Slippery Rock girls wrestling ready to make debut on the mat: ‘there's support from everybody’
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Hailey Rudish recalls being exposed to wrestling when her younger brother, Carter, took to the mat while in elementary school.
“I went to all of his matches and practices,” she said. “He's always been really good at it, and it was a fun sport to be around. It was something I wanted to try and see how I could do.”
Hailey Rudish began competing two years ago, placing second at a tournament in Clarion her first season. Now a sophomore, she is one of five wrestlers on Slippery Rock High School's first-ever varsity girls wrestling team.
Other members include sophomores Serenity Miller, Epifani Trufley and freshmen Sophie Hensel and Amber Snyder.
Slippery Rock joins Butler, Seneca Valley and Knoch as Butler County schools that sponsor girls wrestling at the varsity level.
The Rockets open the season with a home match Wednesday against Hickory, coinciding with the boys facing the Hornets the same night.
“With the girls, it's a mix of being excited and nervous at the same time,” said Rockets coach Denton Zeronas, who will be assisted by Kevin Shamblin. “We tried to schedule as many dual matches against the same school on the same night (and at the same site) as the boys.”
Slippery Rock's girls will also go up against Redbank Valley, Reynolds and Sharpsville this season, while competing in tournaments at Laurel, Pine-Richland and Sharpsville.
Rudish said she and her brother are practice partners at home.
“He's the whole reason I got involved, and he's taught me so much,” she said.
Slippery Rock featured a number of girls wrestling on the boys team for years. The district approved the formation of a varsity girls team in November 2024, but the five wrestlers making up this year's squad were allowed to gain experience and progress while competing against junior high competition last season.
“We have four or five girls who are wrestling at the junior high level this year,” Zeronas said. “They would be the next group to move up to varsity.”
The addition of a varsity girls program came just in time for Hensel, who qualified for the junior state tournament as an eighth-grader a year ago.
“I've played football for the past six years, and was told that wrestling would help me with that,” she said. “I enjoy the atmosphere that comes with wrestling. The people around me, there's support from everybody.
“Sports like wrestling and football allow me to prove my strength.”
