South Tahoe Women’s Wrestling takes second in regionals, qualify for state tournament
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – This past weekend, South Tahoe Women’s Wrestling team competed in the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) All Girls Northern Regional Tournament, where they netted 130 points overall, taking second place. Since seven of their wrestlers placed within the top four, they will be heading to the state tournament next month.
The NIAA only recently added women’s wrestling as an official sport—South Tahoe has competed in all three years. This year, 11 wrestlers competed, a significant jump from qualifying one wrestler their first year and three wrestlers their second year.
South Tahoe’s wrestlers competed across 9 of the 14 weight classes and overall placed second in team standings, second only to Reed High School, informally ranked online as the #2 team in Nevada. After this competition, South Tahoe was ranked #6 in Nevada.
Wrestlers Lillian Verduzco, Alice Lilly, and Maya Burkett placed second in their weight classes; Diem Johnson placed third in hers; and Kailani Higgins, Sydney Birkholm, and Nayeli Jimenez placed fourth. All seven of them will be heading to the state tournament in Fallon on February 7th and 8th. Verduzco, Lilly, and Johnson are returning state qualifiers.
Analiz Chua, Alyssa Portillo, Skye Levy, and Mia Hernandez also made valuable contributions towards the team standings.
Coach Gary Whitehouse commended the team for their outstanding performance, saying they “largely exceeded their seedings and projected outcome.” He also highlighted that they are bringing the third largest girls’ team to the state tournament, coming behind a team of 12 from Northern Champions Reed and a team of 9 from Southern Champions Centennial.
“I think every girl is capable of winning matches at the tournament,” said Whitehouse, “However, our goals are more aligned to performing to the best of our abilities and enjoying the experience as a team.”
Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley.
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