That’s because, despite just two girls wrestling, it was the team’s first-ever home match.

There’s been a lot of firsts in girls wrestling the past couple of seasons, and that has included at Warren.

Last year, seniors Kasey Kophazy and Katie Seamens were among the very first District 10 champions in PIAA’s newly-sanctioned sport of girls wrestling. The first season concluded in early March at Hershey’s Giant Center, where the state’s first girls high school tourney took place amid a boys tournament that debuted in 1938. Prior to 2024, girls only had the option to qualify for and compete in the boys tournament.

“I can’t put into words what wrestling means to me,” said Hollenbeck, named an assistant coach for WAHS wrestling prior to this season. “And the fact I get to share my love with these girls is something special to me.”

Photo by Mark Evans Warren’s Kendall Moore, right, and Bradford’s Bella Prince shake hands before the 118-pound match Wednesday in the Lady Dragons’ first-ever girls wrestling home match against Bradford at Warren Area High School.

And share the Lady Dragons’ first home wrestling match.

“We have a lot of girls on our team that have been wrestling for a few years,” said Hollenbeck. “They’ve been waiting a long time for a moment like this. I had texted the girls before the match about it being National Women and Girls in Sports Day. I reminded them again right before we went out — we’re doing this for a bigger purpose. We’re doing this for the little girls in the stands and in the room at youth practice. It’s so important to them and me that the little girls are seeing the big girls in their wrestling shoes and their singlets. It’s okay for them to wear wrestling shoes. It’s OK for them to wear singlets that are tight to our bodies. It’s OK for the girls to have pretty hair and be tough on the mat dripping with sweat. It’s OK to be the only girl in the room full of boys. We’ve been working for this for so long and it’s finally here.”

On the mat, Kendall Moore pinned Bradford senior soccer standout Bella Prince in the second period. To say Prince is a soccer standout is an understatement considering she had over 100 career goals (137) and 100 career assists (124) for the Owls.

“I always call Kendall my little Kendall because she’s our smallest girl on the varsity team,” said Hollenbeck. “She was so timid and always rubbing her shoulders when I first met her, and now she’s loud and gives the lighter girls in the room a good competition. She has made insane strides in the two short months we’ve been on the mat as a first-year. We went in thinking she was going to have a forfeit. She was so upset, and then I told her right before the warmups started, she was getting (a match). I always tell the girls to trust in themselves and trust in their training. She did exactly that. She made me nervous because she’s starting to learn how to be scrappy, and she got scrappy. She ran that half, and I knew she secured the win. I am so proud of the progress she’s been making.”

The sophomore was admittedly nervous, but didn’t show it.

Photo by Mark Evans Pictured, in front, from left, are: Abbie Darr, Madilyn Dikun, Emily Wiles, Bryndalyn Lindell, Kendall Moore, Kita Nelson and Kaelon Connolly prior to the Lady Dragons’ first-ever girls wrestling home match against Bradford on Wednesday at Warren Area High School.

“Being able to go out and wrestle for my team is the best part for me,” said Moore. “Win or lose, I was proud to be there and represent my whole team. I was nervous going out in front of my home crowd full of people that I know. It adds a lot of pressure, not wanting to let everyone down. I couldn’t have been more proud knowing we were making history and we did it with a win.”

Junior Madilyn Dikun’s second-period pin secured the team win.

“I told Madilyn for a week straight that she would most likely have a forfeit come last night,” said Hollenbeck. “I still told her all day long she’d have a forfeit. I was honestly convinced she was going to have one. Madilyn has really turned it up in practice the past few weeks. She was making strides at the tournaments on the weekends. She was doing the right things. Soon as I saw they were sending a girl out at 155, I was like, put your headgear on, it’s time to wrestle. She was so caught off-guard, she had no time to react. It was the best. I told her she had it, she was good. As soon as she snapped her down and went behind and got her three (points), I knew she was going to win this match. Madilyn practices this every single day. She ran that half, and everything in me was screaming for joy. I was over the moon for her in that moment because I knew she had so many family members in the stands. I was happy for her and them. The look on her face after the win was priceless. She came off bawling, and I had tears in my eyes for her. She deserved that.”

Dikun was well aware it was a historical night at WAHS.

“It was awesome; the night meant a lot to me,” she said. “It made it even better knowing I helped make history. I didn’t have time to think when heading out on the mat. I went out thinking I was going to have a forfeit. The win was a shock to me; it was my first win ever. There was so much going on in that moment that I didn’t know how to react.”