Whitehall’s Ruth Rivera followed up her District XI wrestling title with a second-place finish at the PIAA Southeast Regional tournament and earned a berth in the state finals March 7-9 in Hershey.

In the final, Rivera went up against Kennett’s Haylie Jaffe, an unofficial two-time state champion, who has not lost to another girl in three years.

Jaffe pinned Rivera right at the first period buzzer to claim the 136-pound title, however the Zephyr senior was able to put the loss into perspective.

“She’s number one for a reason, I’ll tell you that. Her technique was right where it was supposed to be. She’s fast. She has everything she needs. No matter what, there’s always going to be someone that’s better than you, so I’m not really disappointed. I’m just happy I got to wrestle here,” explained Rivera.

Dropping a match against someone who is in the conversation for best pound-for-pound wrestler in the state should not overshadow how well Rivera wrestled in her path to the final.

In the quarterfinals, she racked up an 8-3 lead after one period against Angel Coley of Academy Park before pinning her from the top position 21 seconds into the second period.

In the semifinals, it looked like Rivera would notch another second-period fall as the referee slapped the mat as time was expiring. After a brief consultation, the officials waived off the pin, but Rivera shrugged off the disappointment and completed a 10-0 major decision against Raylyn Schwoyer of Owen J. Roberts.

She summed up her thoughts on competing in the state tournament, “It feels amazing, but also I’m trying to be very humble because I know a lot of the other guys can’t have this opportunity right now. I’m glad I have it and that I made history in my school. I’m really hoping to place at states.”