By Aaron LaBatt
For The Examiner
COLUMBUS — Indian Lake’s Maddie Miller continues to make a name for herself and this time it was on the biggest stage in prep wrestling.
A junior, Miller won her 235-pound opening-round match at the OHSAA girls state wrestling tournament Friday inside the Jerome Schottenstein Center.
“It feels really good,” said Miller. “I was a little nervous, but it helps to get that first match out of the way.”
The Laker standout pinned Patrick Henry’s Brooke Tietje in 2:57 and is now 40-1 on the season. Miller advances to the championship quarterfinals. Another win will secure her a spot in the semifinals and a top six finish.
Miller got an early takedown to lead 3-0 after the first period. She then took down in the second period and reversed Tietje and hooked a reverse half nelson to eventually get the pin.
“There are some small things I can work on,” said Miller. “I wasn’t at my best, but I definitely feel good so far.”
“That was good stuff,” said Lakers head coach Phil Mackesy. “She got that takedown at the end of the first period, that was key. We had been working on bottom and she got out of there (and got the pin).”
Miller will face Akron North’s Anne Ruble (30-6) in the championship quarterfinals today at 9:30 a.m.
“She just needs to stay out of her own head now,” said Mackesy. “She needs to battle and keeping moving forward. She has been putting in the work, so I expect her to keep moving forward.”
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Hites still alive for Raider girls
Benjamin Logan’s girls still have one wrestler competing at the state tournament. Senior Raegan Hites fell in her opening round match, but came back to secure a consolation win.
Hites lost to Findlay’s Kate Simmons by fall in 1:30. Hites was able to bounce back in the consolation round by pinning East Liverpool’s Alannah McGonigal in 59 seconds.
Junior Sophia Harris (190) also competed for the Raiders, but was unable to come away with any wins. Harris was pinned by Port Clinton’s Michaela Stork in the first round in 1:37. Harris then fell into the consolation round where she was
pinned by Marengo Highland’s Emma Bolton in 4:28 to eliminate her from the tournament.
Harris is now a two-time state qualifier and finishes the season with a 29-11 record.