SV girls reach state wrestling tournament in program’s first year
JACKSON TWP — The original goals were modest. The latest success is well beyond.
Seneca Valley’s girls wrestling program — in its debut season — placed two junior high wrestlers and advanced two varsity grapplers in their respective state tournaments.
“We had two girls wrestling on the boys varsity team last year,” Raiders girls wrestling coach Jess Leighty said. “When we got approval to begin a girls team, we were hoping to get 10 girls involved to start the program, junior high through varsity.
“We wound up with 24 girls, including seven in grades 10 through 12. The girls have stayed with it all year. It’s been a tremendous success.”
Only one girl in the program — Madison Cardinal — is a senior. The majority of the others plan on returning next season.
At the junior high level, the Raiders’ Hannah Hornick placed fourth at 148 pounds and Sawyer Burcham took third at 77 pounds.
Four SV wrestlers medaled at the West Regionals, hosted by Kiski Area High School. Sophomore Maddee Fischer took fourth at 130 pounds and junior Khloe Hollinger third at 190 pounds. Both advance to the PA. Girls State Championships next weekend at Central Dauphin High School.
Natalie Tofanelli, a junior, took sixth at 130 pounds, freshman Haley Hunter seventh at 170 at the West Regionals. The top five in each weight class advanced to the state tourney.
Tofanelli and Leighty’s daughter, Isabellah, were the two girls on the boys varsity team last season.
“Those two wanted to see about getting a girls wrestling program started at Seneca,” Leighty said. “We approached (athletic director) Heather Lewis about it and the school district supported the idea. I have no background in wrestling myself, but I volunteered to coach the team. I didn’t know how many applicants they were going to get.
“I interviewed for the position and I got it.”
And she surrounded herself with people familiar with the sport.
Her son, Caden, a 2020 SV graduate and former Raider wrestler, is one of her assistant coaches. So is Lexi Tofanelli, Seneca Valley’s boys wrestling statistician for four years who has dabbled in the sport herself. SV boys wrestling coach Kevin Wildrick has helped out as well.
“We alternate use of a wrestling room with the middle school boys team,” Leighty said. “Those coaches help us out, too. These girls have received a lot of support. Wrestling is a grueling sport, but our girls stuck with it.”
Seneca Valley’s girls competed in five dual matches this season, along with four tournaments. Weight classes were approximate and some girls competed twice during a dual, at different weight classes.
Lexi graduated from Seneca Valley in 2019 and is Natalie’s sister. Their brother, Jack, wrestles for the boys team, and qualified for the WPIAL Championships this season.
“I was on the girls golf team my freshman year and Kevin Wildrick coached that team,” Lexi recalled. “He needed a statistician for the wrestling team and recruited me. I was exposed to the sport and I loved it.
“I always wanted to try it. When I was a senior, I entered a girls tournament and got my butt kicked. That’s the only time I ever wrestled. But if we had a girls wrestling team when I was younger, I would have definitely tried it.
“When I was in junior high, a girls wrestling team wasn’t even thought about. Now we have more than 20 girls doing it. That’s how far it’s come,” she added.
Lexi pointed out that more than 100 high schools in Pennsylvania have girls wrestling teams now.
“It’s absolutely exploding,” she said.
Leighty can’t wait for next season to get here.
“All but two of the girls on our team never wrestled before this year,” the coach said. “We took the first two weeks of practice explaining what the sport was all about, teaching fundamentals. Now they know all of those things.
“Three of the girls on our team ... I coached them in first grade as cheerleaders. Now they’re wrestlers. Who would have ever thought that?”
