Fortunately, it had one more shot to do so. And in her senior stint at Saturday’s District 5/6/9 girls wrestling championships at Altoona, Ashlyn Miller would make the most of it.

Behind a barrage of quick pins, Miller never saw a second period in route to her first career district title. Her effort was complemented by a strong overall showing from her team, which saw three – including herself – reach finals and five clinch a regional bid, a collective production that saw Central Mountain finish third out of 34 teams.

“Extremely impressed with their effort,” said Central Mountain head coach Dylan Caprio on the team’s performance. “I mean, we’re taking five girls to regionals next weekend and walked out of here with a district champ. We seem to be moving in the right direction, just hope we can keep it going that way.”

For Miller, the title run came off the heels of back-to-back runner-up showings as a sophomore and junior. Though those efforts were worth being proud of, Miller had desired more then and more so heading into the event, hoping to take that last step forward in her closing hoorah.

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Central Mountain's Ashlyn Miller poses with a printout of her bracket after earning district gold at 190 during the District 5/6/9 girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Altoona.

With that desire, came change. While continuing to work hard in the wrestling room, Miller made the decision to drop down to 190 for her senior season, a weight class she felt better suited her.

It’s a decision that’s clearly paid off in a big way, as she went into the tournament with the most regular season wins (21) of her career and came out of it a champion. She dominated her bracket, posting two first-period pins to clinch her gold medal. Considering where it occurred in her career and the work she’s put in, the title meant a lot to her.

“This is my last year, so I wanted to make it count as much as I could,” said Miller. “It’s really important to me, especially for my coaches. I wanted to show them what they built, and I couldn’t get second a third year in a row.”

“I gave up a lot of weight when I wrestled at 235, and 190 is definitely my spot,” she added when discussing cutting down.

Though their runs ended in disappointing fashion, Austynn Falls (142) and Kendall Wagner (170) still gave their team a solid boost while displaying positives on their way to silver.

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Central Mountain's Kendall Wagner poses with her silver medal during the District 5/6/9 girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Altoona.

Wagner finished her time at the event as a three-time runner-up, and Falls – a two-time runner-up – gets another crack at it next season. And their runs didn’t end by upset either, with Wagner’s final opponent – No. 7 Elysabeth Myers (Brockway) – ranking two slots ahead of her, and Falls’s opponent – No. 17 Brylee London (Curwensville) – ranking one slot ahead of her.

“Those are the tops girls we’re going to see in the state, and we’re right there,” said Caprio when discussing the pair. “Knowing that we’ve got another week to prepare and get those girls ready to go, it’s exciting.”

Rounding out the team’s placements were Alana Rhodes (148) and Emma Scarborough-Perez (106), who each reached their third-place bout to clinch a regional bid. Rhodes went the extra mile by claiming bronze, doing so behind three pins – two in the first period. And though Scarborough-Perez fell in her third-place bout, she came close to working her way back from a 13-1 deficit with a late pin attempt.

For Central Mountain, action is set to resume next Saturday, as it travels to Milton to compete at the Central Regional. The tournament is set to begin at 9 a.m.

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Central Mountain's Kendall Wagner wrestles during the 170-pound final of the District 5/6/9 girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Altoona.

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Central Mountain's Austynn Falls wrestles in the 142-pound final during the District 5/6/9 girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Altoona.

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Central Mountain's Alana Rhodes gets her hand raised after winning the 148-pound third-place bout during the District 5/6/9 girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Altoona.

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Central Mountain's Emma Scarborough-Perez wrestles in the 106-pound third-place bout during the District 5/6/9 girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Altoona.