State Champion! First girls title belongs to Roell

Kayla Roell is used to battling from behind so when the score stood 11-10 in the biggest match of her career on Friday night, the Milan junior was never phased, made her move and scored a pinfall in the third period to claim the inaugural IHSAA Girls Wrestling State Championship in Indianapolis.

Roell is the third state champion in Milan history and the first since 2001 when Chris Swisher won the 1600 run as part of the 2001 IHSAA Boys Track and Field State Finals. She is the first female in school history to win a state crown.

“I’d like to thank the IHSAA for putting this on and sanctioning girls wrestling,” Roell told the IHSAA Champions Network following her state championship match. “I wouldn’t be here without my dad because he pushes me to my limits all the time.”

While a tournament sponsored by the Indiana High School Girls Wrestling Association one year ago took place, the IHSAA’s first state tournament with girls wrestling as an official sport saw Roell in her second consecutive state finals, having finished fourth a year ago in the 115-pound class. Friday in the 120-pound class, Roell’s day was an extended one inside Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis.

That day concluded with a championship match against Aaliyah McClean of McCutcheon, who was coming in with a 30-2 mark. After McClean grabbed that 11-10 edge in the third and final round, Roell changed it up, emerged off the mat and put her opponent flat on her back, leading to both shoulders being down and with just seconds remaining the official called for a pinfall at the 5:37 mark of the match, delivering Roell’s dream come true when it comes to the sport of wrestling.

It would be Roell’s 36th win of the season as she finishes her winter season with a 36-1 overall record. In addition to that mark, each match Roell wrestled in during the state tournament resulted in a pinfall victory, a major achievement given the level of competition she had faced since the sectional round.

“I have a tendency of putting myself behind in the match,” Roell said of her championship match. “I knew going off that I needed to be strong and Aaliyah (McClean) is a very good wrestler. I wrestled her my freshman year so I just wanted to go out and prove since then.”

Each of Roell’s first three state finals matches lasted two periods or less on Friday. The day began with an opening round pinfall in period one at the 1:10 mark against Violeta Gomez-Hillerio (22-9) of Jennings County and the quarterfinals saw Roell in round two earn a pinfall win over Munster’s Amelia Mitchell (28-3).

Roell at the 2:31 mark got off to a quick start in the second period of the semifinals and she defeated Zoe Pugh (23-3) of Hamilton Heights via pinfall.

Members of the Milan Volunteer Fire Department helped escort Roell back into Milan late Friday night as the community welcomed home their newest state champion. While now a full year away, all eyes will be watching come next winter to see if Roell’s accolades of the 2024-2025 season can be repeated as part of her senior campaign.

But for now … the race season out on the dirt awaits for Kayla Roell Racing.