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GETTYSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – Zoey Haines of Gettysburg High School made history on March 9 when she was crowned the inaugural 148-lb PIAA Girls’ Wrestling State Champion.
“I’m just really grateful for the opportunity to wrestle for a PIAA State Title and it’s really cool to be part of this because so many people have worked hard for us to be here,” said Haines.
Haines defeated Charlotte Gilfoil of Central Dauphin in the finals by a decision of 7-2. She is one of two District III girls who brought home a state championship in the historic event.
Haines is just the second-ever wrestler to earn a title for Gettysburg. Her uncle Ken Haines was the first in 1995.
Wrestling runs deep in the Haines family. Haines’s cousin, Levi Haines, brought home the 2A 145-pound championship for Biglerville High School in 2021. Levi is a sophomore Penn State wrestler and two-time Big Ten Champion and NCAA National Runner-up.
Gettysburg’s wrestling coach is also Zoey’s father.
“It’s kind of an indescribable emotion, something that I really haven’t experienced before, being my own child winning a state title, but also being a part of this massive movement and being the first ever to be able to have this opportunity,” said Gettysburg wrestling coach Chris Haines. “So it’s pretty special.”
Zoey is appreciative to have her father guiding her on her wrestling journey.
“It’s just really cool to have him in my corner all the time because we know each other really well so we know what works,” Zoey said. “I’m just really glad that he was there with me to experience that.”
Even though Zoey grew up around wrestling and enjoyed watching the competitions, she was never interested in competing herself until the summer before starting eighth grade. Zoey has since wrestled for Gettysburg, both on the girls and boys team.
“Both our teams practice together,” Zoey said. “We’re just all like one big family. “At Gettysburg, we just try to emphasize that there’s not a difference between girls and boys wrestling, we’re all just wrestlers.”
Zoey noted that heading into the competition she and her teammates were all excited, but also nervous.
“We just tried to tell ourselves that it’s just another tournament,” Zoey said. “Just wrestle the best you can, give 100% effort and everything will be fine.”
Zoey hopes to see wrestling expand, especially for girls, in Pennsylvania.
“It would just be really cool to keep seeing the sport grow in Pennsylvania,” Zoey said. “Our PA National Teams have been doing really well. . . that would be cool to just keep seeing that grow too.”
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