Five years ago, the Mountain Ridge girls wrestling team had less members than there are weight classes—13 girls, 14 weight classes. 

Fast forward to 2026, it now has 32 girls, four individual winners and back-to-back team state championships. 

“It's a testament to the hard work and time that our wrestlers and coaches put into this season,” said head coach Brandon Birch.

The Sentinels capped their season in February with a repeat 6A state title after winning the first last year. If they went under the radar for the 2025 title, then there was a target on their back this year. 

“The journey this year was different than last year. Last year we believed in ourselves and knew we could do something special, but it was probably a surprise to a lot of people,” Birch said. “This year we came in as the champs, and we had a good team coming in that was expected to be a contender.”

Growth spurt

Rewind to the year girls wrestling was sanctioned was Mountain Ridge’s last in 5A before joining the 6A ranks in 2021. It was Birch’s first year coaching and of the 13 girls they had, three had wrestling experience. 

“We often had to forfeit three to five weight (classes),” he recalled citing inevitable injuries and some wrestlers being the same weight. 

Both numbers and experience are increasing. They were two deep at almost every weight this year, Birch said, giving more opportunities to score in tournaments. They also had at least half the team with wrestling experience. 

Because it’s a tough sport, it can at times be difficult retaining wrestlers. 

“We try to create a great team atmosphere so that girls will want to stay and be a part of something special,” he said. “Having a great team atmosphere does a lot to attract other girls to want to join our team.” 

One example might be senior Evalyn Lenahan. 

She moved to Utah during junior year having wrestled since her freshman year in Arizona when her best friend and her thought it would be funny to try out. 

“I hadn’t found a sport I really loved and after my first wrestling practice I knew the sport was perfect for me and surprisingly I loved everything about it,” Lenahan said.

But she said the relocation took a toll on her mental health and decided to take a break. 

Then last summer, she went to a Mountain Ridge wrestling camp. 

“The girls were so kind, and I loved the environment that I was in,” she said. 

While the culture set the tone for Lenahan, she also appreciated the quality of coaching. “I loved that the coaches really went into detail about specific moves and had us practice over and over until we had it completely down.”

Another transfer arrived in a roundabout way and stayed. 

Senior Brooklyn Eagar came via Providence Hall, where she wrestled as a freshman in the 100-pound class and took fifth. Her dad was the coach and her brother was a senior wrestler at the school so she decided to give wrestling a try. 

Her sophomore year saw her experiment with a different sport joining the swim team at Mountain Ridge just down the road. But she couldn’t stay away from the mat.

“I just loved the creativeness of wrestling,” she said. “You just have your own unique style in wrestling that works best for you.” 

During her time at Providence Hall, she said practices were combined with the girls and boys since the teams were small. She enjoys the “sister camaraderie” that comes from just girls in practice. 

“I think that came more in my senior year too, just that more family community with all these wonderful, amazing girls that were on my team,” she said. 

Over the hump

Good vibes might be a precursor, but they don’t always guarantee results as the Sentinels began knocking on the door as they took fourth (2022) then fifth (2023) then second (2024). 

Last year they finally reached the mountain top. Their wrestling experience paid off as Birch said the girls were great leaders who could now teach the new girls “how to compete, wrestle their best and get mentally prepared for what wrestling brings.”

He cited another big reason: the coaching staff. Jon Eagar, Zan Elder, Jim Birch, Paul Hulet, Ryan Lenahan, Logan Eagar and Miyo Strong are all “fantastic coaches,” he said. 

Evalyn Lenhan was quick to note their help and support. “As athletes part of a sport, you spend a lot of time with your coaches and we got so lucky with who chose to be our coaches,” she said.

In 2025, the team had 14 wrestlers place at state with one winner in Olivia Merino, and the team cracked 200 points for the first time finishing with 221 and a 34-point victory. 

Both Eagar and Birch pointed to the team’s toughness and conditioning as primary qualities for winning last year. For 2026, the journey was a little different. 

They attributed this year’s evolution to their skills and technique. With the quality of the sport improving every year—it’s one of the fastest growing sports in the country—they needed to work smarter, not just harder. 

Eager said they improved their takedowns and the moves to set up those takedowns, along with escapes to avoid getting pinned which loses you more points. 

They also had to overcome injuries as several title contending wrestlers had to deal with fractured hands or shoulder injuries. 

That work paid off, as the 2026 team had four individual champs, five reach the finals and seven more place. 

“We knew this was going to test our depth and grit. Our girls responded in a way that was absolutely picture perfect,” Birch said. “For us to step up when we were not at full strength and take state was a perfect end to a great season and showed that our team is learning those base principles our coaches try to teach. I'm just so proud of our girls.”

Eagar, who fell in the semifinals a year ago to finish third, took home a state title in the 105-pound class. She (along with Olivia Merino and Bella Birch) did so without surrendering a single point all tournament. 

“It was really fulfilling,” Eagar said. “I’ve worked really hard, and just seeing all that hard work show was really fun.”

For Lenahan, who will wrestle next year at Southern Virginia, her journey to a state championship in the 135-pound class saw her overcome a struggling mentality. “I would always put myself down and think every other girl out there was better than me.”

But her positive thinking and help from the coaches led to a state tournament where she “felt less nervous and I even felt excited for my really hard matches.” 

“When I first won state it felt surreal,” she said. “I was first of all so grateful I had made it that far, but when I got my hand raised on that mat, life did not feel real.”

Birch said Lenahan took state in one of the toughest weight divisions. 

“It was fun to watch her realize just how good she was as she went through the season,” he said. 

Family and future

Both Lenahan and Eagar said how special it was winning with their dads on the coaching staff. 

For Eager, whose older brother was also a coach, it was a family affair. Her younger sister Alayna is a sophomore who also competed this year. Brooklyn Eagar, who plans to serve a mission starting this summer, credited her family extensively for helping reach her goal. 

After practice, Eagar’s dad would spend another hour working with her on skill development. They have a mat in their basement where she would practice with her brother, her sister and even her mom at times.

“They were such a big help this year,” Brooklyn said, adding they have a sister in fifth grade who also wrestles.

When Birch started coaching, he set a goal to win a state championship. 

“Although winning a title was a goal of mine, winning back-to-back championships is rare and is very hard to do with so many great teams. I'm just thankful I've been able to work at, and be a part of something special like this,” he said. 

The work doesn’t stop as the sport gets more competitive. But Birch has a strong contingent returning next year that includes: Amelia Jenkins, Faith Bowen, Abbigail Tasini, Tara Zakeri, Kiara Tanaka, Tina Lotulelei, Bella Birch, Maya Strong, Victoria Sousa, Kayda Rowberry, Tori Trewartha, Maddie Martin, Abby Birch, Alauna Begaye, Kassy Farnworth, Brielle Stromberg and Hailey Pender. 

“We have a lot of talented girls coming back,” he said, “and I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do.”

The Mountain Ridge girls wrestling team repeated as 6A state champs in February. (Photo courtesy Brandon Birch)