Continuing to show improvement on the mat, Rockbridge County High School sophomore wrestler Tasha Shorter won at 152-pounds at the girls Zone 4 Qualifier held Sunday, Feb. 15 and Monday, Feb. 16 at Franklin County High School in Rocky Mount to advance to the Virginia High School League Girls State Open Wrestling Championships.
The top four wrestlers in each weight class advanced to the state tournament. Last year, Shorter placed fourth in the zone qualifier, but she had her eyes set on the title this year and went 4-0 to make it happen. She became the second RC girl to win the qualifier, after Mia Marando did so at 138-pounds before placing sixth in the state and then graduating last spring.
“Tasha came out wrestling very strong,” said RC girls wrestling coach Kage Tomlin. “It’s nice to see how she’s constantly growing, constantly getting stronger.” Tomlin said Shorter has improved the way she’s moving, and that has translated to success.”
Shorter, who has a record of 17-2 this season, pinned Mecklenburg County’s Johanna Garrett in 51 seconds in the first round. In the quarterfinals, Shorter faced Strasburg’s Autumn Simmons and pinned her in 2:25. She then went up against Appomattox County’s Ella Quarles in the semifinals and won in a 7-3 decision.
In the finals, Shorter faced Amherst County’s Abigail Eggleston, who had won three out of five bouts against Shorter last year, but Shorter pinned Eggleston in 3:51.
As a one-girl team, Shorter scored 28 points to place RC 23rd of 58 scoring teams. Radford won with 95.5 points, Turner Ashby (82) placed second, and Lord Botetourt (74) finished third. Rounding out the top five were Grayson County (69) and Central (Woodstock) (64).
The girls’ state tournament was scheduled to start yesterday at the Henrico Sports & Events Center in Glen Allen and will conclude today, Wednesday. Shorter will face girls from schools from all six classifications.
