HERSHEY — Overwhelmed with emotion as she sat in the tunnel area of the Giant Center, McCaskey’s Journie Rodriguez got teary-eyed.

It wasn’t as if Rodriguez hadn’t been in big moments before. She won the My House 112-pound state championship last year. But this time, following a convincing 10-4 semifinal win over Conneaut’s Daylee Watson, the junior standout had a chance to reflect on what this victory, No. 56 of her career, meant.

First, she would wrestle for gold in the inaugural PIAA girls wrestling championships.

But there was more. As she spoke humbly, Rodriguez also had time to contemplate how blessed she was. Then she talked of something her father, Isaias, the boys coach at McCaskey, continually pounded into her ear.

“He says the best come-through is the one you practice the most,” Rodriguez said.

Meaning, that if you practice a move over and over, it can become your bread-and-butter move in the heat of battle.

It’s exactly what she did in the semis, hitting her doubles when it mattered and doing so aggressively.

“If you practice it and perfect it, it is unstoppable,” Rodriguez added. “So yes, it may sound stupid, but I really believe in that.”

There was a scary moment late in the match when Rodriguez went down hard and hit her head, But after an injury timeout, she was right back to hitting her shots.

, she will wrestle Bishop McCort’s Lane Fordyce — who scored a 15-0 technical fall over Andi Bibeau of East Stroudsburg North in her match — for gold. The finals begin at 4 p.m.

Rodriguez’s quarterfinal match against Williamsport’s Lillian Rumsey was arguably the marquee girls matchup of Friday morning. Featuring the two top 112-pounders in Pennsylvania, it didn’t disappoint.

After getting taken down, Rodriguez didn’t panic. She wrestled smart the remainder of the match, used an ankle hook to make sure she didn’t get taken down again, and walked away all smiles with a 7-2 win.

“I know I won states last year, so keeping my mind focused and knowing I am one of the best in my bracket ... I know I deserve this,” Rodriguez said. “Rankings don’t matter to me. You can be the first seed or last seed, but if you wrestle your style, every match is winnable.”

Two other 112-pounders from the Lancaster-Lebanon League fell in the quarterfinals, then assured themselves of a medal by winning in wrestlebacks.

2024 PIAA wrestling championships - Day 2 [photos]

Manheim Township’s Isabella Baccio, who got her 60th career win, was the first.

Going against Watson, who placed fifth in the My House Tournament last year, Baccio fell 13-6. In her next match against Brashear’s Tamara Humphries, she set the tone early.

Baccio hit Humphries with a chin whip early. A few leg throws later, Baccio had a 6-4 win. She immediately leaped the arena wall and found her mother, Ali Bucher, and jumped into her arms. She then broke into tears.

“I am definitely excited,” Baccio said. “It means I placed again, and that is all I can ask for. I kept saying I needed to win, not try anything new, and wrestle for myself. I think I accomplished that. I then saw the wall and the table. I said I can jump that, and my mom caught me.”

Baccio ended the evening with a loss to Rumsey, but wrestles for seventh place.

Then there was Elco’s Kylee Trostle.

Her quarterfinal match was against Fordyce. The freshman had controlled most of that match but got caught with a bundle near the end, and was pinned in 2:58.

She came back with a vengeance in her next match, downing Pleasant Valley’s Julia Trout in 2:09. She then crushed Parkland’s Sylvyn Parham (4:31) to put her in the consolation semifinals against Bibeau for a shot at third.

“I was really upset after this morning, but (Fordyce) pinned me fair and square,” Trostle said. “But honestly, that is a good thing. I have three years left, and I will come back with a bang. I’m just so honored to be here and wrestling in front of all these people. It is awesome.”

Friday also provided a mixture of emotions for the remaining eight wrestlers from the L-L, with three moving into action Saturday and a guaranteed medal.

Hempfield’s Hattie Mack’s expression was hard not to notice after her 5-4 win in UTV during her first match of consolations at 100 pounds She immediately ran over and jumped into the arms of her father, Shane. Mack’s victory over Cumberland Valley’s Jocelyn Fishel assured her a spot on the podium.

“I am so happy right now,” Mack said. “When I lost last night, I said I was not going to let that happen again. I can’t believe this. It is so amazing. I am going to be in shock the rest of my life about this.”

In her first win of consolations, Mack went old school. She utilized a Turk and did a flip flop over Mount Lebanon’s Sophia Beanner for the fall in 2:43. Mack lost her final match of the night via fall to Knoch’s Miranda Lajevic, but will be wrestling Juliette Cuevas of Bellwood-Antis for seventh place.

Penn Manor’s Brooklynn Ayala’s path to a medal was perhaps one of the toughest of the day. In her blood-round match at 235 pounds, she was paired with Honesdale’s Jaidyn Mikulak, a junior who was ranked third in the state.

It didn’t come easy, as Ayala won 4-3 in UTB. Afterward, she jumped back and let out a yell heard throughout the arena.

“This feels amazing," Ayala said. "I gave it everything I had. I have been working all season to get this, and it feels like I accomplished something. I have to wrestle like it's the last time every time. I put everything out there, and it paid off.”

Ayala, who had never wrestled before this season, won her first match quickly, with a pin in 2:35 over Athens' Leah Nason. In her final match of consolations, she lost 10-8 in sudder victory to Aliana Claussen of Plum. Ayala will wrestle for seventh place.

Then there was McCaskey’s Jurelys Peguero. She would beat South Western's Davina Crump 4-2 in TB2 at 190 pounds for her shot at a medal.

“It was one of the longest and hardest matches I have done because she is a friend,” Peguero said. “Even though last year, I got seventh place, this year it is at Hershey. I am so grateful to show everyone who I am. Even though it’s not first place, I’m making history.”

Peguero would wrestle back with a fall over Central Dauphin’s Aaliyah Armstrong, giving her a match against Reading’s Esmeralda Tellez for a shot at third place.

Hempfield's Clementine O’Brien seemed destined to make the third day of wrestling. The freshman won her first match by fall over Bald Eagle Area’s Eden Eveleth at 106. But in the second round of consolations, O’Brien got caught by Northern Bedford’s Kaylee Ebersole with a Whizzer and fell in 1:11. The freshman finishes with a 32-10 record.

Four other girls from the L-L failed to make it to the final day.

Clementine’s sister, Cleona, had a tough match against Wyoming Valley West’s Isabel Seip at 118. O’Brien wrestled the regional silver medalist tough, but her quest for a medal ended with a 9-2 loss.

Manheim Township's Ainsley Bounds (130) and Penn Manor’s Anisa Orr (148) each fell in consolation matches to end their seasons. Octorara’s Cassidy Jeffries (112), who met another regional champion, also lost Friday.

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