Southern Wayne sophomore Sophia Marshall ended up fifth in the 2023 NC High School women’s wrestling showcase recently contested in the Greensboro area. (Submitted photo)
DUDLEY — Who is Sophia Marshall?
Coaches searched for video footage on social media platforms. They found nothing.
Trackwrestling.com provided little insight.
“It felt funny because these girls thought I looked tough,” Marshall said. “Every time I went out there, the coaches were looking up my name and matches I had won on track wrestling. I was going out there mysterious, which was a lot of fun.”
Marshall is no longer an enigma.
The Southern Wayne sophomore just missed the medal podium and all-state recognition by one match during the North Carolina women’s state wrestling championships recently contested in Bermuda Run. She ended up fifth at 235 pounds.
Not bad for a 16 seed, huh?
The daughter of a mixed martial arts specialist, Marshall became the first-ever female from Southern Wayne to battle for supremacy on the state level. She achieved that accomplishment with Rosewood junior Alexis Mazura, who qualified at 138 pounds.
However, Rosewood alumna Olivia Neal holds the distinction as Wayne County’s first-ever female to qualify for the NC High School Athletic Association boys’ state wrestling tournament. Neal made her appearance in the Class 1A ranks in 2008.
“It makes me happy that I can, in the future, try to show girls, especially in Wayne County, you can wrestle even if you’re alone on a men’s team,” Marshall attested. “You can still be a good wrestler even if you don’t have too much experience from wrestling other women. Wrestling men gets you better.”
Yet, Marshall never anticipated this outcome.
Saddled with scorebook responsibilities at times and a cheerleader on the bench, she gained little “live” mat experience. When she did compete, she faced boys who were bigger and heavier.
Frustration never shrouded her face.
Instead, she applied lessons learned from the losses and stepped up her work ethic against workout partners Tez White and Eli Hulet.
“I learned how to get faster, how to use my weight against them,” Marshall said. “Eli is bigger than me. Tez is strong. I had to use my weight and hips to keep him down, manipulate his body, grab his ankle and keep his wrist in tight.”
Marshall entered the east regional seeded last at No. 7.
She endured a tough, opening-round loss to second-seeded Sundiata Gaston of Dixon. Marshall bounced back to eliminate Smithfield-Selma sophomore Secia Jimenez in the consolation semifinals.
Fike freshman Faith Cherry topped Marshall in the third-place match.
Each wrestler punched their respective ticket to the state tournament.
Once again seeded last in her weight class, Marshall endured a tough, opening-round loss to Mallard Creek senior Jillian Boothe. She regained her composure and confidently worked her way through the consolation round.
She knocked out Bessemer City sophomore Liliana Hoyle. Consecutive victories over Gaston (second-period fall) and a major decision (10-0) over Draughn sophomore Mackenzie Basinger set up a rematch against Boothe.
“She went out, executed and took her [Boothe] straight to her back,” SW head coach Tori King said. “[Sophia] was so close to securing the victory, we could all taste it. However, she made a slight mistake, rushed her move and ended up getting rolled over.”
Boothe advanced with a 49-second fall.
Marshall wound up fifth.
“I was very nervous for the first match,” Marshall said. “I got out there and realized she’s just like me, does the same moves I try to do. She’s just bigger and stronger. That [consolation] match, the way I lost [to Booth] came down to a 50-50 scramble and it was really everyone’s fight for that match.
“I could have gotten her the same as she got me.”
Disappointed with the outcome, Marshall said the experience was fun and has easily further fueled her love for the sport. She has two years left in high school and expects the “intimidation” level to diminish as her mat time grows.
Weight lifting and summer camps/tournaments are next.
“I’m proud of Sophia and the hard work she has done, couldn’t ask for a better person, much less an athlete,” King said. “She truly represented Southern Wayne and women amazingly. I only wish there were two of me and I could have invested more in the females, and provided more matches for them.
“I am hopeful and confident things will improve in that area for our girls.”
Indeed.
Marshall has set the standard.
