The Princeton girls’ wrestling team has won two tournaments this season and is currently ranked No. 6 in the latest TWCA Class 6A poll. Submitted photo.

By David Wolman

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Despite being in just its eighth season as a program, the Princeton wrestling team has been a beacon of success, including on the girls’ side.

The Lady Panthers won a district title in their first season. That was at the 4A level. Princeton has since moved up two classification and has enjoyed plenty of success as a Class 5A school before moving up to Class 6A this school year. In total, the Lady Panthers have won six district championships in seven seasons and one regional championship. 

Yet, despite that success, there are wrestlers on other teams who don’t know where Princeton is located.

“I just like when I wrestle someone, and they’ve never heard of Princeton,” said senior Paris Kelleher. “They’re like, ‘This is going to be a small town that we’re going to wrestle against and they’re throwing some random girl out there.’ Then you beat them and think, ‘Where is Princeton? Is that even a town in Texas?’”

When Ryan DeLaVergne started the program during the 2017-18 school year after coming over from Frisco Heritage, where he was an assistant coach, there were plenty of challenges, both professionally and personally. He was the only coach on the staff and oversaw 65 wrestlers. Away from school, DeLaVergne had just moved into his new house and his wife was pregnant with their second child.

For as stressful as his first season was on the job, with it came instant success. Ever since then, the wrestling team has been one of the winningest programs at Princeton High School. 

Princeton finished in sixth place in last year’s Class 5A state girls’ wrestling tournament. And with the Lady Panthers returning five state qualifiers and losing just one senior off last year’s team, Princeton possesses the experience and talent to contend for a spot on the medal stand at the Class 6A state tournament at the Berry Center in Cypress in February. As of last week, the Lady Panthers were ranked No. 6 in the Texas Wrestling Coaches Association 6A state poll.

There has been plenty of team success this season for Princeton. The Lady Panthers won team titles at the Eagle’s Nest Tournament in Prosper in December and in early January at the New Year’s Eve Scuffle at Frisco Emerson. That’s in addition to a third-place effort at the Raccoon Duals at Frisco High, held on Jan. 16.

Senior Rebekah Sorrell has been thrilled about the team’s success, but the ultimate goal still remains for Princeton: earn their first-ever state team trophy.

“We’re going for first place in the state,” she said. “We’re trying to get some rings. These tournaments are just a stepping stone to get better.”

Last season, Sorrell made history by becoming the first Princeton wrestler to compete in a state championship match. She finished in second place in Class 5A at 185 pounds. Sorrell has a 29-1 record this season and is ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 23 nationally in her weight class.

“It actually surprised me a lot because I didn’t have the best first year,” she said. “I wasn’t very strong mentally. I had an injury my sophomore year, I had a high ankle sprain, but it lingered a lot longer than what I thought it would. But it got me stronger.”

Sorrell turned to jiu-jitsu as a way of improving in wrestling. 

“I had some friends talk to me,” she said. “Wrestling is so fast, but jiu-jitsu helped to slow things down for me.”

Kelleher was also a state placer last season as she took third at 138 pounds and finished with a 40-5 record. She is Princeton’s all-time leader in wins with 165. This year, she is ranked No. 6 in the state in her weight class and has a 31-2 record. 

Last season’s success came after dislocated her shoulder and suffered a torn labrum in the first match of her sophomore season.

“My mindset is that there is nobody who is going to beat me easily,” Kelleher said.

Junior Erin Marquez fell one win short last season of becoming Princeton’s third state placer. She lost a 7-3 decision to Frisco Heritage’s Kalia Casto in a bout at 120 pounds in which the winner would be guaranteed a top six finish. This season, Marquez has a 27-5 record and is ranked third in the state at 120 pounds.

“This is my year,” she said. “It’s not going to happen again this year. I’m working really, really hard to get first place.”

Princeton has two other returning state qualifiers, senior Alyssa Irons (114 pounds) and junior Addyson Smith (235), and several others who are ready to make their mark once the postseason begins.

The Lady Panthers will look to capture district title No. 7 on Thursday, Jan. 30 at the District 6-6A Tournament, to be held at Plano East.

Princeton will have to beat perennial state power Allen as well as Prosper, amongst other schools to accomplish their goal. But the Lady Panthers are up for the challenge.

“We were a good team last year and I think that we’re a darn good team this year,” DeLaVergne said.