Westerville Female Student Athletes Paving Way for Future

Several Westerville high school students made history this past school year as girls wrestling emerged as an officiallysanctioned sport. In January, Ohio became the 33rd state to sanction the sport and, a month later, a Westerville trio became the first young women to advance to the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association Girls State Wrestling Tournament.

Westerville North junior Melania Szawranskyj is the school’s first district champion, while junior Olamide Olobatuyi became the first girls wrestling state qualifier for Westerville South. In addition, junior Marvet Hejazin qualified for the state competition for Westerville North after joining the team just three months prior.

Szawranskyj went 4-2 at the state meet finishing in fifth place after pinning her opponent in two minutes, 44 seconds. Her classmate Heljazin also picked up her first state meet win. Olobatuyi, who finished fourth in her weight class at the district meet, was unable to compete due to a prior commitment (performing with the school’s marching band in a parade at Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Florida.)

While the Coaches Association held the first girls state meet in 2020, young female athletes now will have their first Ohio High School Athletic Association-sanctioned postseason tournament for the 2022-23 school year.

To learn more about girls wrestling and its start as an officially-sanctioned sport, visit www.ohsaa.org.

From left: Nathan Moore, Simaya Johnson-Hunter, Marvet Hejazin, Ava Heckman.

Cover Image From left: Melania Szawranskyj and Caden Layne.

Photos provided by Westerville City Schools.