Bernards High School junior Gabrielle Ruedy made history on Thursday, March 12, becoming the first female wrestler in school history to compete in the NJSIAA Wrestling State Championships in Atlantic City.
Ruedy, who wrestles in the 107 pound weight class, was the only representative from Bernards High School to qualify for the state championship, adding another accolade to her remarkable season.
Prior to the championship, Ruedy was sporting a 33-8 record. This included a runner-up finish in the Group 2 sectional championship to Gabriella Conte from Hanover Park High School, the eventual No. 1 seed in the NJSIAA State Championship.
Entering the championship bracket as the No. 10 seed, her first matchup was against seventh seeded Isabella Bonilla, a junior from Old Bridge High School in Matawan, New Jersey. Ruedy was victorious in the first round, winning by a score of 12-3 by major decision, a result awarded when a wrestler wins by at least eight points.
Unfortunately, in her next match she narrowly lost against senior Madison Rucci from Jackson Township High School by a decision of 7-4. This defeat, however, did not mean the end of her run at the NJSIAA State Championship, as she still had the opportunity to advance in the wrestle-back bracket.
Ruedy quickly regained her stride, pinning her opponents in the first two rounds of the wrestle-back. In the semi-final, Ruedy dominated freshman Adrienne Rodriguez by a score of 18-6, guaranteeing her either third or fourth place in the overall tournament. After a 3 minute, 28 second battle with Adriana Yodice in the third place match, Ruedy was pinned, meaning that her run would end in a fourth place finish.
Fourth place in the NJSIAA State Championship gives Ruedy the best finish from a Bernards High School wrestler at the state championships since Patrick Riley placed fourth in 2006.
This was already a historic season for girls wrestling at Bernards, as it was the first year in which a specific girls program existed at the school. Ruedy, a member of the wrestling program since her freshman year, spent her first two seasons as the sole female wrestler on the team.
“Hopefully, with Gabi’s tremendous success in addition to the success of our other girl wrestlers this year, our numbers will continue to grow.” Girls Wrestling Head Coach Nadolny said. “We started the season with only four girls on the team and finished the season with eight.”
The girls program was founded following a recent NJSIAA rule change that prohibited girls from competing against boys in all tournaments. For Ruedy’s first two seasons she competed with the boys. However, under the new rule, a specific girls program was made at BHS to ensure that she, and other girl wrestlers, could continue to compete for the team.
Ruedy is excited at the thought of the program continuing to grow, saying “The sport of girls wrestling is growing each year…seeing girls competing at a high level will inspire more girls”.
With another year still ahead of her, Ruedy has already cemented her place in Bernard’s wrestling history. As the girls program continues to grow, Ruedy’s phenomenal run to the state championships is only the beginning. As for next year, Gabi’s goals are clear, as she puts it, she wants “to win states”.
As Coach Nadolny put it, “What makes her truly special, however, is her drive, her ambition to win, and her competitive spirit. To place in the state tournament is an extraordinary feat, but I know that she is not completely satisfied and is already aiming even higher for next year.”
