Shorewood crowns First Girls Wrestling State Champ

L-R Shorewood State Team 2025 (Back Row) Anna Bond, Sarah Norton, Ellie Van Horn, Izzy Crave, Sky Klein, Emi Olivera, Max Uckun, Masa Taura, Lukas Probizanski, Yaphet Habtom (Front Row) Aly Fellores, Lynn Ou, Libby Norton (not pictured are state qualifiers Finley Houck & Abi Chishungu)

Article and Photos by Tricia Norton

The Stormrays qualified 14 athletes to compete in the State Tournament in Tacoma on February 20th and 21. 2025. 

Returning State Placer Abi Chishungu withdrew from the tournament due to injury, so the Stormray Girls knew it would be a challenge to break the top 20 this year. 

Head Coach Derek Norton said, “Now that we knew we would be out of the running for a team trophy, it was up to the individuals to shine, and they erupted into a supernova.”

Senior Izzy Crave pinned her way to a 5th place finish. Coach Brady Houck noted that, “Izzy bounced back from a tough loss to win her medal match. She’s worked hard for four years and deserved that medal.”

Both Libby Norton and Finley Houck had dramatic wins in their semi-final matches, making history as they wrestled back to back for the top spot on the podium in their respective weight classes. Shorewood has never had two finalists in the same year.

Libby Norton, State Champ

Senior Libby Norton became Shorewood’s first female state champion, pinning all 5 of her opponents before the end of the 2nd period. 

“Going into the tournament, no one had me ranked above 4th in the 105 lb weight class. Nobody thought I could win it. I guess they were wrong,” said Norton after her exhilarating win over Kelso’s Leah Wallway. 

Coach Houck also commented about Libby, noting that there were a couple of times when she ended up on her back, “but she stayed determined and kept herself in the match until she got the opportunity to put it away.”

Finley Houck finished 2nd in State

Junior Finley Houck stormed into the finals, facing senior and 3 time undefeated Washington State champion Libby Roberts of University High School (Spokane) looking for her 4th title. 

Coach Houck commented, “I’m extremely proud of Finley for making it to the finals when it really looked like she wasn’t going to be able to wrestle again this year due to injury. Her opponent in the finals is probably the best girl in the state at any weight class, and Finley didn’t just wrestle to survive, she wrestled to win.”

Dads & Daughters (L-R) Brady & Finley Houck, Nate & Izzy Crave, Derek & Libby Norton

All three of the Shorewood medalists are the daughters of members of the Shorewood coaching staff. Nate Crave and Derek Norton both wrestled for Shorewood (Class of ‘98 and ‘97 respectively). Brady Houck wrestled at Woodinville High School.

The girls team took 15th place overall, boosted by points scored in wins by senior Aly Fellores and sophomore Sarah Norton.

The Stormray boys state team included no returning state participants. The boys battled, with Emi Olivera, Yaphet Habtom, Masa Taura, Sky Klein and Lukas Probizanski each scoring points for the team. 

Taura and Probizanski both powered through to the round of 12 on day 2, but lost in the blood rounds and missed the podium by one win.