CHRIS MANNING/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Williamsport’s Lillian Rumsey competes at last year’s state championships in Hershey. Rumsey became the first girls wrestler in Williamsport history to reach 100 career victories.

When Lillian Rumsey first began practicing and wrestling when she was younger, something caught her eye in the wrestling room. It was the list of 100 win wrestlers in Millionaire history.

It was something that for Rumsey became a goal: become the first girl to be on that list.

Once girls wrestling became a PIAA-sanctioned sport to years ago, that goal quickly started becoming a possibility for Rumsey.

Entering this year, the list of girls wrestlers to reach 100 career victories in District 4 was extremely short. In fact, just two girls were on that list: Montgomery’s Emily Murphy (103) and Hannah Rathburn of Athens (102).

Now, another name is on that exclusive list: Rumsey. The Millionaire standout — a two-time state bronze medalist since the sport become PIAA sanctioned — who is ranked No. 2 in the state at 124 pounds is the latest wrestler to become a 100-win wrestler, as she sits with a 101-3 career record following Tuesday’s 68-second pin over State College’s Mariah Lehman.

“From a young age, I always saw the names of the boys in the 100-win club on the wall in the wrestling room. Reaching 100 wins means a lot to me, especially being the first girl from Williamsport to do it,” Rumsey said. “It’s something I’ve worked really ahrd for and it makes me proud to represent girls wrestling at our school.”

“It means a great dealt o all of us within the Williamsport wrestling program. Lillian’s accomplishment represents more than just a number; it reflects years of dedication and perseverance,” Williamsport coach Kevin Werner said. “To see her become the first Lady Millionaire wrestler to reach 100 wins is incredibly meaningful, not just for her, but for the future of girls wrestling here at Williamsport.

“She helped set the standard and showed these young girls what is possible,” Werner continued. “Over the past three seasons, Lillian has become an impressive role model for the younger girls in our program.”

Once the season rolled around, Rumsey knew 100 was a possibility. She entered her senior year just 12 shy of the milestone and reached it last weekend.

“I’ve been really excited about it, and so have my parents, who have been on this journey with me since I was a little girl,” Rumsey said. “Their support has meant a lot to me throughout my wrestling career.”

While Rumsey has already established herself as one of the area’s top girls wrestlers, she will end her career as District 4’s most winningest girls wrestler after this season wraps up. Currently Murphy of Montgomery holds the mark with 103 wins, meaning Rumsey is just three wins shy of becoming the all-time District 4 girls wrestling wins leader. But Rumsey isn’t focused on that. She’s simply looking at who’s next to wrestle and keep improving.

“She was very excited (to reach 100), but in a very Lillian way, proud, grateful and immediately focused on what’s next. You could tell the milestone meant a lot to her, especially knowing how muhc work went into it, but she also understands it’s a step in a bigger journey and not the finish line,” Werner said. “The achievement took place before a large audience after her Mid-Winter Mayhem finals match against a talented opponent. We as a wrestling community were extremely pleased with the warm reception that she received.”

What makes Rumsey’s run at 100 wins– and both Murphy and Rathburn for that matter — is the fact they didn’t necessarily get a lot of opportunities early on. Girls wrestling is one of the largest growing sports in the country, but there weren’t many dual meets for many wrestlers and some tournaments early on didn’t feature a ton of wrestlers at weights.

That meant the chance to earn wins wasn’t as great as their boys counterparts.

“It makes the achievement even more impressive. Early on, there were fewer duals and tournaments, so every win mattered and opportunities were limited,” Werner said. “Lillian didn’t have the benefit of a packed schedule like wrestlers do now, which means she had to be consistent, disciplined and take advantage of every chance she had. Reaching 100 wins under those circumstances speaks volumes about her talent, work ethic and commitment to the sport.”

The Millionaire is a tough wrestler to beat and has shown that time and time again. It comes down to not only her talent on the mat physically, but her mindset as well.

“I’m confident in my goal of becoming a state champion. I’ve been listening closely to all my coaches and have put a lot of time into improving my wrestling style over the summer and during this season,” Rumsey said. “Knowing that I’m in shape and mentally prepared gives me confidence, and I believe I can win tough, close matches against anyone in the state.”

Being a senior, Rumsey has become a wrestler other Millionaires on the team look up to as a leader on and off the mat. Rumsey noted that at first, it was weird being seen as a leader, but she’s now come to enjoy that role.

“It’s still strange knowing the newer girls and junior high girls look up to me, but they’re a fun group to be around,” Rumsey said. “I enjoy working with them, having fun at events and seeing how quickly they’re improving. It’s cool to be part of their journey and to help support them as they chase their goals. I look forward to seeing their names on the wall in the 100-win club with me.”

ONE-SEASON TURNAROUND

Last year, Montgomery’s Adelyn Rine had a less than ideal season. She ended the year with a 13-20 record and took fifth at districts and sixth at the regional tournament.

But that disappointment fueled and drove RIne to get better. So over the summer, she put in work to be the wrestler she knew she was capable of being.

Now? She’s 21-3 and ranked No. 6 in the state and continues wrestling well.

“She put in the time this summer and dedicated herself and realizes I’m now top 6 in the state and she has the confidence,” Montgomery coach Jodi Furman said. “We went to Mid-Winter Mayhem this weekend and she came out on top against some of the top-ranked girls in the state. The confidence is huge for us as a team.”

At the Mid-Winter Mayhem, Rine picked up wins against three returning regional qualifiers in Williamsport’s Payton Pepperman, Curwensville’s Emily Neeper and Fort LeBoeuf’s Zahra Al-Zamly. She also defeated returning state qualifier Emily Donlan of Boiling Springs earlier this year by decision, 7-0, not allowing the state qualifier to record a point against her.

It’s that type of confidecne that has allowed Rine to put up 20-plus wins and that confidence exudes to other wrestlers. The Red Raiders have a roster of 12 girls, and four of them are ranked in the state this year in Brooke Knoebel (No. 5 at 100), Jenna Houseknecht (No. 5 at 112), Zoe Furman (No. 1 at 136) and Rine.

“True belief. Just them believing not just in each other, but in themselves. We even come out a smaller team in size as far as numbers, however every tournament we’re going to, us as a team are competing really high in the team points race as slimmer numbers,” Furman said. “The girls really truly believe they have the ability to compete every single time and do well.”

CONFIDENCE MOVING FORWARD

Montgomery’s boys wrestling team is 19-0 this year and has put up big wins in duals. Of the 19 wins, 13 have resulted in Montgomery scoring 50 or more points as the Red Raiders have dominated numerous opponents. On Tuesday, Montgomery continued doing so with a 70-6 rout against Danville.

Coach Denny Harer preaches scoring bonus points and Montgomery keeps doing that and, now at 19-0, the team has a lot of confidence heading into the District 4 Duals, which are right around the corner.

“It gives us a lot (of confidence) and it sets us up good in the bracket. I think as long as we keep believing in ourselves we should be able to win districts,” Montgomery’s Brandt Harer said. “I think our team’s coming together really well this year. These dual meets are just to get us to district duals. District duals, we’re prepared for it and we’re going to win it and I’m proud of how are team’s doing.”

STATE RANKED SHOWDOWN

Speaking of the District 4 Duals, Tuesday’s matchup between Montoursville and Mifflinburg offered fans a bit of a preview of what could unfold at the duals between two top-ranked teams in the state. Montoursville was ranked No. 12 entering this week and Mifflinburg was ranked No. 13.

Mifflinburg will be climbing the state rankings, however, after cruising to a 43-20 win on Tuesday at Montoursville. That dual on Tuesday was one many fans were excited for and the Wildcats showed those in attendance how talented they are.

Mifflinburg won nine bouts on Tuesday, three by fall, two by major decision and one by decision. That included two-time state medalist Bradley Wagner at 133 pounds, a Bucknell commit, who picked up a 10-3 decision win against three-time state qualifier Teli Bobotas.

“It was a good effort on our part. (Mifflinburg’s) got a really nice team that we’ve seen coming up for the last few years, so definitely congratulations to them. They put out a great performance tonight, great effort on their part,” Montoursville coach Matt Yonkin said after Tuesday’s dual. “They’re a well-coached team, and we gave it a hard-fought battle. The matchups weren’t in our favor. It didn’t really work out for us. We’re down a couple of guys, so I’m not upset about this one.”

Mifflinburg (10-0) has a talented roster top to bottom and Tuesday’s win vs. Montoursville showed that the Wildcats will be a tough team to beat when the District 4 Duals rolls around. It also gave Montoursville a good tune-up entering the duals on what it will need to work on to improve.

100-WIN CLUB

The area saw a another wrestler join the 100-win club this past week.

Lewisburg’s Landon Michaels who reached 100 following a 15-0, 4:25 dominating tech fall win against Selinsgrove’s Dagen Pieramettei.

The win makes Michaels the 19th wrestler in Lewisburg history to reach the milestone, joining his teammate Landen Wagner, who did so last season.

Earlier in January, Williamson’s Luke Sottolano reached 100 wins and is the 10th Warrior to reach that milestone.

Sottolano has a chance to keep moving up the Williamson leaderboard as he sits at 105 wins following last weekend’s 2-1 performance at the Southern Tier Memorial tournament. Sottolano moved past Jeff Shuster (104), and is within striking distance this year of passing Kade Sottolano (107), Carl Gorg (108), Ben Bolt (109), Tyrus Hamblin (112), Chris Collumn (114), Zak Gardner (115) and Trevor McWhorter (116).

Jon Gerardi is the sports editor at the Sun-Gazette. He can be reached by email at jgerardi@sungazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JonGerardi.