McCaskey girls wrestling coach pushes sport forward

The first high school in Pennsylvania to approve girls wrestling was McCaskey. It was the beginning of a movement leading the sport to be sanctioned by the PIAA.

McCaskey played another pivotal role in the sport’s history in June.

This time, McCaskey girls coach Kevin Franklin stepped into the role of 16U women’s director for Pennsylvania USA wrestling. He was instrumental in helping lead state teams to two national freestyle and one Greco-Roman title.

As the 16U director, Franklin was tasked with organizing it all. From searching the state to make sure he selected the best athletes possible, he also had to go through a ton of applications for the coaching staff to make sure it was the strongest that made sense.

“There were clinics strategically placed as soon as we came out of the PIAA season into freestyle, and they were run across the state,” Franklin said. “So there was a lot of preparation there. My director’s position for 16U had a lot of responsibilities and leadership. But without the assistant coaches, Chris Atkinson (Souderton head coach), Cindy Calixto (Alvernia College head women’s coach), Kris Gelsinger (East Stroudsburg women’s assistant coach), Gabby Baker (East Stroudsburg athlete), Elisa Lackey (USA/Pennsylvania wrestling state women’s director), Pennsylvania/USA chair Joe Stabilito and so many others, we are not there.”

READ: McCaskey state champion girls wrestler honored on Pa. State Senate floor

The 16U USA National Freestyle title, courtesy of an 48-25 decision over Wisconsin in Westfield, Indiana, was the first for a Pennsylvania team. Led by Chestnut Ridge standout Violette Lasure — who was 33-0 with 31 pins during the scholastic season — Franklin also served as a coach for the team.

“It’s not like you are going to teach them a ton in one week,” Franklin said. “My job was to make sure they were in the proper mindset when competition settled in, and they rose to the challenge. The proof was in the pudding, so I am incredibly proud of it. I am humbled and honored to be able to coach at this level and for the state of Pennsylvania. It is something I will never forget.”

Were that not impressive enough, on June 20, at the Air Force Special Warfare Junior National Duals in Tulsa, Oklahoma, one of Franklin’s Red Tornado athletes, Jurelys Peguero del Rosario (190 pounds), also played a role in the Pennsylvania Blue team’s win there.

Part of a star-studded lineup — including Easton’s Aubre Krazer (who is 61-0 for her high school career), Bishop McCort’s Jordyn Fouse (a PIAA champion), and Kennett’s Haylie Jaffe (a U17 USA World bronze medalist and Pan Am champion) — Peguero del Rosario was the backup to another McCort athlete, Alyssa Favara, the No. 4 wrestler in the nation at 190.

In a move more favorable to the Pennsylvania team, Favara was bumped up to 235 pounds in the championship match. It paid dividends, as she pinned Missouri’s heavyweight with ease to lock up a 38-31 win for the team.

Peguero del Rosario took Favara’s place at 190, with the task of taking on the third-ranked wrestler in the nation, Isabella Renfro, a two-time Missouri state champion.

She was taken down to start the match, but in the restart, caught Renfro with a double for four points. Peguero del Rosario eventually got caught with a roll-through and was pinned. But her being able to move into that role enabled Favara to do her thing. She also opened eyes when she caught Renfro with the four-point move.

“Being on the junior team was a wonderful experience for me to be able to learn and grow as a wrestler while being able to help out,” Peguero del Rosario said. “I’m grateful to be a part of the team this year.”

She wasn’t the only wrestler from the Lancaster-Lebanon League to be on the national team. Penn Manor’s Brooklynn Ayala was a starter at 235 and scored a big fall (1:40) over Wisconsin’s Sydney Cooper in the third match. Manheim Township’s Isabella Baccio was also in Tulsa as part of Pennsylvania’s Red team.

Pennsylvania’s Greco-Roman team destroyed all its competition by 30 or more points, including a 53-18 win over Ohio.