Freshmen wrestling stars Jaliyah Richards and Harper Shimko are Scotch Plains-Fanwood’s Union County Conference Female Athletes of the Week
Richards, wrestling in the 120-pound weight class, and Shimko, wrestling at 132 pounds, didn’t just become the first girls in school history to win Union County wrestling titles, they became the champions in Union County history when they led the Raiders to the team title at the first ever Union County IGirls Wrestling Championships on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School.
“I was honored to have the opportunity to host the first ever Union County Individual Championships for girls wrestling,” said SPFHS Athletic Director Ryan Miller. “I look forward to making this bigger and bigger over the years and supporting the athletes as they continue to improve.”
“As an alumnus of SPFHS and former wrestler, it is always so special to be able to host major wrestling events. To be able to host the first ever girls wrestling Union County Tournament was truly special,” said SPF wrestling coach Marc Fabiano. “We came into this tournament with the goal of setting the standard for our program, and our girls did that. They shined and were successful, and we were able to enter the record books as the first champions. Our program and these girls will go down in history, and I am so proud that Coach Sandford, Coach Scholz, Coach Martinez, Coach Palazzolo and myself were a part of this.”
“Girls wrestling is the fastest growing sport in the nation and I believe it is the fastest growing sport at Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS,” Fabiano added. “We currently have so many youth girl wrestlers as a part of our recreation program, and we have so many girls who are interested in signing up next year. Since Day 1, we have stressed getting better 1% each day, and the girls showed how much better they have gotten. It was a true individual and team performance. They left everything out on the mats. We are so proud of them.”
