In its first year as a program, the Talawanda Brave girls wrestling team has built a foundation for its future.
Freshman Mikaela Lema and Mili Malohn have both set the bar for the program extremely high.
They both competed in the OHSAA District Championships last Sunday at William Henry Harrison High School, and each had a goal on their mind at the start of the season.
“We were trying to make a name for the team,” Lema said. “It’s our first year as a program, so we’re trying to set this team up for the future.”
This year, Talawanda rostered three girls wrestlers and 21 boys wrestlers. Out of the three girls wrestlers, two of them made OHSAA District competitions.
First-year head coach Andrew Merrell is pleased with this year’s performance.
“My personal goal before the season was to get qualifiers to the district tournament, and for the girls, we got two through,” Merrell said. “We started our culture, we started building our tradition this year and developing the foundation.”
Merrell has spent time in the Talawanda school system as the former head coach for the youth team. He became the first girls coach in school history and took over a boys program that competes in a very competitive Southwest Ohio Conference (SWOC).
For both Lema and Milohn, their seasons have involved some difficulties. Their goals as freshmen were to continue getting better for the future and gaining experience.
This was Malohn’s first year wrestling, and she broke her collarbone earlier this year. For Lema, this was her third year wrestling, but first year at the high school level which took some adjusting.
For Milohn, she had a simple yet effective approach to the 2024-25 campaign: “Doing well in practice and trying to stay ready for the next competition.” She previously competed in the 100 pound division and secured fourth place in the OHSAA Sectionals to earn a spot in Districts.
Lema similarly mentioned how crucial the mental aspect is to a sport like wrestling as a part of her success.
“It really is 90% mental and 10% physical,” Lema said. “Mentally it can really be tough sometimes.”
She recently competed in the 115 pound division and finished first at the OHSAA Sectionals to reach the District finals.
Outside of competitions, both Milohn and Lema have really enjoyed this season.
“We’ve really bonded well during the season and gotten a lot closer from where we started,” Milohn said.
Neither girl finished past the first round in the OHSAA Districts, but the team is heading in the right direction. Merrell said he has high hopes for next year.
“Next year we will get more focused on winning and then positioning ourselves for success,” Merrell said. “Then we’ll keep sending wrestlers to the district tournaments and eventually to the state tournament, and we will build from there.”
