The Parkland High School girls wrestling team has began the 2024-25 season strongly, winning its first two Eastern Pennsylvania Conference dual matches earlier this month against Northampton and Pocono Mountain West, both at home.

Last Saturday, the Trojans competed in their first tournament and showed out well, placing second overall out of 40 teams at the North Penn High School Invitational.

“The season definitely started with strong showings against two league teams and a second-place finish at the North Penn Tournament this past weekend,” said Trojan head coach Anthony Shave. “We are facing a number of injuries, but backups and creative lineup setting has kept us competitive. Girls wrestling as a whole is becoming exponentially more competitive every year and the team is working very hard to stay ahead of the curve.”

Dallastown won the Invitational with 180 points, while Parkland was second with 130.5 points, three points higher than third-place Souderton.

Ella Hesener qualified for the championship finals match of 106 pounds, but fell short of winning gold. Angelina Spachman placed third overall at 142 pounds and both Lily Snook and Payton Ocasio earned a spot in the third-place matches at 112 and 118 pounds, respectively, but both wound up fourth. Natalie Deutsch finished fifth overall at 155 pounds and Lizkarla Grullon Vasquez was sixth at 190.

It was another strong showing that will hopefully bode well for some more important conference duals coming up.

“For duals, the girls are mentally ready for everything we ask them to do whether that is bumping up a weight class, making weight for the next weight class below them, or minimizing the damage in a lopsided battle,” Shave said. “They all fight every position. We are putting forth four first-year wrestlers in our lineup and as daunting as it can be to stand in that center circle alone, they really are rising to the challenge.”

Parkland finished off two conference duals earlier this week at Easton on Tuesday and home against Liberty Wednesday. The Trojans are off until after Christmas and then will be back in action when they compete in the two-day Governor Mifflin Tournament next Friday and Saturday. Shave hopes to see more of the same out of his team following a little holiday break in action.

“Moving forward, I want to see more of the same in terms of work focus, and lots and lots of repetitions of the basics in order to build that muscle memory,” said Shave. “It’s a great group and I honestly ask a lot from them, so if they continue to keep pace with how I push them, I think that’s all I can really ask.”