Vote now: Who was the national high school girls wrestler of the year for 2022-23?

We want to hear from you: Who was the best of the best?

Earlier this week, we featured 20 of the top high school girls wrestlers across the nation in 2022-23.

From multiple-time state champions, wrestlers with international experience to girls who wrestled — and dominated — boys competition, there are no shortage of standouts.

Best high school athletes of 2022-23: Meet the national girls wrestlers of the year

Now, we want to hear from you. Who was the best of the best?

Who stands above the pack, regardless of weight class? Read up on the decorated list of nominees and and let us know who you think rises above the rest of the best high school wrestlers in 2022-23.

Desert Vista (Arizona) freshman Everest Leydecker was identified as one of the top pound-for-pound wrestlers in the country in January, won the SBLive fan poll and is up for the national recognition once more.

Voting will conclude Friday, June 16 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.

Descriptions of each player and their respective qualifications are below the poll listed in alphabetical order.

Meet the national girls wrestlers of the year candidates

Kiara Ganey, Belleville East (Illinois)

Arguably the top 235-pounder in the country, Ganey defending her state title with an 18-1 season (her lone loss came to a boy). As a junior, went 15-0 on her way to her first title by fall at the inaugural Illinois girls state championships. The McKendree University commit placed fourth at the 2022 Fargo Junior Nationals in freestyle.

Janida Garcia, Discovery Canyon (Colorado)

Garcia won the 132-pound freestyle title at the 2022 Fargo Junior Nationals and followed that up with another gold medal at Who’s Number One. The daughter of a mixed martial artist moved from California for her senior season best summed up her wrestling status after a first-period Colorado state championship win at 145 pounds in Feburary: "I’m already winning national titles, trying to make a World Team, trying to make an Olympic Team," she told the Colorado Springs Gazette. "So, I’m like, state’s just one small step in that direction.”

Gabriella Gomez, Glenbard North (Illinois)

A 105-pound state champion as a freshman, Gomez ran it back and repeated as a sophomore. She was a silver medalist at last summer’s U17 World Championships.

Peyton Hand, Choctaw (Oklahoma)

Hand is a two-time state champion who owns gold medals at 107 and 112 pounds. The Ottawa University commit won the first-ever Oklahoma state girls wrestling title as a freshman and she made state history by becoming the program's first four-time state champion as a senior.

Savannah Isaac, Whitmer (Ohio)

Isaac, a junior, has established herself as the top 200-pounder in the country. She went 28-0 and won her third consecutive state title this year at 190. She captured 16U and 19U national titles in Fargo last summer.

Audrey Jimenez, Sunnyside (Arizona)

Rated by consensus the nation’s top junior by USA Wrestling, FloWrestling and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Museum, Jimenez became a three-time state champion in February. She's aiming to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games. In January, she became the first girl champion in the 56-year history of the Peoria Tournament of Champions. She went 4-0 — all against boys — to take home the gold at 106 pounds.

Khaleah Kirk, Guthrie (Oklahoma)

Kirk went 21-0 last year en route to the 120-pound state title and went 21-0 agin and repeated this past season. Her brother, Eli, is also a state champion. Khaleah has signed to wrestle for Oklahoma City University.

Maddie Kubicki, Park Hill South (Missouri)

Kubicki is the second girls wrestler in MSHSAA history to finish her career undefeated with four championships, following Faith Cole of Lafayette (Wildwood) who achieved that feat a year ago. Her career record: 157-0.

Everest Leydecker, Desert Vista (Arizona)

Post Championship Interview.

Everest Leydecker - 2023 U17 Women's National Champion. pic.twitter.com/lhVxsM8MlU

— ThorobredWC (@ThorobredWC_) April 17, 2023

Only a freshman, Leydecker already ranks among the country’s top high school wrestlers. She won the 122-pound title at last summer’s 16U National Championships and was named outstanding wrestler at the USMC Women's Nationals in May competing for the U17 U.S. World Team. Her dad, Randy, wrestled for Arizona State.

Skylar Little Soldier, Hastings (Minnesota)

Originally a dancer, Little Soldier quickly took to wrestling as a 6-year-old. It was a match made in Heaven. She is a two-time 16U national champion and two-time Minnesota state high school girls wrestling champion – 132 pounds in 2022 and 145 this past season.

Lilly Luft, Charles City (Iowa)

Luft recently captured the 130-pound title at the Iowa state championships. The three-time state champion finished her senior season with a perfect 40-0 record and 125 career wins. She will wrestle for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Sabrina Nauss, Brighton (Michigan)

A junior and 16U national champion at 180 pounds last summer, Nauss has three career gold medals in Fargo. The junior has a judo background and also won a state title last year to become the first MHSAA girls wrestling champion and repeated in this past season at 190.

Erica Pastoriza, Wyoming Seminary (Pennsylvania)

Pastoriza won the 40-kilogram World Championships in 2021 and took silver at 43 kilos the next year. The senior is a Phoenix native who moved to wrestling power Wyoming Seminary two years ago. She is ranked No. 4 in the nation at 100 pounds, according to USA Wrestling, FloWrestling and National Wrestling Hall of Fame's composite and recently committed to William Jewell College.

Sydney Perry, Batavia (Illinois)

Perry won a second consecutive 145-pound state title this past winter. She finished fifth at last summer’s U17 World Championships and earned a silver medal at the Pan-Am Games.

Libby Roberts, University (Washington)

Roberts cruised to a state title as a freshman and made the 106-pound finals in the Tri-State Invitational boys bracket in December, then won a second straight 3A/4A girls title. The sophomore is the daughter of Kevin Roberts, who was a two-time All-American for Oregon in the mid-1990s.

Jasmine Robinson, Allen (Texas)

Robinson, a junior, is a two-time 16U national champion and individual state champion who has helped lead Allen to back-to-back state titles. The 152-pounder has yet to lose a high school match and made the U17 Worlds team for the second time.

Destiny Rodriguez, West Linn (Oregon)

Rodriguez finished a four-time state champion at 155 pounds and a whopping 69 pins in 71 matches. The future McKendree wrestler competed in the U20 World Championships last summer and was a U15 world champion in 2019.

Naomi Simon, Decorah (Iowa)

Simon has not lost a varsity match in high school and finished her undefeated junior season with a 170-pound state championship by a pin. She has a chance to become Iowa's first four-time state champion next year.

Alex Szkotnicki, South River (Maryland)

Szkotnicki recently helped lead South River to its second straight Class 4A boys state title. She won the 120-pound state title by fall. Szkotnicki, who won the 112-pound title at last year’s Junior Nationals, was the second female competitoe to win a title at the Anne Arundel County meet in February. She will wrestle in college for McKendree.

Kiely Tabaldo, Menlo-Atherton (California)

A two-time silver medalist at the Junior Nationals, Tabaldo ended her decorated high school career with a coveted California state title, capping a 35-0 season with a 3-0 decision over Kirssa Turnwall of Paloma Valley in the 111-pound class. The 113-pounder will wrestle at the next level for Colorado Mesa.

Haley Ward, Fort Osage (Missouri)

Ward recently won her fourth state championship and finished her senior season with a perfect 52-0 record. The Iowa signee competes at 155 pounds.

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Lead photo by Leon Neuschwander