Ava Pelton made some Montague history Saturday at the Northview Invitational, celebrating her 100th career victory.
Pelton is the first girl to achieve the milestone for Montague, and coach Kris Maddox said while he doesn't know for certain, he believes Pelton is the first girls wrestler in Muskegon County to do so.
Maddox said after some number-crunching, the coaches determined that Pelton had actually gotten her 100th win at the Grand Haven meet the previous Saturday and prepared a surprise for her at Northview to celebrate.
"Achieving 100 wins for a girl is a big feat, considering the limited
opportunities compared to guys," Maddox said. "She will forever hold the title as the
first girl (to do it) at Montague."
Adding to the excitement of the celebration, Maddox said, was that Casey Baranoski officiated the match after which Pelton was celebrated. Baranoski, who competed for Comstock Park and graduated in 1998, was the first girls wrestler in the state to hit the 100-win milestone.
With Taylor Moore and Reid Thommen both recovering from injury, Pelton and Zaniya Meza were the only Wildcats to wrestle Saturday. Pelton took second place at 145 pounds, scoring three consecutive pins to reach the finals. in the championship match, she led 11-2 before Dowagiac Union's Cinthia Villegas rallied to pin her.
"Although a disappointing outcome, we want to have these tough matches
before the postseason," Maddox said. "We will learn from this and move forward."
Meza placed third at 105 and recorded three wins, all by pin.
