Shelbyville sophomore Ella Holmes is one of 16 girls that will compete Friday at historic Kokomo Gymnasium in the 235-pound bracket of the Indiana High School Girls Wrestling State Finals.
Holmes, the runner-up at the Muncie Central Semistate, will open the bracket with a match against Harrison (West Lafayette) sophomore Erin Cauble, the third-place finisher at the Penn Semistate. A win would earn Holmes, a first-time state finalist, a medal as a top 8 finisher and at least two more matches in Kokomo.
In the Round of 8, Holmes would face either Columbia City sophomore Vivian Parke, the Rochester Semistate champion, or Edgewood junior Ayrica DeHart, the fourth-place finisher at the Mooresville Semistate.
Also in the bottom half of the 235-pound bracket and potential semifinal round opponents for Holmes are Northview’s Varzidy Batchelor (Mooresville champion), Muncie Central’s Lexi Edwards (fourth place at Rochester), Greenfield-Central’s Keely Allen (third place at Muncie Central) and Attica’s Aubrey Bartkowiak (Penn runner-up).
Batchelor is the reigning state champion at 195 pounds. Bartkowiak was the 2023 state runner-up at 250 pounds.
Weigh-in for the State Finals is at 10 a.m. Friday in Kokomo. Wrestling begins at 11 a.m.
State champions in 14 weight classes will be crowned by the state coaches association. The Indiana High School Athletic Association still classifies girls wrestling as an Emerging Sport, which is the final step toward becoming a fully-sanctioned IHSAA sport.
This is the second consecutive year Shelbyville has a girls state finals qualifier. Pacey Virden competed in the 2023 state championship meet, held at Mooresville High School, and lost her opening-round match at 195 pounds.
The Shelby County Post is a digital newspaper producing news, sports, obituaries and more without a pay wall or subscription needed. Get the most recent Shelby County Post headlines delivered to your email by visiting shelbycountypost.com and click on the free daily email signup link at the top of the page.
