Female Wrestler, 16, Makes History After Beating Every Male In Her Division

A 16-year-old female wrestler has made history in America after becoming the first woman to win a high school championship in her state.

Heaven Fitch jumped into the arms of her coach after she was declared the winner at one of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association's state individual state wrestling championships.

The teenager couldn't hide her excitement after being declared the winner for the 106lb (48 kg) weight class at the weekend. She was the only female in the eight-competitor class and certainly showed the boys who's boss. There were just three girls in the whole tournament.

In her first match she won with a dominate pin, which was followed by a 9-4 decision in the semi-final and then a near unanimous 11-3 decision in the final against Robbinsville's Luke Wilson.

AP

Fitch told WRAL-TV: "I'm just really overwhelmed... It's, like, insane what I've done, it's not fully sunken in yet. I thought as a freshman I wouldn't even have a winning record, and to do this now, I would have never thought of it."

She added that the buzz around her win will help other female athletes aim higher.

"I'm just glad I can be a role model for people younger than me and it's so insane to be inspiring to others. To think that others look up to me is kind of crazy," Heaven told WGHP.

AP

The youngster got involved in wrestling after seeing her brothers play the sport, however her parents weren't fully supportive at the start.

But after being convinced, they let her partake in the sport that has now earned her headlines around the globe.

She told the Independent Tribune two years ago: "I nagged my parents, basically, because I wanted to do what [my brothers] did. They didn't want me to wrestle. I'm pretty sure it was because they didn't want me to get hurt. But I would just be like, 'Well, if they can do it, then I should be able to do it.'"

But the good times kept coming for Heaven, who won the most outstanding wrestler in her division award. Not too shabby. Her record currently stands at 54-4 and hopefully she'll go on dominating her field.

Topics: US News

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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