Canon-Mac’s Solomon is a world champion
If Marlee Solomon is asked what she did this summer when she returns to Canon-McMillan High School in a few weeks to start her senior year, then she’s going to have quite the recap.
Solomon won a gold medal at the U17 Wrestling World Championships on Friday in Baku, Azerbaijan.
She defeated Akshara Aksara of India by technical fall, 11-0, in 3:20 to win the 53-kilogram weight class.
Neither wrestler scored early in the bout until Solomon worked a go-behind for two points. She then locked in an armbar for two tilts to go up 6-0 at 2:25. Solomon closed out the match, sending Akshara to her back from a standing single leg position to win gold after a lost challenge by India.
Solomon, a two-time PIAA champion for Canon-McMillan, dominated the competition throughout the tournament. She won three matches on Thursday to get to the final.
Solomon defeated Mariia Zhytovoz of Hungary by a 5-4 decision in her first match. Then, she scored a pair of pins in the quarterfinals and the semifinals.
The first one came against Fatima Bayramova of host country Azerbaijan, in 3:06. In the semifinals, she forged a 12-1 lead before pinning Alejandra Serrano Roa of Colombia.
The win over Aksara capped a wildly successful July for Solomon, who won the U20 Pan-American Games gold medal in her debut for Team USA, then earned a national championship in Fargo, N.D. In all three competitions, Solomon was rarely challenged as she dominated her competition and solidified her status as an elite wrestler in the world stage.
Solomon was one of three Team USA girls to advance to the finals along with Taina Fernandez (69 kg) and Landri Von Gonten (61 kg). Fernandez joined Solomon as a world champion as she won her final by a 5-0 score. Van Gonten settled for silver after dropping her championship bout.
The victory by Solomon helped Team USA win the team title, it’s first since 2021.
Solomon has a 78-3 career record in high school. She competed in California as a freshman.
Canon-McMillan’s first scheduled girls wrestling match this season is set for Dec. 9 at home against Connellsville.