Photo by Michael Goss
By Kenny Varner

HERSHEY – What a start to a wrestling career.

In just her first year of varsity action, freshman 190-pounder Katlynn Krepps saw her season come to a strong finish as she placed sixth in the PIAA State Wrestling tournament.

“I’m very excited that I placed here. I know that’s it’s an honor to even be here and getting first at regionals against a girl that had beaten me two weeks in a row,” said Krepps. “It’s been a great experience and I am happy with where I placed. I just hope that I do better next year.”

Still battling into their last day  Juniata’s Krepps, the freshman proved that she belonged and will be someone to keep an eye on in the future.

“I wrestle all year round. I wrestle freestyle,” said Krepps. “I also do morning practices and regular school practices everyday, next year I plan on placing higher.”

With girls wrestling still in its infancy stage, the freshman wrestler has put herself in line to be a role model for all girl athletes to come.

She showed true class and sportsman Saturday in capturing sixth place in the girls her division.

With the foundation being layed for the future of the sport, Krepps has shown that not only can the sport be intense but also fun at the same time.

“Katelynn came into the season with one goal in mind, to make it down to states. She achieved that goal,” said Juniata coach Jarrod Dressler. “The great thing about Katelynn is that whenever she achieves a goal she sets another goal. So as soon as she came down here she was like “I’m going to place”. She set her mind to it and we had a little setback losing the first match and she had the fortitude to keep plowing on and then one win led to another win and then finally she was wrestling for fifth or sixth. So as a freshman, I think she had a stellar season.”

Krepps went on quite a run after falling in her first match of tournament on Thursday and then continued winning until the medal her final match in the medal round.

In the end, the Indians freshman phenom captured a sixth place medal in her first time at the big show.

On Saturday morning, Krepps’ first opponent of the day was Liliana Giulianelli from Peters Township.

In the first, Giulianelli got the early first period takedown and the pinfall at 0:53, sending her into the fifth place match.

The Juniata freshman would wrestle Reading’s Esmeralda Tellez in her match for fifth.

In the first, takedown Tellez, leading 3-0 after one.

Takedown in second by Tellez. Added a point, making it 7-0. She later fell victim of a pin to finish her a season finish of sixth place.