By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

GRANITE QUARRY — Even the Rowan County sports fans who can name only one female high school wrestler know who East Rowan senior Leah Edwards is.

Twenty years from now when girls are filling all the weight classes for every county team and NCHSAA championships are being held for eight classifications, someone will ask how Rowan County girls wrestling got off the ground in the 2020s.

That story will start with, “Well, there was this girl at East Rowan named Leah Edwards. She watched her older brother wrestle and decided that was something she would like to do. She wrestled against the boys at first and beat a lot of them, but by the time her high school career was over there were plenty of other girls to wrestle.”

Just about every girl who wrestles in the county now owes a debt to Edwards. By putting in the training time, by traveling all over the place, by winning countless matches, by always saying the right things, she made it cool for Rowan girls to wrestle.

When she qualified at 113 pounds for the boys state tournament as a freshman in 2022 — she was there in Greensboro with her brother, Shayden — it was eye opening as to just how strong and skilled she was.

The 10-year-old girls who are deciding today that they want to wrestle also owe Edwards a debt. She’s been the inspiration for 95 percent of them to take a deep breath and get on a mat.

The NCHSAA called its state tournament the “Girls Invitational” in 2022. Edwards lost a quarterfinal match, a close decision, in that event, but came back to place third in the state.

In 2023, she was a state champion in the “Invitational.”

As girls wrestling grew, the NCHSAA held its first sanctioned girls tournament in 2024. Edwards won another state championship.

Last week, Edwards, who was coached by Shane Miller and Barry Justus, wrestled in her last NCHSAA Tournament. She lost in the final to an undefeated girl from Garner and finished runner-up at 114 pounds. It was her first setback of the season, but true champions know not only how to win, but how to lose, and Edwards was a champion right to the end. She handled her first loss in a long time with grace and class, one more lesson for the potential female wrestlers in Rowan County.

Third, first, first and second in her four state tournaments, Edwards set the bar high for all who follow her in the sport. She’ll be an icon for a long time, and there should be a place in the Salisbury-Rowan Hall of Fame for her someday.

•••

West had the deepest and best girls wrestling team in Rowan County again and had three placers — Waylan Collins, third at 126, Olyvia Brown, fourth at 107, and Hadley Perry fifth at 100 pounds.

The Post’s Coach of the Year — Tim Pangburn, West

The Post’s Girls Wrestler of the Year — Leah Edwards, East

•••

Rowan County coaches will name the official Rowan County Girls Wrestler of the Year. She’ll be presented with the Barry Justus Award in honor of East’s long-time coach.