-old Maddie Ripley from Oceanside High School. Ripley showcased unparalleled skill as she defeated three male opponents in a single day, successfully defending the state title she won the previous year.
Ripley told ABC News: “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 competed in the 113-pound weight class of the Class B high school wrestling championship tournament in Rumford, Maine. She is the first girl to defeat boys and earn a high school wrestling championship in Maine.
What adds to Ripley’s extraordinary accomplishment is her triumph in the girls’ division earlier in the same week. Determined to push her limits, Ripley gained six pounds through weightlifting to compete in the boys’ division.
Remarkably, Audrey Jimenez accomplished the identical feat in Arizona on the same day that Ripley won the boys’ event.
Jimenez is a senior at Sunnyside High School in Tucson. She secured her victory in the 107-pound weight class during the AIA Arizona High School State Wrestling Championships.
Jimenez’s win is not only a personal achievement but a historic one. She became the first girl in Arizona to claim a high school wrestling title against boys.
While talking to Scripps News Phoenix, Jiminez said: “The crowd was just super crazy. So that’s what made it seem more of like ‘Oh wow, like I just won state.”
It seemed odd that Jimenez had been permitted to compete against boys in the regular season but not during the post season for the previous three years.
This year marked a turning point as coaches successfully petitioned the Arizona Interscholastic Association, allowing Jimenez to compete in the boys’ championship.
She said: “Once you see it done, you know it’s possible.”
Currently she is training for the 2024 Olympic trials, aiming to make her mark on the international stage.