Who are the 25 best pound-for-pound girls high school wrestlers in the nation in 2022-23?

Here are some of the nation’s most talented and accomplished wrestlers, irrespective of weight

By Bob Lundeberg | Photo by Vince Miller

Wrestlers are typically grouped by weight classification, but some deem pound-for-pound rankings to be the truest measure of greatness.

High school wrestling seasons are beginning to reach the championship stage across the country. After gathering the 25 top high school boys wrestlers across all weight classes, SBLive did the same on the girls side.

Here are 25 names to consider:

Kiara Ganey, Belleville East (Illinois)

Arguably the top 235-pounder in the country, Ganey is a senior who won last year’s state title by fall at the inaugural Illinois girls state championships. Ganey, who placed fourth at the 2022 Fargo Junior Nationals in freestyle, is looking to defend her state title this winter.

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 California native moved to Colorado for her senior season and is trying to win the state title at 145.

Gabriella Gomez, Glenbard North (Illinois)

A 105-pound state champion as a freshman, Gomez is the favorite to win gold again this winter. She was a silver medalist at last summer’s U17 World Championships.

Savannah Gomez, Brawley Union (California)

Gomez was a 137-pound state champion as a junior and is hoping to close her high school career with another this season. The future McKendree wrestler was a 2021 junior national champion.

Valerie Hamilton, El Paso-Gridley (Illinois)

Hamilton is a junior who earned a silver medal at the 2022 U17 World Championships. She is the favorite to win the 145-pound Illinois state title this year.

Peyton Hand, Choctaw (Oklahoma)

Hand is a two-time state champion who owns gold medals at 107 and 112 pounds. The Ottawa University commit is going for a third title at 115 pounds as a senior.

Savannah Isaac, Whitmer (Ohio)

Isaac, a junior, has established herself as the top 200-pounder in the country. She captured 16U and 19U national titles in Fargo last summer and is a two-time state champion.

Audrey Jimenez, Sunnyside (Arizona)

Rated the nation’s top junior by FloWrestling, Jimenez is a two-time state champion who is aiming to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games. Last month 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. Her brother, Eli, is also a state champion. Khaleah has signed to wrestle for Oklahoma State.

Maddie Kubicki, Park Hill South (Missouri)

Kubicki has never lost a high school match and recently picked up her 150th career win. She is a three-time state champion who will be going for a fourth at 145 pounds.

Everest Leydecker, Desert Vista (Arizona)

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. 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 who also won last year’s 132-pound state title as a sophomore at the inaugural Minnesota girls state championships.

Lily 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.

Paige Morales, Central (California)

Morales’ numerous accomplishments include cadet and junior national championships (2021), a 2022 Super 32 championship, and a 2022 California state gold medal. The 106-pounder recently committed to wrestle for Central Methodist University.

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 also won a state title last year and will be going for another at 180 pounds next month.

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 recently committed to William Jewell College.

Sydney Perry, Batavia (Illinois)

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

Mishell Rebisch, Romeo (Michigan)

An Alaska native, Rebisch moved to Michigan before her sophomore season and captured the 145-pound state title. She was a junior and 16U national champion last summer and will be going for another state title in March.

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. 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.

Destiny Rodriguez, West Linn (Oregon)

Rodriguez is a three-time state champion who is going for a fourth this year at 155 pounds. 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, who hasn’t lost a varsity match, won the 170-pound state title earlier this month. She will try 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, will wrestle in college for McKendree.

Kiely Tabaldo, Menlo-Atherton (California)

A two-time silver medalist at the Junior Nationals, Tabaldo is hoping to end her decorated high school career with a coveted California state title. The 113-pounder will wrestle at the next level for Colorado Mesa.

Haley Ward, Fort Osage (Missouri)

Ward recently won her third 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 courtesy of West Linn Athletics