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Brashear senior Tamara Humphries (top) was the only girls wrestler in the City League last year. This year, she is one of two. This season, she has a 13-3 record while competing at 112 and 118.
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High school girls wrestling notebook: Brashear's Humphries has company coming out of City League

Ken Wunderley, Tri-State Sports & News Service

High school girls wrestling notebook: Brashear's Humphries has company coming out of City League

Moon sophomore looking to again make splash in state tournament

When Tamara Humphries was introduced to the sport of wrestling during her sophomore year at Brashear High School, she was expecting to see a ring with competitors jumping off of the ropes.

Humphries is now a senior who knows the true meaning of scholastic wrestling and does extra workouts out on a wrestling mat in her basement.

“I’ve always been an athlete,” said Humphries, who began her wrestling career as a member of Brashear’s boys team. “I ran track as a freshman, then heard about wrestling. I had no idea what to expect. I thought I might see people jumping off the ropes.”

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Humphries found something quite different when she began working out with Brashear’s boys team.

“The transition was not hard at all,” Humphries said. “I loved the competitiveness of wrestling. It didn’t matter that I was competing against boys.”

Humphries was one of five girls who wrestled with the boys team that year, but the only one who saw significant time on the mat. She posted a 5-15 record against boys and even competed in the City League and Northwest Region tournaments.

Humphries also had a 6-7 record against girls that season. She even qualified for the MyHouse girls state tournament, but did not place.

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“It’s quite a bit different wrestling against boys and girls,” Humphries said. “Boys are more physical, while girls are more flexible. I just thought of the boys as bigger girls. My aggressive style of wrestling helped me adapt.”

With the PIAA sanctioning girls wrestling last season, Humphries switched to a schedule that included almost all competition against girls. She had a 18-8 record against girls and a 3-2 mark against boys.

Humphries had the distinction of being the only girl to compete in the City League last season. In the girls Western Regional, Humphries placed third to earn a berth in the first PIAA girls tournament. She didn’t place but enjoyed the experience.

“It was a great experience to wrestle in at the Giant Center,” Humphries said. “My goal this year is to win a state championship.”

With that goal in mind, Humphries spent the summer working out with a group of City League boys for the Angry Fish Wrestling Club and its co-founder Ray Brinzer.

“Tamara has exceptional talent and athleticism but was very raw when she started working out with us,” said Brinzer, a 1990 North Allegheny graduate who won three PIAA titles. “She started to pick up real skills and is learning how to be a wrestler with discipline.”

Humphries has switched to an all-girls schedule for her senior year with Brinzer serving as a volunteer coach. She also has a teammate in freshman Ly’Niyah Grace, who is competing at 124 pounds.

Humphries has competed in five tournaments and made it to the finals in all but one. She has won three tournaments and enters Saturday’s North Allegheny Invitational with a 13-3 record. Two of her losses came at the Walsh Ironman Girls Tournament in Ohio, and all but one of her wins has come via fall.

“Wrestling over the summer with the Angry Fish really helped me to learn the finer points of wrestling,” Humphries said. “I’m also doing workouts on my own. I raised some money to buy a mat so I can work out in my basement.”

Humphries started the season competing at 118 pounds and dropped to 112 for her last three tournaments.

“I want to drop to 106 for the postseason tournaments,” Humphries said. “I may even drop this weekend at North Allegheny.”

Humphries and Grace are the only two girls competing in the City League this season. Both will participate in the Western Regional, which will be held March 1 at Canon-McMillan. The top four finishers in each weight class qualify for the PIAA tournament.

“I’m really looking forward to the postseason tournaments,” Humphries said. “I really feel confident that I can win a state title.”

Smarsh a smash for Tigers

Haley Smarsh made her varsity debut last season as a freshman at Moon High School but was the only member of her team. She could have wrestled with the Tigers boys team, but instead decided to work out with the boys and compete only against girls.

“Haley got off to a late start last season because of a injury during football season,” said Moon coach Mike Muraco, referring to the fact that Smarsh also plays football. “She didn’t start wrestling until January [2024], but did a great job once she got on the mat.”

Smarsh posted a 28-1 record in her freshman year and won titles at the WPIAL and Western Regional tournaments. Her only loss came in the PIAA finals when she was pinned by Easton’s Aubre Krazer in the 130-pound title match.

“Haley had a great season getting to the state finals,” Muraco said. “We’re hoping she can take it one step further this year.”

With Smarsh beginning the 2024-25 season with a clean bill of health, Muraco set her up with a much tougher schedule.

Smarsh placed fifth at the Walsh Ironman Tournament, then finished eighth at the Beast of the East Tournament, two of the best girls tournaments in the country. She also placed third at the Sharpsville Tournament and won a title at the Bald Eagle Tournament, held over the weekend.

“Haley’s record isn’t as impressive as it was last season, but she’s wrestling a much tougher schedule,” Muraco said. “It will prepare her for the postseason tournaments.”

Despite her 15-6 record, Smarsh has been ranked No. 1 in the WPIAL all season.

“All but one of her losses were to out-of-state wrestlers,” Muraco said. “I don’t think that will hurt her with the WPIAL seeding.”

Smarsh is considering a drop to the 124-pound weight class for the postseason.

Montour junior making waves with Spartans boys 

Junior Kristen Walzer is the only girls wrestler at Montour High School. Because of that, she has the option of competing against girls during the regular season but instead is a starter for the boys team.

“Kristen has started for the boys team since her freshman year,” Spartans coach Zach Tournay said. “She actually prefers to wrestle against the boys during the regular season.”

In three seasons as Montour’s 107-pound starter, Walzer has compiled a 34-25 record, which includes a 9-7 record this season.

“Kristen had two wins and made it to the blood round at the Chartiers-Houston Tournament,” Tournay said. “She also had two wins at the Allegheny County Tournament. That’s quite impressive for a girl who weighs 100 pounds.”

Walzer has competed with girls in the postseason the past two years. She qualified for the MyHouse girls state tournament as a freshman by placing fourth in the Western Regional.

Last season, Walzer placed second in the WPIAL, second in the Western Regional, and sixth in the PIAA Tournament while competing in the 100-pound weight class.

“Kristen was not seeded in the WPIAL tournament since she didn’t face any girls during the regular season,” Tournay said. “She came in with a 0-0 record and upset the Number 2 and Number 3 seeds to make it to the finals.”

Walzer will once again compete in the postseason at 100 pounds.

“I think it’s safe to say that she will be seeded this year since she was a WPIAL runner-up last year,” Tournay said. “Her goal is to win WPIAL and PIAA titles.”

First Published: January 29, 2025, 6:00 p.m.

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Brashear senior Tamara Humphries (top) was the only girls wrestler in the City League last year. This year, she is one of two. This season, she has a 13-3 record while competing at 112 and 118.  (Ken Wunderley, Tri-State Sports & News Service)
Ken Wunderley, Tri-State Sports & News Service
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