Eloise Woolsey all but willed this national championship into existence.
“I said it out loud every day,” she said. “I’m gonna win Fargo.”
Indeed, Woolsey, the indomitable multiple state champion from Cleveland High School, fulfilled that quest Saturday, capturing the 155-pound title at the Junior Girls Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Fargo, North Dakota.
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For the nation’s top high school wrestlers, Fargo is the most elite event on the calendar, including their own prep seasons.
“The biggest tournament in the world,” said Woolsey, 18, who won four individual state titles in high school — two in Hawaii, and then two more in Rio Rancho with the Storm. “Fargo is THE tournament to go to.”
And her victory comes with this unique distinction: Woolsey, who was seventh at 155 a year ago, becomes the first girl from New Mexico to win a national championship in Fargo.
“It’s really nice,” she said in a phone interview Sunday as the family drove back from North Dakota to New Mexico. “I get to set the standard, I guess.”
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Woolsey came through from a bracket of nearly 128 wrestlers, and posted six victories during her three days of competition. She also had a bye.
In Saturday’s final, Woolsey, who is ranked 12th in the country at 155 pounds by USA Wrestling, defeated Ella Poalillo of New Jersey 8-5. The freestyle format differs in multiple ways from what Woolsey wrestled in high school, and each match in Fargo was two, three-minute periods. In high school, it is three, two-minute periods.
Poalillo, who will be a high school senior next season, was ranked No. 1 in the country at 155, and won a bronze medal at the U17 World Championships. She is committed to national power Iowa State. Poalillo, the No. 2 seed in Fargo, was leading Woolsey 2-1 after the first period.
Woolsey, seeded eighth, said she knew practically nothing about Poalillo going into the final.
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“I don’t look at the bracket,” she said matter-of-factly, “At the end of the day, it’s just another match.”
Woolsey, who posted a 6-4 decision in the semifinals against Connecticut’s Sarah Henckel, will be attending Division II Colorado Mesa, a perennial top-10 program. She was chosen the Most Outstanding Wrestler in Fargo. She defeated the girls seeded 1, 2 and 4 in North Dakota en route to her national crown.
“I’m so excited, I can’t wait,” Woolsey said of the start of college career.
NOTE: Woolsey’s father Brian played college football at New Mexico Military Institute. One of his teammates? Current Roswell High football coach Jeff Lynn, who was the best man at Brian’s wedding.
James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at @JamesDYodice.
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