Delaware Valley’s Kate Prior gets her hand raised after she defeated Northwestern’s Cydney Rea by pin Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey. BOB GAETANO / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Honesdale’s Saige Olver, top, wrestles Red Land’s Ava Holjes in the 118-pound Round of 16 on Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey. Olver won the match by 15-0 technical fall. BOB GAETANO / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Western Wayne’s Mia Gifford poses for a photograph in the wrestling room of Western Wayne High School in South Canaan Twp. Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Wallenpaupack’s Gia Silva, bottom, wrestles Wilson Area’s Nevaeh Colon in the 112-pound Round of 16 on Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey. Silva lost the match by technical fall. BOB GAETANO / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
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Delaware Valley’s Kate Prior gets her hand raised after she defeated Northwestern’s Cydney Rea by pin Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey. BOB GAETANO / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
When Valley View coaches asked the girls wrestlers if they wanted a varsity wrestling team, Taylor Shaheen, Faith Ambrister and their teammates were ready to take that leap.
“I want to get my name up on that wall,” Shaheen said. “I want to go to districts. I want to get 100 wins by my senior year. I want to make an imprint in this school to show that our team, we made a difference, we started something and we made history.”
On Dec. 3, Shaheen achieved history for the Cougars when she secured the team’s first varsity win, a first-period pin in a 66-6 loss to Wallenpaupack.
“It felt like any other win, but something else was behind it,” Shaheen said. “I knew it was my first ever varsity win, it was my first ever win on my record. I felt very happy.”
Now, Ambrister, Emily Claps, Lucy Ritzco, Alexis Lamolly, Kerrigan Sprague, Amsi Garuda-Diaz and Ashley Conserette have their first varsity victories.
“It didn’t feel different, but it made me excited,” Ambrister said of her first win. “But I’m not really all about winning or losing because wrestling isn’t just about that.”
For Ambrister, wrestling started as a way to get out of class for a few minutes when she heard the announcement to sign up for the team. Then, she saw her friends signing up and figured she’d give it a shot.
“I tried it out and hated the practice, hated conditioning, but I stuck with it and throughout the season I really liked it because with wrestling the team just bonds,” Ambrister said. “It’s just a great place to be. The coaches are really nice, and you meet a lot of new people.”
The freshman lost her first two matches of the season, one of them to Wallenpaupack’s Lillian Schock who is ranked 25th in the state at 148 pounds according to PA Power Wrestling.
“Lillian, she’s very strong,” Ambrister said. “She got me that first period, but I can learn from it. It’s been an experience.”
She is 5-2 since then with four pins, and placed fifth at the Battle on the Delaware tournament at Delaware Valley High School.
“We saw something in Faith from the beginning,” Valley View assistant coach Jen Ritzco said. “She has heart. I’ll tell you, her first pin, I cried. I was so excited. All the girls want it, but she’s ready to go out there and there’s a fire in her”
Shaheen is in her third year wrestling at Valley View, as she wrestled for two years with the junior high team.
“I’ve always had a fascination with martial arts,” Shaheen said. “When I was little, 10 to 12ish, I did jiu jitsu and then after that I did a little bit of a wrestling program there and then I got here in seventh grade and joined the team. And I’ve loved it ever since.”
She has the team’s best record at 8-4 with seven pins. Six of those falls came in the first period, including 11-second, 13-second, 15-second and 36-second pins at last weekend’s Queen of the Hive tournament at Honesdale High School. The freshman’s only losses came against state-ranked wrestlers Katelyn Nunez of Western Wayne (23rd at 124) and Danielle Williams of Easton (12th).
“I definitely learned that you can’t headlock everybody,” Shaheen said of her two losses to Nunez. “Some moves you just can’t use on certain people, and I realized I have to get more technical instead of just aggression. Aggression is a big part of the sport, but you have to be technical, as well.”
For Valley View in its first varsity season, it’s about individual and team growth, and the coaches already see it.
“They’re a tough bunch, but they wrestle with their hearts,” Ritzco said. “They’re good kids, and it’s hard work. It’s way harder work than I think I even knew it was going into it with them. But they show up every day, they give 100% and it shows.”
Shaheen is 92 wins away from that goal of getting her name up on the wall. However, the team means more to her than any individual accolade.
“I’m very happy with all the girls we have, but I really hope that we just continue to grow,” said Shaheen, whose father Michael is the head coach. “That’s definitely a big accomplishment that I want our team to have is girls and girls and girls just coming back and adding more.”
Ambrister feels the same way, and looks beyond the wins and losses to the personal growth she can get out of the sport.
“My goal is just to not give up,” Ambrister said. “Last year, I would get very upset losing my matches. I just want to push myself this year and I want to see just how far I can get because I’m only a freshman. I still have a couple years left to make so many more goals. So this year, I just want to see how far I can get.”
Wrestlers to watch
Hayden Manning, Abington Heights: The freshman captured the 155-pound title at Queen of the Hive on Saturday. She went 4-0 with three pins and a technical fall. She will lead the Lady Comets into their first varsity wrestling season.
Kate Prior, Delaware Valley: The 2025 Times-Tribune Girls Wrestler of the Year captured state bronze, regional fourth and a district title last season. Ranked third in the state at 155 according to PA Power Wrestling, she captured the 170-pound Queen of the Hive title with wins over the third-ranked and 14th-ranked wrestlers in the state.
Saige Olver, Honesdale: The 2024 Times-Tribune Girls Wrestler of the Year and two-time All-Region selection is a two-time state medalist, capturing third as a sophomore and eighth as she battled injury as a junior. Ranked third in the state at 124, she is a two-time district champion and a regional champion and silver medalist. This season, she is 7-0 with Battle on the Delaware and Queen of the Hive titles.
Maddison Miller, Honesdale: All-Region wrestler comes off a stellar freshman season where she went 31-7, placed eighth at states, third at regionals and second at districts. Ranked fifth in the state at 148, she is 7-0 this season with Battle on the Delaware and Queen of the Hive titles.
Cidney Schaffer, Lackawanna Trail: The freshman is ranked second in the state at 100 and is 8-2 so far this season, wrestling against mostly boys.
Rosa SanClementi, Wallenpaupack: Ranked 17th in the state at 112, the junior is a two-time regional qualifier and is 6-2 this season.
Lillian Schock, Wallenpaupack: Ranked 25th in the state at 148, the junior was a district runner-up and regional sixth last season. She’s 5-1 with five pins this season, only losing to Maddison Miller in the Queen of the Hive final.
Gia Silva, Wallenpaupack: Ranked 17th in the state at 118, the junior and All-Region wrestler qualified for states last season, and was a silver medalist at districts and regionals.
Mia Gifford, Western Wayne: Ranked 20th in the state at 106, the senior is a two-time All-Region selection, a two-time district champion and a regional fifth-placer and sixth-placer. She is 8-2 with a Battle on the Delaware title this season.
Katelyn Nunez, Western Wayne: Ranked 23rd in the state at 124, the senior claimed district bronze last season and qualified for regionals.
Key dates
Saturday, Dec. 20: Hanover Area Holiday Classic
Wednesday, Jan. 7: Honesdale at Wallenpaupack
Thursday, Jan. 8: Wallenpaupack at Delaware Valley
Friday, Jan. 9: Honesdale at Western Wayne
Wednesday, Jan. 21: Western Wayne at Wallenpaupack
Friday-Saturday, Feb. 20-21: District 2 individual championships at Wilkes-Barre Area
Friday-Saturday, Feb. 27-28: Central Regional at Milton High School
Thursday-Saturday, March 5-7: PIAA championships at Giant Center in Hershey