The high school wrestling season is closing in, and Elizabethton’s ShaMia Wells is already getting national attention.
This past Friday, USA Wrestling, FloWrestling and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum released their preseason rankings, and Wells was ranked No. 3 in the 225-pound weight class.
“It is huge,” said Elizabethton girls wrestling coach Eddie Morrell. “You are talking about a high school girl who’s just starting to come into her own as a wrestler and is already ranked No. 3 in her weight class. That gives her an advantage the second she walks in the gym and steps onto the mat.”
With the ranking, comes big shoes to fill said, Morrell.
“Expectations are high,” said Morrell,” People will definitely take her very seriously and prepare for her. At the same time, it gives her a lot of work.
“When you come in ranked this high, you have to maintain that,” Morrell said. “You have to show them that this is not a fluke and you have earned it.”
Wells will be entering her sophomore year at Elizabethton High School. Over the summer, Wells racked up some big finishes in national level tournaments as she competed for the Tennessee National Team. Wells most notable performance was at the Body Bar Women’s Nationals in Irving Texas, where she became Tennessee’s first female wrestler to win the 100-kg weight class. She also pulled off another Tennessee first by placing fifth in the 220-pound division during USMC Junior Women’s National Freestyle.