MORGANTOWN – A little over a month into the high school wrestling season, Preston High School’s Ava Turner is making some noise.
Ava began wrestling as a kid. She joined her older brother Cole as the two followed in the footsteps of their father, Buddy, who also wrestled in the area growing up.
“My dad grew up in Preston County and is a huge part of my life,” Ava said. “He helps me with everything. Our entire family has wrestled throughout our lives, and when I used to watch my brother wrestle as a kid, I knew it was something I wanted to try. At first, it was tough, and I shed a few tears back then, but after that, I loved everything about the sport.”
Only a freshman, Turner has already accomplished a significant feat as she took home first place at the 2024 Powerade Wrestling Tournament in the girls’ 130-pound weight class.
She won five consecutive matches to claim the title, not allowing an opponent to score a single point on her until the championship, an 11-5 victory by decision.
“The Powerade is a massive tournament with some strong competition,” Turner said. “That’s what I was looking forward to the most. I knew that the competition would be tougher than I’d ever seen, and there are always nerves with a big tournament, but I tried to simply be myself and stay focused on what I was doing.”
Turner earned an opening-round pin over Kara Dilts of The Kiski School in the Round of 32 before matching up against West Liberty University signee Bailey Emery of University High School in the next round.
“My first match went how I wanted it to, but she was strong, which caught me off guard at first,” Turner said. “Bailey is an outstanding wrestler who is good at anticipating what’s coming at her and quick on her feet. It was a good match. After winning that one, I felt some momentum and eventually found myself in the finals.”
Ava earned a 9-0 major-decision victory in the quarterfinals before another pinfall in the semis earned her a spot in the championship bout against top-seeded Maddie Fischer of Seneca Valley (Pa.)
Turner defeated Fischer 11-5 to claim the title.
“It feels good when your hard work pays off,” she said. “Growing up, I was the only girl on my team. There weren’t any other girls wrestling. Now, we have multiple girls in our mat club, including some younger ones. It’s cool to know they look up to me and can use me as an example for what they can accomplish.”
With over half of her freshman season ahead of her at Preston High School, Ava knows she still has plenty of work and wrestling to do.
“One thing I’ve been focusing on is getting quicker with my feet,” she said. “Also, focusing on being stronger mentally. That’s an underrated thing in wrestling, especially at a high level and when you get to some of the later stages of a tournament.”
