Mar 11, 2026 3 min read

Name: Marlee Solomon

Grade: Junior

School: Canon-McMillan

Sport: Wrestling

Solomon’s week: An exclamation point was put on an amazing season by Solomon by dominating all four of her matches at the PIAA girls wrestling tournament en route to her second consecutive state title.

“I’m just really grateful, because not everyone gets the opportunity to win two (state) titles, so I’m really proud of that,” Solomon said. “I’m really happy that I did it and most importantly had fun doing it as well.”

Solomon won by tech fall in each match, including a 16-1 win in the second period of the 118-pound championship match over Olivia Kearns of Shippensburg.

“I faced her in the finals at Powerade and that was a tough match,” Solomon said. “She’s a really hard-working opponent that’s really talented. I’m glad I got to wrestle her again, because I learned a lot. I’m happy with how I performed. Never Satisfied, but proud of what I was able to do.”

A season to remember: Solomon collected plenty of gold medals and finished off a perfect 39-0 record, improving to 79-3 overall in two years since moving from California to Pennsylvania. She won the Beast of the East, Powerade and Women of Ironman titles to secure the trifecta of major in-season tournaments. She also won at the Butler Tournament, her second WPIAL title and second regional championship. She said she still really hasn’t processed what she’s accomplished, but can pinpoint the reason why she had so much success.

She attributed it to a change in mindset.

“I used to get so stressed about winning and losing and if I’d lose it get really down,” Solomon said. “That was my mindset going into every match and I wouldn’t perform as well as I could, because I was so worried about the outcome. This year I was mostly focusing on having fun and just letting it fly. I told myself that there was no point in doing wrestling if I didn’t enjoy it. The shift in mindset definitely allowed me to have more fun this year. It’s something I’m proud of that I was able to get out of that headspace.”

Aiming for Worlds: Solomon’s next goal is to represent the United States on the national junior girls wrestling team. She is headed to Spokane, Washington in early April to compete at the USA Wrestling Women’s National Championships. If Solmon wins her weight class, then she’ll make the national girls wrestling team and compete at Worlds this summer.

She’s going to compete for a spot on the U20 and U17 teams.

“That’s been my main goal ever since I wrestled at Super 32 (in October),” Solomon said. “Before that I really didn’t understand the concept of a world team. That’s really the best you can get and that’s what I want to be.

“It’s definitely the hardest tournament that I’ll wrestle in. I got third last year and I think I’ll go for the same weight. It’s a very high-tension event. All the girls in that bracket didn’t go there to lose. Everyone wants to make it.”

Compiled by Jerin Steele