Prairie wrestler wins largest girls high school wrestling tournament in the nation

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Prairie’s Faith Tarrant capped off the largest girls high school wrestling tournament in the country with a third-round pin on Saturday, Jan. 11.

The Braided 64 Kelso Invite girls wrestling tournament featured 871 competitors from 106 high schools across Washington and Oregon. The Braided 64 started in 2007 with just 90 wrestlers and three mats. The tournament kicked off on Friday, Jan. 10, with 14 mats spread throughout the Kelso High School gyms and cafeteria before narrowing down to one mat and the dramatic dome light highlighting the championship round across all weight classes.

Tarrant, the eighth-ranked wrestler at 235 pounds by USA Wrestling, is chasing history as well as making history her senior season. With a shot at four state titles this year, she added a third win at the Braided 64 with a third-round pin over Kennedy Catholic junior Kanora Diederichs.

Usually a Tarrant victory is quickly made, but Diederichs made it into the third round against the Prairie standout. In the second, Tarrant wrestled all the way through on the bottom, taking the top in the third with a 1-0 lead, and a pin secured the title.

Being on the bottom in the second period didn’t change her mindset, Tarrant said.

“My freshman year, if you would have asked me that, I would have been like, ‘yes, I hate bottom,’ but I think to be a good wrestler you have to be put into any position and be able to perform,” she said. “So being on bottom really doesn’t scare me. I feel good about it. I’m very confident in that position.”

Tarrant was proud to be a part of the largest tournament in the nation highlighting girls in the sport.



“It’s awesome to watch women’s wrestling grow, and it’s awesome to see all the girls who are 3A, 4A, small school all compete together, you know, to see who’s the best. I find that so awesome,” Tarrant said.

Each weight class saw its 64-girl bracket narrow down to two, with finals featuring Washington and Oregon state champions.

With six weeks left in her high school career, Tarrant says she will maintain her focus on the mat, spending a lot of time with her coaches and teammates.

“My last year as a Prairie Falcon, you know, just kind of having fun with my teammates and spending time with my coaches and making sure that, again, [I’m] having fun, that’s my one goal,” she said. “I feel like people take sports too seriously, and when you do it’s not as fun. So just having fun, that is my ultimate goal and my mindset.”

Tarrant wasn’t the only wrestler to see success from the area. Woodland’s Couly McReynolds earned a third place finish at 115 pounds.

“It’s pretty huge because the last two years I haven’t been able to place here, so that’s pretty awesome for me,” McReynolds said. “... My goals have been to place higher at Pac Coast because last year I got seventh and then I ended up winning it, and then to place here even at all, top six, and I ended up taking third, so we’ll take it and then next is just to make it to the postseason.”