Georgia's Genevieve An Wins the Tricia Saunders Award for the SE Region

Press Release from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and USA Wrestling

STILLWATER, Okla. - The National Wrestling Hall of Fame on Wednesday announced the regional winners of the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award (TSHSEA).

The winners are:

Central Region - Persaeus Gomez, Arvada, Colorado, Pomona High School, Oklahoma State University

Midwest Region - Naomi Simon, Decorah, Iowa, Decorah High School, University of Iowa

Northeast Region - Nebi Tsarni, Montgomery Village, Maryland, Watkins Mill High School, United States Air Force Academy

Southeast Region - Genevieve An, Marietta, Georgia, Kennesaw Mountain High School, Lehigh University

West Region - Audrey Jimenez, Sunrise, Arizona, Sunnyside High School, Lehigh University

The national winner will be announced on May 7. The national winner will be chosen from the regional winners.

First presented in 2014, the award is named for Tricia Saunders, a four-time World Champion and women’s wrestling pioneer. Saunders was the first woman to be inducted as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006 and was inducted into the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011.

The award recognizes and celebrates the nation’s most outstanding high school senior female wrestlers for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship, and community service.

TSHSEA winners are evaluated and selected on the basis of three criteria: success and standout performances and sportsmanship in wrestling; review of GPA and class rank, academic honors and distinctions; and participation in activities that demonstrate commitment to character and community.

The regional winners of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award will be announced on Thursday. The DSHSEA recognizes and celebrates the nation’s most outstanding high school senior male wrestlers for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship, and community service. The DSHSEA national winner will be announced on May 8.

The TSHSEA and DSHSEA national winners will be honored during the 47th Honors Weekend at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum on May 31 and June 1 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. To purchase tickets for Honors Weekend, visit https://bit.ly/2024NWHOFHonorsWeekendTickets.

Regional winners for both awards are selected from state winners, and the national winners will be chosen from the regional winners.

The regions and the states that they are comprised of are:

West (11) - Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming

Midwest (10) - Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin

Central (7) - Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas

Southeast (11) - Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia

Northeast (11) - Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont

2024 Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award Regional Winners

Central Region: Persaeus Gomez of Arvada, Colorado, became the first and only true undefeated four-time Colorado girls state wrestling champion with a career record of 108-0 for Pomona High School. She was also the first Colorado High School Activities Association sanctioned girls wrestling champion at 105 pounds. The daughter of Victor and Sabrina Gomez, she will continue her wrestling career with the women’s wrestling club at Oklahoma State University. Gomez was a Junior Nationals champion in 2022 after finishing third in 2021, and was a finalist at Women’s Nationals in 2022. She was a U17 Pan-American champion in 2022 and was a two-time Colorado Sportswoman of the Year honoree. Gomez was student council treasurer and helped raise money for children battling critical illnesses. She also was a leader and mentor for Link Crew and worked to help grow wrestling by working with youth wrestlers. Gomez was academic all-conference and academic all-state.

Midwest Region: Naomi Simon of Decorah, Iowa became the first and only undefeated four-time Iowa girls state wrestling champion with a career record of 150-0 for Decorah High School. The daughter of Matthew and Melissa Simon, she will continue her wrestling career at the University of Iowa. She is the 2024 recipient of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum’s Iowa High School Female Wrestler of the Year and was also named the Dan Gable Ms. Wrestler of the Year by Fareway Stores, Inc., IAwrestle, and Iowa Corn in coordination with the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association. Simon won the Junior Nationals and finished seventh in the U20 Nationals in 2023 after All-America finishes in 2022 at the U16, U17 and Junior Nationals. She won Who’s #1 in 2023 and was a back-to-back winner at both the Dan Gable Donnybrook and Brian Keck Preseason Nationals in 2022 and 2023. Simon won both the freestyle and the Greco-Roman titles at the Southern Plains tournament and was member of Team Iowa for the Tulsa National Duals in 2022 and 2023. She also lettered in cross country as a freshman and in swimming as a senior, where she also earned academic all-conference honors. Simon was a member of the school band for four years, including as a band section leader for brass large and small ensemble, and was a member of the National Honor Society as a junior and senior.

Northeast Region: Nebi Tsarni of Montgomery Village, Maryland was a three-time Maryland state champion and varsity team captain for Watkins Mill High School. The daughter of Ruslan and Zalina Tsarni, she will attend the United States Air Force Academy to pursue aerospace engineering and become a pilot. Tsarni received the Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent’s Award for Excellence in Interscholastic Athletics and was named Outstanding Female Wrestler by MCPS. Tsarni won the 144-pound title and was named Outstanding Wrestler at the 2023 Junior Nationals after finishing fourth in 2022 and eighth in 2021. Tsarni was the 16U Fargo Nationals champion in 2021 and 2022 and a seven-time All-American. Tsarni won the Who’s #1 championship at 144 pounds in 2023 and was the top-ranked wrestler at 144 pounds. She was a Principal Leadership Council member and founder and creative director of “The Mill,” a school spirit group. Tsarni designed t-shirts, posters, banners and other items pertaining to her school and events. She received the Principal Leadership Council Award, the Principal’s Student Engagement Award, and the Principal’s 4.0 GPA Award with a 4.84 GPA. She was also a member of the National Art Honors Society and volunteered as a coach and instructor for girls wrestling across Maryland.

Southeast Region: Genevieve An of Marietta, Georgia was a three-time Georgia state champion and four-time state finalist for Kennesaw Mountain High School. The daughter of Michael and Melissa An, she will continue her wrestling career at Lehigh University. An is currently doing an internship at Kuraoka Clinic, researching the efficacy of STP on eradicating H. pylori in Japanese men and women. She was team captain all four years and was a three-time regional and sectional champion. An won the Cobb County Invitational tournament as a junior and as a senior, earning Most Outstanding Wrestler both years. She was a two-time Super 32 Nationals All-American as well as a Princeton Open and Preseason Nationals All-American. As a freshman, An was runner-up at the U15 World Team Trials and a USA National Team member. She was named Outstanding Wrestler at Grappler Nationals, winning the folkstyle competition and reaching the finals in freestyle, while again being a member of the USA National Team as a sophomore. An is principal cellist, playing at recitals, school events and more, while also instructing younger students. She is a member of the National Honor Society and was Triple Play Student of the Year (AP biology, Honors anatomy and Post-AP DNA genetics). An also owns her own baking business and interns in finance and is a medical volunteer.

West Region: Audrey Jimenez of Sunrise, Arizona, was a three-time Arizona girls state champion and a one-time boys state champion for Sunnyside High School. After winning girls high school titles as a freshman, sophomore and junior, she won an appeal with the Arizona Interscholastic Association to compete against boys and made history by becoming the first Arizona girl to win a state wrestling title against boys, capturing the Division I title at 106 pounds. The daughter of Guillermo and Denise Jimenez, she will continue her career at Lehigh University. Ranked #1 in the pound-for-pound and at 130 pounds in the National Girls High School Rankings, she recently finished second at the U.S. Olympic Trials – Wrestling, becoming a member of the 2024-25 U.S. Senior National Team. Jimenez was a two-time U17 World Championships team member, winning a bronze medal in 2021, and a two-time U20 World Championships team member, earning silver medals in 2022 and 2023. She won a silver medal at the U23 World Championships in 2023 and a bronze medal at the Pan-American Championships in 2024. Jimenez has done motivational speeches for youth wrestlers and the Sunnyside School District staff while also volunteering at local nursing homes. A member of the National Society of High School Seniors, she has worked as a commentator during the Reno Tournament of Champions and did a podcast with the Sunnyside School District Superintendent.

Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest growing high school sports with participation growing by more than 292 percent from 16,562 in 2018 to 65,000 in 2024.

Forty-six state high school athletic associations have voted to approve girls wrestling as an official sport, and 44 held official girls high school state wrestling championships in 2023-24. Hawaii was the first state to host a girls state championship in 1998 while Texas began its girls tournament in 1999. The number grew to six states by 2015 and has exploded in recent years to 46 states.

States that hosted state-sanctioned girls' wrestling championships in 2023-24 are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

There are over 170 intercollegiate women’s wrestling teams competing at the NCAA, NAIA, junior college and community college level. Women’s wrestling is an NCAA Emerging Sport, and earlier this year the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics voted to recommend Divisions I, II and III sponsor legislation to add a national collegiate women's wrestling championship, which could be achieved as early as the 2025-26 season. The NAIA recognizes women’s wrestling as an official varsity sport and held their first official championship in 2023.

The Hall of Fame accepts nominations for its high school excellence awards from state chapters and coaches. The nominations are reviewed by a committee, which selects state and regional winners. The committee then determines the national winners from the regional winners.

2024 Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award State Winners

State - Name, High School, Hometown, College Attending

Alabama - Emily Smith, Daphne High School, Daphne

Florida - Gabriele Tedesco, Lake Gibson High School, Lakeland, McKendree University

Georgia - Genevieve An, Kennesaw Mountain High School, Marietta, Lehigh University

Mississippi - Kayleigh Savage, St. Martin High School, Ocean Springs, Huntingdon College

North Carolina - Caleigh Suddreth, Lake Norman High School, Mooresville

South Carolina - June Welch, Woodruff High School, Greer, North Central College

Tennessee - Ella Murphey, Hardin Valley Academy, Knoxville, Oklahoma City University