Apollo sophomore Araceli Pascual finished off her first year as a wrestler on a high note Saturday, earning fourth place in her division in the girls’ state tournament at Tates Creek High School in Lexington.
Competing in the 120 weight class, the unseeded 15-year-old went 3-2 on the day in the state tournament, which is put on by the Kentucky Wrestling Coaches Association.
“At the beginning of the day I thought I was going to lose the first match, but I ended up winning and kept going,” Pascual said. “I was really excited to be able to get fourth.”
After receiving a bye in the opening round, Pascual took out Harrison County’s Tori Gasser and Fort Campbell’s Ella Plumb to earn a spot in the semifinals. There, she lost to eventual champion Savanna Bacon of Union County.
Pascual then beat Woodford County’s Gracie Savage in the consolation bracket to advance to the third-place match. She took fourth with a loss to Male’s Camarie Cunningham.
It was tough to gauge how well she would do in the tournament because Pascual spent most of the year competing against male wrestlers. Her only other competition against females was in a December tournament at Fort Campbell — she also took fourth in that event that included wrestlers from Tennessee and Indiana.
“It’s difficult for her because she’s got to wrestle against boys most of the season — nine times out of 10 there’s a strength difference,” said Apollo first-year wrestling coach Courtney Johns. “And a lot of those boys have more experience than her with it being her first year.”
Pascual said she knew it could be a grinding season, but she’s enjoyed being on the team. Still, she said, she wouldn’t mind more females getting involved.
“I expected that it was going to be hard, but it’s fun and I like it,” Pascual said. “It doesn’t really matter that I’m the only girl, but it would be cool to have other females on the team. I hope this helps more come out next year.”
Johns said while he’s hoping Pascual’s success will help more females try out, he’s just as hopeful that Saturday’s performance will help open doors for her in the future.
“I hope this opens up a whole bunch of opportunities as far as college because there are women’s programs that are starting to pop up,” he said. “If she chooses to stick with it, this could open up a door for her.”
For now, at least, Pascual planning on a return to the mat.
“I want to keep getting better,” she said. “My goal is to place first next year.”
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