Roell set to defend state title

Milan’s Kayla Roell stands atop the podium after capturing the IHSAA Girls Wrestling Regional at Muncie Central this past weekend. Roell looks to repeat as a state champion this Friday in Indianapolis.

How does one match the successes of achieving the ultimate prize as a high school junior? By doing it again as a senior of course. That’s what is in front of Milan senior Kayla Roell this weekend as she will try for a repeat championship bid at the IHSAA Girls Wrestling State Finals in Indianapolis.

Roell, who became the state’s first-ever 125-pound girls champion in 2025, competes Friday in the 115-pound class at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis, located inside the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

This past weekend saw Roell capture the IHSAA Girls Wrestling Regional Championship at Muncie Central, defeating Lawrence North’s Grace Vandergrift (28-7) by pinfall at the 3:54 mark in the title match to wrap up a 4-0 day. She also beat Alexandria’s Teresa Miller (10-12) in less than two minutes as part of a first round contest and then earned a technical fall in the quarterfinals by an 18-3 decision, beating Hope Senteney (16-7) of Southport Roell earned a spot in the championship with a pinfall at the 1:47 mark of the semifinals against Plainfield’s Ariana Quezada (15-6).

One week prior in the sectional at Eastern Hancock, Roell received a bye into the quarterfinals and entered the semifinals via forfeit. In her two matches on January 2, she beat Lawrence North’s Dalilah Contreras (9-14) by pin at the 2:55 mark and recorded a pin in the championship at 2:39 against Vandergrift, whom she faced one week later in that regional match.
Roell enters the state finals with a 31-1 overall record and is anticipated to be the top contender in the 120-pound class on Friday. She will face Abi Lemon (17-11) of Jeffersonville in an opening round bout and the winner advances to the quarterfinals to face either Maya Hammond (39-3) of Garrett or Fountain Central’s Jayden Larkin (24-10).

The bottom half of the bracket features the class’s only undefeated wrestler, freshman Corabella Wesley of Hobart who has a 38-0 record.

First round matchups in Indianapolis begin at 10 a.m. on Friday with quarterfinal and semifinal matches to follow. The consolation round begins at 4:15 p.m. and championship battles are set for a 7 p.m. start. All matches can be streamed at IHSAATV.org for a $20 fee.