Miami East 106-pounder Olivia Shore waves to the crowd after leaving her wrestling shoes on the mat at the D-III state wrestling tournament at Marion Harding High School on Sunday. Shore became the first girl to place at state, finishing sixth.
Ben Robinson|GoBuccs.com
Miami East’s 106-pound senior Olivia Shore is in control in a match with Cole Schulke of Columbia Sunday at Marion Harding High School.
Ben Robinson|GoBuccs.com
MARION — From the day she stepped on a wrestling mat at the age of 4, Miami East High School senior Olivia Shore set herself apart from the rest.
And after her final high school match Sunday at Marion Harding High School, why would that be any different after another historic performance.
Shore became the first girl in history to place at the boys state wrestling tournament with her second win of the tournament Saturday.
But, she wasn’t satisfied.
She opened competition Sunday with a pin over Michael Hagan of Covington and after a 3-0 loss to Reese Stephen of Barnesville in the fifth-place match, she untied her shoes, bowed to the crowd and just walked off to a loud ovation.
“I had been thinking about it (what she did),” Shore said. “I felt like after what I accomplished this weekend, it was the appropriate thing to do.”
And what an accomplishment — and the perfect cap to her high school career.
Especially, when you consider after losing her quarterfinal match to Hagan at district a week ago, she had to win three straight matches in the consolations just to get to state. Shore did one better, taking four straight to finish third.
“I was a little nervous,” Shore said. “But, I had a pretty easy drawback (in the consolations).”
On Saturday, after losing to Stephen in the quarterfinals, she needed a win over Lane Bergman of Versailles, who she had beaten at district to finish third.
Shore made history with a 8-2 win, setting her up for Sunday.
“I don’t think it really hit me,” Shore said. “I had a lot of time to think about it after the match, but I am not sure it has really hit me yet.”
She opened Sunday by facing Hagan, who had beaten her 8-3 at district.
Shore was trailing 3-0 in the third period when she pinned him in 3:59.
“My dad (George Shore) always says it doesn’t matter how many times they beat you, you have to beat them at the right time,” Shore said. “This was the right time. I was excited to have the rematch.”
Shore lost her final two matches to finish sixth.
“I didn’t just place, I finished in the top six,” Shore said. “I think that is pretty good. Now, I get to watch my brothers (Max and Cooper Shore) wrestle for state titles. I know they are both capable of winning state titles.”
And when you look at what Shore accomplished, it is a hard list to top.
Shore has been one of the leaders in promoting girls wrestling.
In two years of the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association sponsoring the sport, Shore is perfect against girls in high school. She won state titles both years, leading the Miami East girls to a state title in the first year of the sport and a runner-up finish this year. She finished with a record of 18-5.
“My dad told me I was around 50-0 against girls,” she said. “I really hope what I did this weekend will help girls wrestling become an OHSAA sport. We are making history with how we are doing as a team. There is all kinds of history going on here.”
Which goes back to the first time she took to the mat as a 4 year old.
“My brother needed a wrestling partner,” Shore said with a laugh. “It was kind of an accident and it went from there. I have always loved wrestling. My goal at 4 years old was to place in the state wrestling tournament.”
And she is not done yet.
She will begin her college career at Tiffin University next year, one of the top wrestling programs in the country.
“I will take a couple of weeks off,” Shore said. “Not from working out — just from wrestling matches. I am going to work on getting bigger this summer and we will see what happens at Tiffin.”
If the past is any indication, it will be nothing short of historic.
