Carrollton junior Riley Alborn is one win away from making program history.
Alborn advanced to the state championship match Sunday night after a dominant semifinal performance at the state wrestling tournament, defeating New Philadelphia’s Isabelle Ramirez by 16-0 technical fall.
With the win, Alborn moves into the finals with a chance to become the first female wrestler from Carrollton High School to win a state championship.
The Carrollton standout controlled the semifinal from the start, quickly building a large lead before closing out the match by technical fall. The victory capped another strong showing at the state tournament for Alborn, who has consistently delivered strong performances throughout the postseason.
Despite the magnitude of the moment, Carrollton head coach Lionel Woods said the key heading into the championship match is keeping everything as normal as possible.
“We’re trying to keep everything low-key,” Woods said. “We want it to feel just like any other match so she stays relaxed and focused.”
Woods said he believes maintaining the same routine that has worked all season is the best approach as Alborn prepares for the biggest match of her career.
“She’s been in big matches before,” Woods said. “The goal is to keep the environment light, maybe joke around a little bit, and not make it bigger than it needs to be.”
The plan, Woods said, is simple: keep the routine familiar.
That includes a relaxed dinner, staying on top of weight management and limiting distractions before the finals. Even the team’s interactions with Alborn are being kept brief to help maintain her focus.
“We’ll congratulate her, but then we’ll keep things quiet,” Woods said. “We don’t want to talk about the match too much. The goal is just to treat it like any other day of wrestling.”
That mindset has helped Alborn throughout the tournament, where she has shown both confidence and composure on the mat.
Now, the Carrollton junior will have the opportunity to make history when she competes in the state championship match Sunday night.
A win would mark the first girls state wrestling title in Carrollton school history.
