HERSHEY — Curwensville freshman McKenzie Astorino (100) and Clearfield senior Makayla Taylor (155) each rallied in the third period of their opening bouts Thursday afternoon at the PIAA Girls Wrestling Championships at Hershey’s Giant Center.
Astorino came back from a 10-6 deficit to outlast Southern Lehigh freshman Cambria Leshko 16-10 in her opener, while Taylor pinned Norwin’s Karsyn Champion at 5:02 while trailing the Lady Knight junior 6-2.
Curwensville’s Brylee London (142) and Clearfield’s Alara Quickel (148) are also still in the running for a medal after each going 1-1 on the day.
Astorino, ranked second at 100 pounds by PA-Wrestling.com, upped her record to 36-1 with her victory over Leshko (35-7), an honorable mention in the rankings. The Lady Tide freshman got out to a 7-0 lead against Leshko with a first-period takedown about a minute in before recording four nearfall points late in the period. Leshko reversed Astorino to her back in the final 10 seconds of the period, getting the four count as time expired.
Leshko took top to start the second and was able to turn Astorino for four more nearfall points and a 10-7 lead. Astorino eventually got off her back and scored a reversal to cut her deficit to 10-9 heading to the third where she took control with a takedown and four nearfall points about midway through the period to earn the 16-10 decision and advance to the quarterfinals. Astorino faces Montour senior Kristen Walzer (8-0), another honorable mention in PA-Wrestling.com’s rankings. Walzer, a UPJ recruit, was sixth at 100 pounds in both 2024 and 2025.
Taylor, ranked fifth at 155 by PA-Wrestling, improved to 23-7 by upending third-ranked Champion (37-9), who recorded a 12-3 major decision over the Lady Bison earlier this season. Champion picked up the initial takedown at 1:24, but got too aggressive with her ride and Taylor took advantage to reverse her and make the score 3-2. Taylor rode Champion the final 55 seconds of the period, nearly getting a turn on a couple occasions.
Champion, who placed eighth last season at 155, chose neutral to start the second and got a quick takedown 19 seconds in to up her advantage to 6-2. Champion spent the rest of the period in control but could not turn Taylor, taking the 6-2 lead to the third. There, Taylor took the top position and worked a half to put Champion on her back and record the fall at 5:02 to move into the quarterfinals.
Taylor tangles with Emmaus senior Olivya Kroope (34-1) in the quarters. Kroope, an honorable mention by PA-Wrestling and an Edinboro recruit, lost to Taylor by 8-4 decision last season in the consolation bracket at PIAAs. Taylor went on to place fourth.
London was defeated by fall in 25 seconds by Norwin senior Josephine Dollman (33-10) in her opener. Dollman, an honorable mention in the PA-Wrestling.com rankings, placed fourth and fifth in PIAAs in her freshman and sophomore seasons. London (36-9) responded to her opening loss with a 15-9 victory over Downingtown West freshman Avery Dunn (26-18). London trailed 3-2 after one and fell behind 6-2 early in the second after choosing defense but getting turned for a three count.
The Lady Tide freshman reversed Dunn to her back later in the period, scoring four nearfall points and taking an 8-6 advantage to the third. Dunn chose defense and tied the bout 8-8 with her own reversal but London escaped with 52 seconds left and scored a pair of takedowns down the stretch to pull away. London will face the loser of the quarterfinal matchup between Hughesville sophomore Avery Earnest (37-3) and Manheim Township senior Laila Colon (40-5) in her next consey bout. Colon was seventh at 142 last season.
Quickel was pinned by Mount Lebanon senior Paige Jox (33-6) at 1:48 in their Round of 16 bout. Jox is ranked second at 148 by PA-Wrestling. That pushed Quickel into the consolation bracket where she won by forfeit over William Tennent senior Meghan Gottschall (27-12), an honorable mention by PA-Wrestling. Gottschall lost by injury default to Wyomissing junior Julianna Loux (25-2) in the Round of 16.
Quickel’s (21-13) next opponent will be either Big Spring sophomore Lily Raudabaugh (33-3) or Pine-Richland junior Giada Campanella (24-13). Raudabaugh finished seventh in the state last season at 148.
The girls quarterfinal round begins Friday at 11:45 a.m. with the second round of consolations to follow at 1:15 p.m. The girls will share the stage with the Class 2A and 3A boys in Session 3 when the semifinals will be run for all beginning at 7 p.m. Another round of consolations will follow at 9.
Complete PIAA girls wrestling results can be found HERE
