At the time, coach Kevin Werner was unsure if she’d be back in time to compete. But Rumsey wasn’t going to let her career end because of an injury and on Saturday, she proved exactly why she’s one of the best on the mat in girls wrestling.

Rumsey showed no rust at all and reached the 118-pound finals and secured another gold medal, the third of her career, by pinning Hughesville’s Ariahna Moore in 2:44. The pair of wins gives Rumsey 107 for her career and counting.

“I was very happy that Lillian was able to repeat as a district champion. Lillian was not cleared to wrestle until MRI results came back to her family late last week,” Williamsport coach Kevin Werner said, noting that Rumsey’s father called him during practice and said Rumsey was adamant she wanted to finish the season. “She spent some time on the bike and receiving treatment from our athletic trainer staff this week. I could see that she was a little rusty a few times early in the tournament, but her aggressiveness and determination persevered. Once she was in the finals, she looked like she was ready to go and wrestled a great match against a talented opponent.

“Her overall performance was a blessing for the Williamsport wrestling community,” Werner added.

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Williamsport's Malania Comfort escapes from Selinsgrove's Aislynn Weller at 106 pounds.

The two-time state bronze medalist was one of four Williamsport wrestlers who secured a spot in the Central Regional tournament in two weeks. Joining her at Milton will be Malaina Comfort (100, first), Mia Davis (190, second), Mykia Petruskevich (124, third) and Mah’ogny Bell-Smalls (142, fifth).

The top five finishers at each weight advance to the regional tournament.

Rumsey pinned Mifflinburg’s Camryn Roman in the first match on Saturday and won in 41 seconds. In the championship semifinals, she earned a 16-0, 2:39 tech fall over Milton’s Cage Farr before advancing to the finals and pinning Moore.

Saturday’s competition was nearly the first in a month to the day, as Rumsey’s last match came on Jan. 17 in a 5-4 loss to Pine-Richland’s Aariona Strader.

“Lillian is ready and able to make a return to Hershey and pursue a gold medal,” Werner said. “This weekend was a huge hurdle in her quest, and I am ecstatic with her mindset and outlook.”

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Williamsport's Lillian Rumsey wrestles at 118 in the final against Ariahna Moore.

Comfort reached the championship bout by going up against Brooke Knoebel of Montgomery in a rematch from last month when Comfort beat the Red Raider by major decision, 14-5. On Saturday, Comfort again got the better of Knoebel and earned a pinfall win in 1:32 to get to the championship match. 

“I am thrilled to see her becoming more of her opponents’ strengths. Brooke is an impressive, strong wrestler who is very dangerous on the top and bottom positions. I have watched Brooke develop over the past summer at a club, and that girl is going to be an issue for many in the postseason,” Werner said. “We have talked about Brooke a few times this year and Malaina has responded well to her past experiences. I am pleased to see both young ladies climb the ladder of success.”

In the first-place final, Comfort faced Aislynn Weller of Selinsgrove and won in dominating fashion, 18-1, 3:20. 

“The entire Williamsport coaching staff is pleased with her continued growth. She has improved immensely from last year’s junior high experience. Her work ethic and mentality are refreshing to see from a young wrestler. Turning 15 years old this past January, she presents a maturity well above her age. She is one of the favorites of our wrestling team and community, and we have big expectations for her,” Werner said. “She has a genuine interest in wrestling the best girls and does so without any hesitation. I am very happy for Malaina meeting one of her goals.”

This past week, Comfort told Werner that she hoped to be a district champion. 

FRANK DIMON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Williamsport's Mia Davis competes against Central Columbia's Morgan Reichard in the 190 final.

“I responded ‘don’t hope, it will happen’ and she responded with her confident smile in response,” Werner said.

Comfort and Rumsey were Williamsport’s lone gold medalists.

Davis reached the championship finals at 190, but ended up taking home a silver medal. Wrestling against Central Columbia’s Morgan Reichard, Davis fell with 14 seconds left in the third period by fall. In the championship semifinals, Davis pinned Wellsboro’s Phoebe Bowen in 58 seconds.

“Mia did put together a decent performance this weekend overall. She has recently been able to defeat some girls that she lost to earlier in the year. She has made some style adjustments and is becoming a wrestler who is able to manage a match,” Werner said. “Her situational awareness has been improving incrementally. As a coach, I know that she has not even come close to realizing her true potential in this sport. She made one mistake in her championship match and that was the difference in where she stood on the podium. I believe if she continues this path, she can make an appearance at Hershey this year.”

Wrestling in the third-place finals, Petruskevich earned a hard-fought 5-0 decision against Danville’s Kiera Johns. Petruskevich lost by decision to Shikellamy’s Rylee Campbell in the championship semifinals.

Wrestling in the fifth-place final, Bell-Smalls out-fought Shikellamy’s Isabelle Marlow for a tough 8-4 decision win and secured a spot at regionals.